Israeli–Palestinian conflict

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Israel and the Occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip are at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a part of the greater Arab-Israeli conflict, is an ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinians.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is by no means a simple two-sided conflict with all Israelis (or even all Israeli Jews) sharing one point of view and all Palestinians another. In both communities, there are individuals and groups who advocate total territorial removal of the other community, those who advocate a two-state solution, and those who advocate a binational solution of a single secular state encompassing present-day Israel and the Gaza strip and the West Bank.

Since the Oslo Accord, the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) have been officially committed to an eventual two-state solution. The main unresolved issues between these two bodies are:

The status and future of the occupied territories of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem (Source: United Nations Security Council Resolution 497).
Israeli security from Palestinian militant attacks.
Palestinian security from Israeli military attacks.
The nature of a future Palestinian state.
The fate of the Palestinian refugees.
The settlement policies of Israel, and the ultimate fate of settlements.

The refugee issue arose as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The issue of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem arose as a result of the Six-Day War in 1967.

People who sympathize with Palestinians tend to view the conflict as an illegitimate military occupation of Palestine, supported with military and diplomatic assistance from the U.S. Many tend to view the armed Palestinian resistance within the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a right granted by the Geneva conventions and the United Nations Charter, and some extend this view to attacks within Israel proper.

PLO	Fatah	Hamas	PIJ
	File:Fateh-logo.jpg	File:HamasLogo.jpg
The emblems of all major Palestinian organizations include map of the land they claim as Palestine (roughly, present-day Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip)

Those sympathetic to Israel tend to view the conflict as a campaign of terrorism perpetrated by Palestinian groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah and others, and supported by other states in the region and the majority of the Palestinian people. Many tend to believe that the occupation is necessary for the security of Israel. This sharp contrast of views on the nature of the conflict has been a key obstacle to resolution.

One current peace proposal is the Road map for peace presented by the Quartet of the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States on September 17, 2002. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has also proposed a controversial disengagement plan. According to plans submitted to the United States, Israel has stated that it will remove its entire "permanent ... civilian and military presence" in the Gaza Strip, but will "supervise and guard the external envelope on land, will maintain exclusive control in the air space of Gaza, and will continue to conduct military activities in the sea space of the Gaza Strip." The Israeli government argues that "as a result, there will be no basis for the claim that the Gaza Strip is occupied territory", while others argue that, should the disengagement happen, the only effect would be that Israel "would be permitted to complete the wall and to maintain the situation in the West Bank as is" .

History

See history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for an account of events of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict beginning in the 1880s and continuing to present day.