have faced, in various ways, since the ethnic cleansing of 1948. It means the implementation of the
. The Israeli-
is one of the world?s longest-running and most controversial conflicts. At its
nationalist project ? that lay claim to the same territory. But it is so, so much more complicated than that, with seemingly every fact and historical detail small and large
litigated by the two sides and their defenders.
Despite a long-term
peace process, Israelis and
Palestinians have failed to reach a final
peace agreement. Progress was made towards a two-state solution with the 1993?1995 Oslo Accords, but today the
Palestinians remain subject to Israeli military occupation in the Gaza Strip and in 165 "islands" across the West
Bank. Key issues that have stalled further progress are security, borders, water rights, control of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements,
Palestinian freedom of movement, and the
Palestinian right of return. The violence of the
conflict, in a region rich in sites of historic, cultural, and
religious interest worldwide, has been the subject of numerous international conferences dealing with historic rights, security issues, and
human rights, and has been a factor hampering tourism in and general access to areas that are hotly contested. Many attempts have been made to broker a two-state solution, involving the creation of an independent
Palestinian state alongside the State of
Israel (after
Israel's establishment in 1948). In 2007, the majority of both Israelis and
Palestinians, according to a number of polls, preferred the two-state solution over any other solution as a means of resolving the
conflict.
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