Zionists claim Palestine due to deep historical, religious, and cultural ties, viewing it as the ancestral Jewish homeland and a necessary refuge after centuries of persecution, formalized by the 1917 Balfour Declaration promising a Jewish national home there. The Zionist movement sought self-determination in Palestine, building on ancient connections, while facing opposition from the Arab majority already living there who had their own claims to the land, leading to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The conflict has its origins in the rise of Zionism in the late 19th century in Europe, a movement which aimed to establish a Jewish state through the colonization of Palestine, synchronously with the first arrival of Jewish settlers to Ottoman Palestine in 1882.
Zionism, Jewish nationalist movement with the goal of the creation and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine, the ancient homeland of the Jews (Hebrew: Eretz Yisraʾel, “the Land of Israel”).
Israel's objective is to end the war immediately by bringing back the hostages and dismantling Hamas. The IDF is continuing Phase B of Operation "Gideon's Chariots", aimed at defeating Hamas. To date (September 14, 2025):
The World Zionist Organization, established by Theodor Herzl in 1897, declared that the aim of Zionism was to establish “a national home for the Jewish people secured by public law.” Zionism drew on Jewish religious attachment to Jerusalem and the Land of Israel (Eretz Israel).
Jewish support for Palestinian rights or an independent Palestinian state has often come from Jewish anti-Zionists and Jewish leftists, many of whom support a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Evangelical Zionists variously claim that Israel has title to the land by divine right, or by a theological, historical and moral grounding of attachment to the land unique to Jews (Parkes, James).
What is the real problem between Palestine and Israel?
What is the dispute over Jerusalem? Israel and the Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital. Israel, which already controlled West Jerusalem, occupied East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and later declared the entire city its permanent capital. It says Jerusalem cannot be divided.
Palestinians primarily want an end to the Israeli occupation and the establishment of their own independent state in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, with East Jerusalem as its capital, but views vary, with some favoring a one-state solution for equal rights or the return of all historic Palestine, all while seeking self-determination, justice, and an end to the blockade and settlements. The two-state solution (an independent Palestine alongside Israel) is a common goal, though support fluctuates, with many desiring full liberation and an end to the occupation as the core objective.
Israel is God's chosen people. Not only that, but God promised to Israel the presently disputed land from the time of Abraham onward. God said, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, 'I will give it to your offspring'” (Deuteronomy 34:4).
Taking stock. By more than 1,000 years, “Israel” predates “Palestine.” The land then became home primarily to an Arab population, again for more than a millennium. Both Jews and Arabs thus have a legitimate claim to the land. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has seen myriad wrongs and brutalities on both sides.
Israelis view the peace process as hindered and near impossible due to terrorism on the part of Palestinians and do not trust Palestinian leadership to maintain control. According to Slater, during the time when Yitzhak Rabin was in office, the Palestinian Authority largely fulfilled its commitment to combat terrorism.
Zionist representatives saw advantage in encouraging such views. James Renton concurs, writing that the British foreign policy elite, including Prime Minister David Lloyd George and Foreign Secretary A.J. Balfour, believed that Jews possessed real and significant power that could be of use to them in the war.
It was founded on the belief that Judaism was not only a religion but a nationality, and that Jewish people deserved a state like British or French people did. Due to historical and religious ties to the region, Palestine became the desired location for this future Jewish state.
The UK maintains a complex position, officially supporting Israel's security and right to self-defence while also advocating for a two-state solution, which led to its formal recognition of the State of Palestine in September 2025 alongside other nations like Canada and France to promote lasting peace. This dual approach involves diplomatic support and security cooperation with Israel, alongside condemnation of actions violating international law, providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians, and supporting efforts to establish a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel.
Initially on the defensive, the Zionist forces switched to the offensive in April 1948. In anticipation of an invasion by Arab armies, they enacted Plan Dalet, an operation aimed at securing territory for the establishment of a Jewish state.
What actually started the Israel-Palestine conflict?
Leaders of the Jewish community in Palestine declared the State of Israel's independence on May 14, 1948. A day later, Israel was attacked by five Arab states, sparking the first Arab-Israeli War.
Acquisition of Israeli citizenship in East Jerusalem has been scarce, as only 5% of Palestinians in East Jerusalem were Israeli citizens in 2022, largely due to Palestinian society's disapproval of naturalization as complicity with the occupation.
On November 29, 1947 the United Nations adopted Resolution 181 (also known as the Partition Resolution) that would divide Great Britain's former Palestinian mandate into Jewish and Arab states in May 1948 when the British mandate was scheduled to end.
These protests focused on a variety of issues related to the conflict, including demands for a ceasefire, an end to the Israeli blockade and occupation, return of Israeli hostages, protesting war crimes, ending US support for Israel and providing humanitarian aid to Gaza.
On October 3, in response to the proposal, Hamas agreed to release any remaining hostages in Gaza and to "hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body of independent technocrats", though it did not agree to disarm or to forgo influence in Gaza.
Over time, the belief that Jews have a moral and historic right and need for self-determination in Palestine became the dominant Zionist view. The Zionist claim to Palestine was based on the notion that Jews had a hereditary right to the land that outweighed the equivalent nationalist claims of the local Arabs.
In the 1930s, most of the land was bought from landowners. Of the land that the Jews bought, 52.6% were bought from non-Palestinian landowners, 24.6% from Palestinian landowners, 13.4% from government, churches, and foreign companies, and only 9.4% from fellaheen (farmers).
