Image above: a Gaza beach
The conflict Today
Gaza Today
In 2005, Israel gave up control of Gaza. Today, Gaza is controlled by Hamas, a Palestinian Sunni organization with the goal of freeing Palestinian territories from Israeli occupation. The U.S. regards it as a terrorist organization. Hamas doesn't support Israel getting a homeland. Approximately 1.6 million Palestinians live here; about 1 million of those are UN-registered refugees. West Bank Today Today, the West Bank is controlled by Israel but more than 80% of the people living there are Palestinians. In March 2013, Israel seemed to be tightening control over the West Bank by stopping Palestinian settlements. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law. Palestinians Today Today, the term Palestinian refers to Arabs—Christian, Muslim, and Druze—whose historical roots can be traced to the territory of Palestine as defined by the British mandate borders.There are about 5.6 million Palestinians living in this area, which is divided between the State of Israel, and the West Bank and Gaza. Road Map for Peace The Road Map for Peace is the current proposal for peace by the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the United Nations. The Palestinians and Israelis accepted a very basic plan as proposed by U.S. President George Bush in June 2003. There has been limited progress toward its goal: a permanent two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Road Map calls for an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza living side by side with Israel. The Palestinians must end all attacks on Israel, and Israel must dismantle outposts (Israeli colonies built in the Palestinian territories). Neither side has met those conditions yet. In July 2013, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators to restart Israel-Palestine the peace process. In March 2013, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he supports the establishment of a viable Palestinian state. However, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said there is "no way" he will recognize Israel as a Jewish state and accept a Palestinian capital in just a portion of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem. Both Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas made recent visits to the U.S. to talk with President Barak Obama about the peace process. Read about their visits: Obama to Netanyahu: 'window is closing' for Israeli-Palestinian peace deal Barack Obama tells Mahmoud Abbas Palestinians and Israelis must take 'risks' for peace |
Past Attempts at Peace
The Oslo Accords
Israel and PLO leaders met to see if they could compromise on the territory disputes between the Israeli Jews and the Arab Palestinians. They created the Declaration of Principles, which said that Israel would withdraw from the Gaza Strip and Jericho, and other areas of the West Bank within 5 years. Future negotiations would occur to set additional terms. The Camp David Summit
In July 2000, President Bill Clinton invited Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Barak and PLO leader Yasser Arafat to Camp David to finish the Oslo Accord peace process. However, the distance between the two parties, especially on the issues of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees, made it impossible to reach an agreement. |