what is the history behind israel and palestine

June 28, 2026

The history behind Israel and Palestine is a long story about two peoples—Jews and Palestinians—developing competing national movements over the same land from the late 1800s onward.

1. Roots in the late 1800s

In the late 19th century, most of the region called Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire and was home mainly to Arabic‑speaking Muslim and Christian communities, along with a small but continuous Jewish minority.

At the same time:

European Zionism emerged, a Jewish nationalist movement seeking a homeland in the historic “Land of Israel,” much of which overlaps with Palestine.

Many local Arabs also began to develop a distinct Palestinian national identity, seeing themselves as the people of that land and opposing foreign control or mass immigration.

This set the stage for two national projects aimed at the same territory.

2. British rule and the Balfour Declaration

After World War I, the Ottoman Empire collapsed, and Britain took control over Palestine under a League of Nations mandate.

Key turning point:

In 1917, Britain issued the Balfour Declaration , supporting “a national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine while saying existing non‑Jewish communities’ rights should be protected.

Jewish immigration increased under British rule, especially from Europe, while most Arab Palestinians opposed both British policies and growing Zionist settlement.

Tensions turned into frequent clashes and uprisings, including a major Palestinian revolt against British rule and Jewish immigration in the late 1930s.

3. Holocaust, partition, and the 1948 war

The Holocaust and persecution of Jews in Europe gave Zionism new urgency and drew wider international sympathy for a Jewish state.

In 1947:

The UN proposed partitioning the land into two states—one Jewish, one Arab—with Jerusalem under international control.

Zionist leaders accepted the idea in principle; most Palestinian and Arab leaders rejected it as unfair and a violation of the Arab majority’s rights.

In 1948:

Jewish leaders declared the State of Israel on part of the land.

Neighboring Arab states invaded, and the 1948 Arab–Israeli War followed.

When the fighting ended in 1949:

Israel controlled more territory than the UN had allocated to it.

Around 750,000 Palestinians were displaced or fled from their homes, an event Palestinians call the Nakba (“catastrophe”).

Egypt controlled Gaza; Jordan controlled the West Bank and East Jerusalem; there was still no Palestinian state.

4. 1967 war and the occupation

In 1967, during the Six‑Day War , Israel fought Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.

Israel captured:

The West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan
The Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt
The Golan Heights from Syria

This brought over a million Palestinians under direct Israeli military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza.

Since then, Israeli settlement building in these occupied territories and the status of Jerusalem have been central sources of tension.

5. Rise of Palestinian movements and peace efforts

After 1967, Palestinian nationalism reorganized mainly around the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) , which sought self‑determination and, originally, the replacement of Israel; over time it came to accept a two‑state solution.

Major developments:

Intifadas : Two large Palestinian uprisings in the late 1980s and early 2000s challenged Israeli rule and drew global attention to occupation and daily life under it.

Oslo Accords (1990s) : Israel and the PLO signed agreements meant to lead to a Palestinian state, creating the Palestinian Authority and limited self‑rule in parts of the West Bank and Gaza.

The process stalled, and violence continued, including suicide bombings, military operations, and cycles of rocket fire and airstrikes.

Different actors blame the breakdown of peace efforts on different sides—settlement growth, internal Palestinian divisions, terrorism, political shifts, and mistrust.

6. Gaza, Hamas, and current flashpoints

In the 2000s:

Israel withdrew its settlers and troops from inside Gaza but kept tight control of its borders, airspace, and sea access in coordination with Egypt.

The Islamist movement Hamas gained power in Gaza after elections and internal conflict with Fatah, leading to a political split between Gaza (Hamas) and the West Bank (Palestinian Authority).

Since then, there have been repeated wars and escalations between Israel and Hamas, causing heavy civilian casualties and destruction, especially in Gaza.

The broader conflict now centers on occupation, security, borders, Jerusalem, refugees, and recognition of both national narratives.

7. Why it is so hard to resolve

Several core issues keep the conflict unresolved:

Land and borders : Where to draw the line between Israel and a future Palestinian state, if there is one.
Jerusalem : Sacred city claimed by both as a capital.
Refugees : What to do about millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants and their claimed right of return.
Security : Israeli fears of attacks; Palestinian fears of ongoing military control and displacement.
Recognition and narrative : Each side’s story about history, justice, and suffering.

Different histories are taught in Israeli and Palestinian schools, and each side emphasizes its own trauma—Jewish persecution culminating in the Holocaust and repeated wars, and Palestinian dispossession, occupation, and repeated displacement.

8. Mini timeline (quick scoop style)

Here’s a compact timeline of major milestones:

Period	Key events
Late 1800s	Rise of Zionism and emerging Palestinian identity under Ottoman rule.
1917–1947	Balfour Declaration; British Mandate; rising Jewish immigration; Arab revolts and communal violence.
1947–1949	UN partition plan; creation of Israel; 1948 war; Nakba; Gaza under Egypt, West Bank under Jordan.
1967	Six-Day War; Israel occupies West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza, Golan Heights, Sinai.
1970s–1980s	Consolidation of PLO; settlement growth; 1973 war; first Intifada begins in 1987.
1990s	Oslo Accords; creation of Palestinian Authority; limited self-rule in parts of West Bank and Gaza.
2000s	Second Intifada; Israeli withdrawal from Gaza; Hamas takes control of Gaza; repeated Gaza wars.
2010s–2020s	Stalled peace talks; continued settlement expansion; recurrent escalations in Gaza and West Bank.

9. How people talk about it today

Modern discussion—on news, forums, and social media—often reflects sharply different viewpoints:

Some emphasize Israel’s need for security after a history of persecution and hostile neighbors.
Others focus on Palestinian rights , occupation, and the humanitarian situation, especially in Gaza and refugee camps.
Many activists call for a two‑state solution , while some on each side argue for one state with equal rights, or reject compromise altogether.

Because so much of the conflict is about history and identity, even basic terms like “liberation,” “occupation,” “terrorism,” or “resistance” are deeply contested.

TL;DR

The conflict’s history is a story of two national movements—Jewish and Palestinian—rising in the same land, shaped by empire collapse, the Holocaust, partition, wars, occupation, and failed peace processes, and it remains unresolved because core questions of land, security, refugees, and recognition have never been agreed upon.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.