The primary causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict involve a dispute over the land which the Jews call The Land of Israel and the Palestinians call Palestine. Both groups believe that they have a God-given right to the land; with both sides claiming rights based on the pact God made with Abraham in the Bible’s Old Testament. In fact, both opponents were once part of the same group of people who inhabited what was considered the Promised Land.

Some believe the original Israeli-Palestinian conflict begun because the Jews were exiled from the area in ancient times when it was conquered by the Romans. Later, it was taken over again by the Arabs, who still exist there today. The Jews created a movement in which they would relocate to the land they felt was meant for them by God based on the accounts in the Bible. This occurred with little regard to the Palestinian population who was already residing there. Disputes over who had rights to the land followed.

Great Britain had control over the Palestinian land and granted the Jews permission to emigrate, but this was revoked as riots from the Arab people became increasingly violent and hostile. When the Holocaust occurred and more than 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis in Germany, Poland, and other areas in Europe, Great Britain was petitioned to allow the Jewish people to begin migrating into Palestine once again. This period was when the Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalated into the nearly constant fighting of today.

The Jewish people once again began taking over parts of the Palestinian territory and established what is now Israel. This led to war breaking out in the years 1956, 1967, 1973, and 1982. Since that time, there have been various terrorist attacks and battles over areas of land within the region, namely the Gaza Strip. Since Israel became a nation in 1948, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been relocated as refugees in various locations in the Middle East.

Palestinians have used violent force during the course of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an attempt to overtake the Jews and reclaim Israel and allow the refugees to return to their former land. Although terrorist groups are responsible for many of the attacks against Israel, most of the Arabs live in poverty and poor living conditions. There have been numerous peace treaties which attempted take effect, but none have withstood the test of time in maintaining peace in the region. This is due, in part, to repeated terrorist attacks and continued pushes for more land by both sides.