Israel and the Palestinians: History of the conflict explained

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The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people is one of the longest-running and most violent disputes in the world. Its origins go back more than a century. There have been a series of wars between Israel and Arab nations. Uprisings - called intifadas - against Israeli occupation, and reprisals and crackdowns by Israel have also taken place. The consequences of the historic dispute over issues including land, borders and rights are still being felt, and include the latest war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

What was Israel before 1948 and how was it created?

Britain took control of the area known as Palestine in World War One, following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire, which had ruled that part of the Middle East. An Arab majority and a Jewish minority lived there, as well as other ethnic groups. Tensions between the Jewish and Arab populations deepened when the UK agreed in principle to the establishment of a "national home" in Palestine for Jewish people - a pledge known as the Balfour Declaration. Jews had historical links to the land, but Palestinian Arabs also had a claim dating back centuries and opposed the move. The British said the rights of Palestinian Arabs already living there had to be protected.

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Between the 1920s and 1940s the number of Jews arriving grew, with many fleeing persecution in Europe. The murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust gave added urgency to demands for a safe haven. The Jewish population reached 630,000, just over 30% of the population, by 1947. In 1947, against a backdrop of growing violence between Jews and Arabs - and against British rule - the United Nations (UN) voted for Palestine to be split into separate Jewish and Arab states.