What is established
1917–1948
1917: Balfour Declaration supports a 'national home for the Jewish people'. 1920–48: British Mandate. 1939: the White Paper limits Jewish immigration. 1947: UN partition plan (Resolution 181), accepted by the Jewish leadership, rejected by Arab leaders.
1948–1993
1948: Israel declares independence; war with neighbouring states; some 700,000 Palestinians flee or are expelled (the Nakba), and in following years a similar number of Jews leave or are expelled from Arab countries. 1967: Six-Day War. 1973: Yom Kippur War. 1979: peace with Egypt. 1987: first intifada.
1993–today
1993–95: Oslo Accords. 1994: peace with Jordan. 2000–05: second intifada. 2005: Israel withdraws from Gaza; Hamas takes control in 2007. 2020: Abraham Accords. 7 October 2023: Hamas-led attack kills about 1,200 people in Israel and takes some 250 hostages; the war in Gaza that follows causes very large loss of life and destruction.
Where people differ
- Israelis and Palestinians tell this history with different emphases — independence and survival versus displacement and occupation. Good journalism names both experiences.
- Casualty figures for Gaza are disputed in detail; GOD News attributes numbers to their source.
Biblical reflection
Behind every date are people made in God's image. 'Blessed are the peacemakers' (Matthew 5:9) is not a slogan but a calling — for journalists too.
Scripture: Matthew 5:9; Psalm 122:6–9; Romans 12:18
Questions readers ask
When did the Israeli-Palestinian conflict begin?
Tensions grew under British rule after 1917; open war came in 1947–49. Many historians start the modern conflict there.
Sources
Related explainers
יהודה ושומרון / הגדה המערביתירושלים במקרא ובהיסטוריהנוצרים פלסטיניםכל ההסברים