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History of the Conflict
This conflict dates back to the nineteenth century, primarily as a conflict over territory. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the Holy Land was divided into three parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Successive wars resulted in minor shifts of territory until the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel because of Israel's occupation of the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights. -
The First Intifada
Once the wars over territory were over, a surge in violence and uprisings among the Palestinians began. The first intifada in 1987 was an uprising comprising hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The conflict was mediated, and new framework for the Palestinians to govern themselves was set up, called the Oslo Accords. Relations were established between the new Palestinian Authority and Israel's government. -
The Second Intifada
In 2000, inspired by continuing Palestinian grievances, the second intifada began and was much bloodier than the first. After a new wave of violence between Israelis and Palestinians 15 years later, the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced that Palestinians are no longer bound by their peace agreements with Israel-the Oslo Accords. -
The United States Steps In
In 2013, the U.S. attempted to revive the peace process between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. However, peace talks were disrupted when the Fatah-the Palestinian Authority's ruling party-formed a unity government with its rival faction, Hamas, in 2014. The rivals' reconciliation process has proceeded haltingly since, with the two signing an additional agreement in October 2017. -
Cease-Fire Deal from Egypt
Prior to the recent wave of clashes between Israelis and Palestinians, there had been many outbreaks of violence and instability. In the summer of 2014, clashes in the Palestinian territories precipitated a military confrontation between the Israeli military and Hamas in which Hamas fired nearly three thousand rockets at Israel and Israel retaliated with a major offensive in Gaza. This ended in August 2014 with a cease-fire deal brokered by Egypt, after 73 Israelis and 2,251 Palestinians died. -
Trump's Policy
Since taking office, the Donald J. Trump administration has made achieving an Israeli-Palestinian deal a priority, but has yet to release its long-awaited proposal for a peace process. Trump relocated the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, reversing longstanding U.S. policy -
Weekly Demonstrations at Gaza Strip
Between March and May 2018, Palestinians at the Gaza Strip conducted weekly demonstrations at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. The final protest coincided with the 70th anniversary of the Nebka, the Palestinian exodus that accompanied Israeli independence, as well as the relocation of the U.S. embassy to the city of Jerusalem. Most of the protesters were peaceful, while others stormed the perimeter fence and threw rocks and other objects. -
The Third Intifada
There is a concern that a third intifada could break out and that renewed tensions will escalate into large-scale violence. The United States has an interest in protecting the security of its long-term ally Israel and achieving a lasting deal between Israel and the Palestinian territories, which would improve regional security. -
Demonstrators Killed
Israeli security forces killed 86 demonstrators and wounded about 3,700. -
Hamas and Israeli Fights
In May, fighting broke out between Hamas and the Israeli military in what became the worst period of violence since 2014. Before both sides reached a cease-fire, militants in Gaza fired over one hundred rockets into Israel and Israel responded with strikes on more than 50 targets in Gaza during the 24 hour flare-up.
