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The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is deeply rooted in a complex history of territorial disputes, colonial legacies, and religious identities. Beginning with the 1917 British Balfour Declaration supporting a Jewish homeland in Palestine, tensions grew as Zionist movements and Arab populations clashed. The UN’s 1947 partition plan was rejected by Arab nations, leading to Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948 and subsequent Arab-Israeli wars. The catastrophe for Palestinians, known as the Nakba, resulted in hundreds of thousands fleeing or being expelled from their homes, setting the stage for decades of strife. Gaza and the West Bank have been territories contested and occupied, with peace efforts like the Oslo Accords and Camp David summits ultimately failing to resolve core issues.