The Roots of the Conflict

Until the moment it began, the ceremony had been shrouded in secrecy. After all, the stakes were high—and people feared there could be dire consequences. But on the morning of May 14, 1948, the British flag was finally lowered in Jerusalem, marking the end of Britain’s three-decades-long administration of the land of Palestine. Participants waited anxiously for what might come next.

The area’s Jewish people wanted to establish a Jewish state on a portion of Palestine allotted to them by a United Nations partition plan. But the Arab people there, a majority of the population, claimed the land belonged entirely to them. Diplomats from the United States urged Jewish leaders to wait. Five neighboring Arab countries had vowed to invade after any declaration of independence.

Yet that afternoon, David Ben-Gurion—soon to become Israel’s first prime minister—declared the establishment of the state of Israel. Members of a provisional legislature signed a scroll. The audience stood up and sang the country’s new national anthem. Outside, people danced in the streets.

Until the moment it began, the ceremony had been shrouded in secrecy. The stakes were high. People feared there could be dire consequences. But on the morning of May 14, 1948, the British flag was finally lowered in Jerusalem. It was the end of Britain’s three-decades-long administration of the land of Palestine. Participants waited anxiously for what might come next.

The area’s Jewish people wanted to establish a Jewish state on a portion of Palestine. The land had been allotted to them by a United Nations partition plan. But the Arab people there, who made up a majority of the population, claimed the land belonged entirely to them. Diplomats from the United States urged Jewish leaders to wait. Five neighboring Arab countries had vowed to invade after any declaration of independence.

Yet that afternoon, David Ben-Gurion—soon to become Israel’s first prime minister—declared the establishment of the state of Israel. Members of a provisional legislature signed a scroll. The audience stood up. They sang the country’s new national anthem. Outside, people danced in the streets.

The very next day, the armies of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and what is now Jordan invaded, sparking the first of many wars and skirmishes between Israel and its neighbors over land.   

Today, 75 years after its birth, Israel is home to 9.7 million people, including almost half the world’s 15 million Jews. Yet the conflict that originated long before Israel’s founding—two peoples, Jews and Arabs, coveting the same land—continues to stoke violence and division today.

In October, the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel and Israel declared war against Hamas. Here’s what you need to know about the roots of the conflict.

The very next day, the armies of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and what is now Jordan invaded. It sparked the first of many wars and skirmishes between Israel and its neighbors over land.   

Today, 75 years after its birth, Israel is home to 9.7 million people. This includes almost half the world’s 15 million Jews. Yet the conflict that originated long before Israel’s founding continues to stoke violence and division today. That’s because both Jews and Arabs covet the same land.

In October, the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel. In response, Israel declared war against Hamas. Here’s what you need to know about the roots of the conflict.

Two thousand years ago, much of what is now Israel was a Jewish state known as Judea, with Jewish kings and a Holy Temple in Jerusalem. But Romans seized Jerusalem in 63 b.c., killing Jews or selling them into slavery and forcing many to flee. In the centuries after, the land was ruled by Muslims, Christian Crusaders, Mamluks, and, for 400 years, by Ottoman Turks.

Then, in 1918, at the end of World War I, the League of Nations divided the defeated Ottoman Empire. “Palestine” was given to Britain with a mandate to govern until the land could be turned over to its inhabitants.

People of the Jewish faith, even if small in number, had lived in what is now Israel for thousands of years, though greatly outnumbered by Arab people, the majority of whom are Muslim.

The Jewish populace there mushroomed in the late 19th and early 20th century with the rise of a movement known as Zionism, which encouraged the creation of a Jewish homeland as a response to the persistence of anti-Semitic violence in Europe. With Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, about 60,000 German Jews—facing attacks and laws restricting their civil rights—settled in the region. But during World War II and at the war’s end, Britain closed the doors of Palestine to European refugees fleeing the Nazis.

Meanwhile, Jewish and Arab nationalists battled for dominance in the land and against the British occupiers. A series of brutal attacks and counterattacks—which began around 1920 and climaxed in a 1947 civil war—saw bombings of civilian buses, sniper killings, and village massacres that left thousands dead, including British soldiers and police.

In 1947, British officials decided that governing the area came at too high a cost, so they set a date for departure. The United Nations, which had replaced the League of Nations, then proposed partitioning the land into two states—Jewish and Arab—roughly equal in size. The surrounding Arab nations rejected the plan, contending all of Palestine should be Arab since the Arab population of 1.2 million was twice as large as the Jewish population.

The bruising conflict that followed Israel’s declaration of independence ended with an armistice that left the Israelis in control of 80 percent of British-ruled Palestine, far more land than had been allotted in the partition. Israel could now offer a haven for the Jewish concentration camp survivors and other refugees pleading to leave Europe.

“A significant aspect of the tragedy [of] the Holocaust was the fact that the gates of the United States, Canada, Australia, and other free countries were closed to Europe’s Jews at the time of their greatest need,” says Menachem Rosensaft, general counsel emeritus of the World Jewish Congress. “The creation of the State of Israel was meant to provide a homeland, and thus a safety net, for them.” 

Two thousand years ago, much of what is now Israel was a Jewish state known as Judea. It was home to Jewish kings and a Holy Temple in Jerusalem. But Romans seized Jerusalem in 63 B.C. They killed Jews or sold them into slavery, and this forced many to flee. In the centuries after, the land was ruled by Muslims, Christian Crusaders, and Mamluks. For 400 years, it was ruled by Ottoman Turks.

Then, in 1918, World War I ended. The League of Nations divided the defeated Ottoman Empire. “Palestine” was given to Britain with a mandate to govern until the land could be turned over to its inhabitants.

People of the Jewish faith, even if small in number, had lived in what is now Israel for thousands of years. They were greatly outnumbered by Arab people, the majority of whom are Muslim.

The Jewish populace there mushroomed in the late 19th and early 20th century with the rise of a movement known as Zionism. This movement encouraged the creation of a Jewish homeland as a response to the persistence of anti-Semitic violence in Europe. With Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, about 60,000 German Jews settled in the region. They fled attacks and laws restricting their civil rights. But during World War II and at the war’s end, Britain closed the doors of Palestine to European refugees fleeing the Nazis.

Meanwhile, Jewish and Arab nationalists battled for dominance in the land and against the British occupiers. A series of brutal attacks and counterattacks began around 1920 and climaxed in a 1947 civil war. During the civil war there were bombings of civilian buses, sniper killings, and village massacres that left thousands dead, including British soldiers and police.

In 1947, British officials decided that governing the area came at too high a cost. They set a date for departure. The United Nations, which had replaced the League of Nations, then proposed partitioning the land into two states. One Jewish state and one Arab that would be roughly equal in size. The surrounding Arab nations rejected the plan. They contended all of Palestine should be Arab since the Arab population of 1.2 million was twice as large as the Jewish population.

The bruising conflict that followed Israel’s declaration of independence ended with an armistice that left the Israelis in control of 80 percent of British-ruled Palestine. This was far more land than had been allotted in the partition. Israel could now offer a haven for the Jewish concentration camp survivors and other refugees pleading to leave Europe.

“A significant aspect of the tragedy [of] the Holocaust was the fact that the gates of the United States, Canada, Australia, and other free countries were closed to Europe’s Jews at the time of their greatest need,” says Menachem Rosensaft, general counsel emeritus of the World Jewish Congress. “The creation of the State of Israel was meant to provide a homeland, and thus a safety net, for them.”

A series of wars in the following decades strengthened Israel and left it occupying two heavily Arab territories: the West Bank and Gaza (see map, below). Much of the world believes these regions should be reserved for a future Palestinian state.

But Israelis have built more than 130 settlements in the West Bank, complicating the prospects for a cohesive Palestinian state. That has led to periodic uprisings, campaigns of terror, and pitched battles with rockets and aircraft that have killed thousands on both sides, including many civilians.

A series of wars in the following decades strengthened Israel and left it occupying two heavily Arab territories, the West Bank and Gaza (see map, below).

Much of the world believes these regions should be reserved for a future Palestinian state.

But Israelis have built more than 130 settlements in the West Bank. This complicates the prospects for a cohesive Palestinian state. That has led to periodic uprisings, campaigns of terror, and pitched battles with rockets and aircraft that have killed thousands on both sides, including many civilians.

The 2 million Arab people who live in Israel proper contend they don’t have the same political and economic freedoms as Jewish citizens. Palestinian cities and villages have smaller police forces and get less school funding. Many jobs are reserved for Jewish Israelis, and Arab citizens can’t buy land or houses in certain areas.   

“Any Palestinian will tell you that they do not live in equality with their Jewish neighbors,” says Khaled Elgindy, a senior fellow for the Middle East Institute in Washington.

American presidents and diplomats have made many attempts to help negotiate the creation of a Palestinian state. But Palestinian leaders rejected land-for-peace offers put forward by Israeli prime ministers in 2000 and 2008, upset at Israel’s refusal to take in more Palestinian refugees. And some Palestinian factions oppose any recognition of Israel.

As a result, some critics of recent Israeli governments have endorsed the creation of a single state in which Jews and Palestinians would have equal rights. But many Israelis fear that Palestinians would become a majority and the nation would no longer be Jewish, so the idea hasn’t taken hold with most Israeli Jews.

The 2 million Arab people who live in Israel proper contend they don’t have the same political and economic freedoms as Jewish citizens. Palestinian cities and villages have smaller police forces and get less school funding. Many jobs are reserved for Jewish Israelis. Arab citizens can’t buy land or houses in certain areas.   

“Any Palestinian will tell you that they do not live in equality with their Jewish neighbors,” says Khaled Elgindy, a senior fellow for the Middle East Institute in Washington.

American presidents and diplomats have made many attempts to help negotiate the creation of a Palestinian state. But Palestinian leaders rejected land-for-peace offers put forward by Israeli prime ministers in 2000 and 2008. They were upset at Israel’s refusal to take in more Palestinian refugees. And some Palestinian factions oppose any recognition of Israel.

As a result, some critics of recent Israeli governments have endorsed the creation of a single state in which Jews and Palestinians would have equal rights. But many Israelis fear that Palestinians would become a majority and the nation would no longer be Jewish. The idea of a single state hasn’t taken hold with most Israeli Jews.

Today Israel is the most economically and technologically advanced state in the Middle East: a democracy with a per capita gross domestic product that ranks it 13th in the world. It’s home to many innovative software, communications, and biotech companies —with scientists who have won six Nobel Prizes since 2004.

Yet the nation and the surrounding region are still rocked by violence. On October 7, Hamas—the Palestinian militant group controlling the Gaza strip—launched the largest surprise attack on Israel in decades. Israel declared war and responded with massive retaliatory strikes on cities in the Gaza strip. At press time, more than 1,100 people in Israel and Gaza had been killed, including many civilians, with the death toll expected to rise dramatically.

Since 1994, the Israeli government has authorized the Palestinian Authority—a body elected by the Palestinian people—to police and administer the West Bank. But many frustrated Palestinians view the Authority as ineffectual and too submissive to Israel.

There have been no substantial talks to end the conflict for a decade. A few Arab states have established commercial and diplomatic relations with Israel, but the prospects for a Palestinian state remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, Israel itself is torn by  hostility between secular, left-wing Jews and ultra-Orthodox right-wing Jews—and between the advocates for a peace agreement with the Palestinian people and hardliners who want Israel to keep expanding settlements in the West Bank.

Today, after the eruption of yet another armed conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, no one can predict what the future holds for this troubled region.

“The Palestinians are as politically and socially fragmented as the Israelis,” says New York Times Jerusalem correspondent Isabel Kershner. “Either they will rise above the fray and reach some kind of consensus about how to live together . . . or it will eventually all fall apart.”

Today Israel is the most economically and technologically advanced state in the Middle East. It is a democracy with a per capita gross domestic product that ranks it 13th in the world. It’s home to many innovative software, communications, and biotech companies. Israeli scientists have won six Nobel Prizes since 2004.

Yet the nation and the surrounding region are still periodically rocked by violence on both sides. On October 7, Hamas launched the largest surprise attack on Israel in decades. (Hamas is the Palestinian militant group that controls the Gaza strip.) Israel declared war and responded with massive retaliatory strikes on cities in the Gaza strip. At press time, more than 1,100 people in Israel and Gaza had been killed, including civilians. The death toll is expected to rise dramatically.

Since 1994, the Israeli government has authorized the Palestinian Authority. It is a body elected by the Palestinian people to police and administer the West Bank. But many frustrated Palestinians view the Authority as ineffectual and too submissive to Israel.

There have been no substantial talks to end the conflict for a decade. A few Arab states have established commercial and diplomatic relations with Israel. But the prospects for a Palestinian state remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, Israel itself is torn by hostility between secular, left-wing Jews and ultra-Orthodox right-wing Jews. There is also conflict between the advocates for a peace agreement with the Palestinian people and hardliners who want Israel to keep expanding settlements in the West Bank.

Today, after the eruption of yet another armed conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, no one can predict what the future holds.

“The Palestinians are as politically and socially fragmented as the Israelis,” says New York Times Jerusalem correspondent Isabel Kershner. “Either they will rise above the fray and reach some kind of consensus about how to live together . . . or it will eventually all fall apart.”