Taylor Scott
The conflict between Israel and Palestine is one of the longest-running in the world, with the two sides engaging in armed conflict, civil unrest, and terrorism. Israel has been accused of intensifying a campaign to drive out West Bank Palestinians, with violence by ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers in the West Bank rising sharply. Since 2023, Israel has conducted several raids and airstrikes in the West Bank, targeting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad groups. The stated aim of these operations is to prevent attacks on Israeli targets and degrade West Bank militant forces. However, the Palestinian Authority and human rights groups accuse Israeli security forces of failing in their duty to protect Palestinians and turning a blind eye to settler attacks. The conflict has resulted in a volatile security situation, with a high risk of military reprisals and terrorist attacks.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of most recent attacks | 12 October 2023 |
| Result of the attacks | Reported detention of a Hamas fighter and injuries to other individuals |
| Reason for attacks | To degrade West Bank militant forces and prevent attacks on Israeli targets |
| Number of attacks between January 2024 and June 2025 | 2,208 |
| Number of settler attacks in January 2024 | 120 |
| Number of people killed in an airstrike on the Tulkarm refugee camp | 20 |
| Number of people killed in an attack on Al-Ansar Mosque | 2 |
| Number of people killed in the October 2023 attacks by Hamas | 1,300 |
| Number of Bedouin family homes destroyed in the Negev desert in May 2024 | 50 |
| Number of families whose homes were demolished in East Jerusalem in 2023 | 229 |
| Number of Palestinian refugees created after the 1948 war | 750,000 |
| Number of years of Israeli occupation of the West Bank | 56 (as of 2025 - 1967 + 1 = 56) |
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What You'll Learn
- Israel's military operation aims to degrade West Bank militant forces and prevent attacks on Israeli targets
- Israel's expansion of settlements in the West Bank
- The role of the Palestinian Authority in suppressing militants
- The 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and subsequent retaliation
- The history of the conflict between Israel and Palestine
Israel's military operation aims to degrade West Bank militant forces and prevent attacks on Israeli targets
Israel's military operation in the West Bank has been justified as a means to degrade West Bank militant forces and prevent attacks on Israeli targets. The conflict between Israel and Palestine is one of the longest-running in the world. Israel's occupation of the West Bank, which began in 1967, has been deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICJ has called for the withdrawal of Israeli settlers and recognised Israel's breach of international agreements on racism and apartheid.
Israel has conducted multiple raids and airstrikes in the West Bank, targeting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad groups. These groups have been labelled as Iranian-backed militants, and Israel has accused Iran of trying to establish an "eastern terrorist front" in the West Bank. The Israeli military has also battled Palestinian militants in cities across the West Bank, including Tulkarm and Jenin, resulting in the deaths of multiple Palestinian leaders and civilians.
In addition to military operations, Israel has seized Palestinian land in the West Bank, demolished homes, and expanded settlements. This has led to increased tension and violence, with Israeli settlers accused of attacking Palestinians and their property. There has been a sharp rise in settler attacks since the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. The Palestinian Authority has been criticised for failing to protect Palestinians and even accused of joining in the attacks.
The Israeli military has stated that its operations are aimed at neutralising explosive devices and ensuring the safety of individuals in the area. However, the Palestinian prime minister has condemned the operations as "aggressive measures". The conflict has resulted in the deaths of civilians on both sides, with a reported death toll of at least ten Palestinians and three Israelis in recent clashes.
The situation in the West Bank is complex and characterised by ongoing violence and tension between Israeli settlers and Palestinians. Israel's military operations aim to degrade militant forces and prevent attacks, but they have also resulted in civilian casualties and the displacement of Palestinians. The international community continues to monitor the situation and call for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
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Israel's expansion of settlements in the West Bank
In 2022, the Israeli government announced plans to expand settlements in the West Bank, claiming that the creation of a Palestinian state would pose a threat to Israeli security. This has led to a sharp escalation in attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian villages, with the UN recording 2,208 attacks resulting in casualties or property damage between January 2024 and June 2025. The UN has also reported a dramatic increase in the intensity and severity of Israeli settler and state violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, with hundreds of Palestinians displaced and multiple fatalities.
The expansion of settlements often involves the confiscation of Palestinian land and resources, leading to the displacement of Palestinian communities and creating tension and conflict. Settlements are frequently flashpoints for violence against Palestinians and hinder economic development and freedom of movement for Palestinians. As of 2020, there were an estimated 451,700 Jews living in West Bank settlements, with an additional 20,000 to 30,000 living in illegal West Bank outposts. The Israeli government has designated certain strategic regions of the West Bank for Jewish settlement, particularly areas with a large Palestinian population, in order to secure Israeli control over the territory and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The international community has largely condemned Israel's expansion of settlements in the West Bank. The UN has repeatedly upheld the view that these settlements violate the Fourth Geneva Convention, classifying them as illegal. The Biden administration in the United States also reversed the previous policy, declaring that the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank is "inconsistent with international law". Despite this, Israel continues to defend its actions, rejecting the ICJ's view and claiming that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to the West Bank.
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The role of the Palestinian Authority in suppressing militants
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has been accused of suppressing militants in the West Bank. The PA is the autonomous administration that governs the region's Palestinian enclaves. It is largely seen by Palestinians as ineffective and subjugated to the Israeli occupation. The PA has been accused of having a shared interest with Israel in suppressing militants, even before the outbreak of the war.
There is evidence of security coordination between Israel and the PA. For example, the PA security forces have remained in their barracks during IDF raids and have actively interfered with militants' defenses. There is also a "revolving door" policy, in which militants and activists arrested by the PA security forces are released to be subsequently arrested by the Israeli authorities, and vice versa. The PA has also sought to associate militants with criminality, making unfounded accusations that many militants are from criminal backgrounds.
The PA administration over the Gaza Strip effectively ended in 2007 when Hamas took control and set up a separate government. In the same year, Abbas signed a decree banning all militias. However, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, became effectively independent.
In December 2024, the largest and most violent fighting in the conflict between the PA and West Bank militias erupted with a large-scale PA operation in Jenin. The Biden administration sees a rehabilitated PA as the best option to govern and secure postwar Gaza. The US has invested heavily in training the PA security forces and sees them as a feasible replacement for Hamas. However, Israel rejects this idea, seeing the PA as too weak to contain Hamas.
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The 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and subsequent retaliation
On 7 October 2023, Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack on Israel, firing rockets into Israeli towns and cities and killing more than 1,300 people, injuring 3,300, and taking hundreds of hostages. This prompted the Israeli cabinet to formally declare war on Hamas the following day and instruct the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to carry out a "complete siege" of Gaza. This marked the most significant escalation of the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict in several decades.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict primarily centres around territorial disputes, with both sides claiming rights to the land between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea. The conflict has been ongoing for over a century, with the latest escalation sparked by the Hamas attack in October 2023.
In response to the Hamas attack, Israel launched aerial and ground operations within the Gaza Strip. This resulted in a devastating impact on Palestinians in Gaza, with high death tolls, including children, journalists, and humanitarian workers. Israel's offensive continued into 2025, with a total blockade of humanitarian aid causing famine-like conditions and a deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The consequences of the conflict have been far-reaching, with increased pressure on West Bank Palestinians and a sharp rise in violence by Jewish settlers in the region. The expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories has accelerated, threatening the prospects of an independent Palestinian state. The conflict has also resulted in human rights violations, with Palestinian citizens of Israel facing arrest, discrimination, and violence for expressing their opposition to Israeli actions in Gaza.
The international community has responded to the conflict, with the UN's humanitarian office, OCHA, documenting an increase in settler attacks in the West Bank and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declaring the occupation of Palestinian territory illegal. Efforts to mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have been made, with a brief cessation of hostilities occurring between January and March 2025. However, Israel renewed its offensive in March, leading to a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
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The history of the conflict between Israel and Palestine
The conflict between Israel and Palestine is one of the longest-running and most violent disputes in the world, with origins dating back to the end of the nineteenth century. The conflict primarily revolves around competing claims over territory, with both sides claiming Jerusalem as their capital.
In 1917, Britain took control of the area known as Palestine during World War One, following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire. At the time, Palestine was inhabited by an Arab majority and a Jewish minority, alongside other ethnic groups. Tensions between the Jewish and Arab populations escalated when the UK agreed in principle to the establishment of a "national home" for Jewish people in Palestine through the Balfour Declaration. In 1947, amidst growing violence between Jews and Arabs, the United Nations (UN) voted to split Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem designated as an international city. No Arab nations supported this plan, arguing that it gave the Jews more land despite their smaller population.
The following year, Jewish leaders in Palestine declared independence, establishing the state of Israel just before the end of British rule. The day after this declaration, Israel was attacked by the armies of five Arab nations, resulting in the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. By the time an armistice was reached in 1949, Israel controlled most of the territory, including West Jerusalem. About 750,000 Palestinians were displaced, becoming refugees in neighbouring countries. This event is known in Arabic as the Nakba, or Catastrophe.
In 1967, Israel captured East Jerusalem and the West Bank from Jordan during the Six-Day War. This marked the beginning of Israel's occupation of these territories, which continues to the present day. Israel's occupation has been characterised by the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, with Israel citing security concerns as the primary justification. However, this has led to increasing tensions and violence, with frequent attacks by settlers against Palestinian villages.
The conflict has been punctuated by periodic escalations, including the Second Intifada in the early 2000s and several major conflicts between Israel and Hamas, the most recent of which was triggered by a Hamas assault in October 2023. The ongoing violence and displacement have had a profound impact on the region, with the number of Palestinian refugees continuing to grow.
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Frequently asked questions
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and the territory is home to an estimated three million Palestinians. Israel has been accused of intensifying a campaign to drive out West Bank Palestinians, with violence by ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers rising sharply since October 2023. The Israeli government has justified its actions as legitimate security measures to protect its citizens and prevent attacks on Israeli targets.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the top court of the UN, has declared Israel's presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the West Bank, illegal. The ICJ stated that Israel should withdraw all settlers and that it was in breach of international agreements on racism and apartheid. The UN's humanitarian office, Ocha, estimates an average of four settler attacks per day, and there have been reports of Israeli security forces joining in on these attacks.
The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people is one of the longest-running in the world. In 1947, the United Nations adopted Resolution 181, known as the Partition Plan, which sought to divide the British Mandate of Palestine into separate Arab and Jewish states. The State of Israel was created in 1948, sparking the first Arab-Israeli War, which resulted in the displacement of 750,000 Palestinians and the division of the territory into three parts: Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War in 1967.
The security situation in the West Bank is volatile and unpredictable, with a high risk of military conflict and terrorist attacks. There have been reports of Israeli incursions and airstrikes in the West Bank, resulting in detentions, injuries, and deaths. Travel advisories warn of armed conflict, civil unrest, and the possibility of sudden deterioration in the security situation.
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