The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians grew out of competing national movements claiming the same land—Palestine—starting in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, then exploded around the 1947 UN partition plan and the 1948 war that created Israel and displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

What Started the Conflict in Israel and Palestine?

Quick Scoop

The roots of the Israel–Palestine conflict go back long before the latest headlines or even the creation of the modern State of Israel.

It began as a clash of two national movements—Jewish Zionism and Palestinian Arab nationalism—over the same territory.

Late 1800s: Two National Dreams Collide

In the late 19th century, a political movement called Zionism emerged in Europe, aiming to establish a Jewish homeland in the historic “Land of Israel,” which was then part of the Ottoman Empire and commonly known as Palestine.

At that time, the region had a large Arab majority (mostly Muslim, with Christian and other minorities) and a smaller Jewish minority, many of whom also had deep local roots.

Key points:

  • Zionist immigration: Waves of Jewish immigrants began arriving, buying land and building new communities.
  • Rising Arab nationalism: Local Arabs were also developing their own national identity and saw Palestine as their homeland, not an empty or spare territory.
  • Early friction: As land purchases and new settlements increased, tensions grew over land, jobs, and political control.

In forum discussions, people often argue about whether the “real start” was the first Zionist settlements, the British promises, or the 1948 war—because each date highlights a different grievance.

World War I and British Rule: Promises in Conflict

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

During and after the war, Britain made overlapping promises that laid the groundwork for future conflict.

Important milestones:

  • Balfour Declaration (1917): Britain declared support for a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, while also saying the rights of existing non‑Jewish communities would be protected.
  • Arab expectations: In parallel, British correspondence with Arab leaders (McMahon–Hussein correspondence) had raised hopes for an independent Arab state in much of the region, including Palestine.
  • Rising violence: In the 1920s and 1930s, clashes, riots, and revolts broke out between Jews, Arabs, and the British authorities, often over immigration, land, and political power.

From a “what started it?” perspective, many historians point to this period: a colonial power managing conflicting promises, rising immigration, and deepening mistrust.

1930s–1947: Revolt, Refugees, and the Partition Plan

By the 1930s, the conflict hardened.

  • 1936–39 Arab Revolt: Palestinian Arabs launched a major uprising against British rule and Zionist immigration, demanding independence and an end to mass Jewish immigration.
  • Holocaust and refugees: The Nazi genocide of European Jews intensified international support for a Jewish state and increased pressure for Jewish immigration to Palestine, heightening local tensions.
  • UN Partition Plan (1947): As violence escalated, the UN proposed splitting the land into two states—one Jewish, one Arab—with Jerusalem under international control. Jewish leaders accepted the plan; Arab leaders and surrounding Arab states rejected it as unfair.

The UN partition vote triggered a civil war between Jewish and Arab communities in Mandatory Palestine.

Many analysts see the 1947–48 violence around the partition as the immediate start of the modern phase of the conflict.

1948: Birth of Israel and the Nakba

On 14 May 1948, Jewish leaders declared the State of Israel.

Neighboring Arab states (Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq) invaded, starting the first Arab–Israeli war.

Consequences that still define the conflict today:

  • Israeli statehood: Israel survived the war and ended up with more territory than it had been allotted under the UN plan.
  • Palestinian displacement (Nakba): Around 700,000–750,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes and became refugees—a foundational trauma known as the Nakba (“catastrophe”).
  • No Palestinian state: The proposed Arab Palestinian state was never created; Jordan controlled the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and Egypt controlled the Gaza Strip.

For Palestinians, the conflict “began” in its most painful form with this mass dispossession and the blocking of their own statehood.

For many Israelis, the founding moment is framed as a necessary act of survival and self‑determination after persecution and the Holocaust.

1967 and After: Occupation and New Flashpoints

Another key turning point came in the 1967 Six‑Day War, when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and other territories.

This brought millions of Palestinians under direct Israeli military occupation and created new layers of conflict over settlements, borders, and Jerusalem.

Post‑1967 dynamics:

  • Occupied territories: The West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem became central to demands for a Palestinian state.
  • Settlements: Israeli settlement building in occupied areas further deepened disputes over land and rights.
  • Intifadas: Palestinian uprisings (notably in the late 1980s and early 2000s) and Israeli crackdowns entrenched cycles of violence and mistrust.

Today’s violence and political deadlock sit on top of all these earlier layers.

How People Answer “What Started It?”

You’ll see very different answers in news pieces, explainer articles, and forum debates, because where you start the story changes its meaning.

Common starting points people choose:

  1. Late 19th‑century Zionist immigration – emphasizes settler colonialism and demographic change.
  1. British era and the Balfour Declaration – focuses on imperial promises and structural injustice.
  1. UN partition and 1948 war – highlights state creation vs. dispossession and the refugee crisis.
  1. 1967 occupation – centers on military rule, settlements, and ongoing denial of Palestinian statehood.

In online forums, people often argue over which of these is the “true” beginning, but historians generally see them as a connected chain rather than isolated events.

Brief Timeline Table (HTML Format)

Below is an HTML table capturing key turning points often cited as “where it started”:

[5][1][3]

[1][3][5] [9][3][5][1] [9][3][5][1] [7][3][5][9] [5][7][9][1] [3][7][1] [7][1][3] [8][4][3][7] [8][4][3][7]
Period Key Event Why It Matters
Late 1800s Rise of political Zionism, Jewish immigration to Ottoman Palestine Begins the modern clash of Jewish and Arab national movements over the same land.
1917–1930s Balfour Declaration, British mandate, early communal violence and Arab revolt Colonial rule plus conflicting promises fuel unrest and competing expectations.
1947–1949 UN partition plan, creation of Israel, first Arab–Israeli war, Palestinian Nakba Establishes Israel, displaces ~700,000+ Palestinians, leaves no Palestinian state.
1967 Six‑Day War; Israel occupies West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem Creates the modern occupation and settlement issues at the core of current disputes.
Late 20th c.–today Intifadas, stalled peace processes, Israel–Hamas wars, periodic escalations Reinforces cycles of violence and deep mistrust, keeps core issues unresolved.

Latest Context and Ongoing Debate

Recent escalations—such as the October 2023 Hamas attacks and the devastating Israeli military response in Gaza—are often presented as discrete “wars,” but they are part of this much longer struggle over land, security, refugees, and self‑determination.

Think of today’s headlines as the newest chapter in a conflict whose origins lie in overlapping national claims, colonial-era decisions, and unresolved questions about borders, refugees, and rights.

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