Guide Note

Organizations seeking Palestinian independence have proposed a Palestinian State, a country that would be located in the Gaza Strip and the autonomously controlled areas of the West Bank, areas that are currently controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

Fast Facts

1. May 14, 1948: Israeli Independence
2. 1964: PLO formed
3. November 15, 1988: Declaration of "State of Palestine" approved by PLO
4. 1990s: Ongoing peace negotiations

The territory that could become a Palestinian state have been an area of dispute for almost one hundred years. Israel was created as a homeland for Jews by a United Nations resolution in 1947, out of the territory of Palestine, which was claimed by Britain. According to some sources, the area had already been promised by Britain to Arabs as their homeland. Arabs rejected the UN resolution, and Arabs and Israelis went to war in 1948. Conflict between Palestinians, as well as other Arab countries, and Israel has continued intermittently since. At issue are Israeli settlements in the West Bank; control of the city of Jerusalem, which is sacred to both factions; security for Israelis and Palestinians; control of drinking water; and the fate of Palestinian refugees.