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Following World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the region came under the control of United Kingdom through the League of Nations. In 1947, the United Nations approved the partition of the British Mandate of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The Arab League rejected the plan, but on May 14, 1948, after numerous attempts to partition the land[2] and hostilities,[3] Israel declared its independence. Local Arab nations and Israel fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, in which Israel won control over borders which remained in place until their success in the Six Day War led to the occupation of the lands of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
For decades after 1948, Arab governments had refused to recognize Israel and in 1964 the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded with the central tenet that the state be eliminated.[4] However, in 1988, Yasser Arafat stated that he recognized Israel's right to exist, thus providing the first step needed to enable negotiations between Israel and the PLO.
An attempt to broker a 'two state solution' was seen in the Oslo peace process, where Israel and the PLO negotiated, unsuccessfully, to come to a mutual agreement.
During Oslo, which began in 1993, the Palestine Liberation Organization was permitted autonomy to run Palestinian affairs in the Gaza Strip and West Bank in the form of the Palestinian National Authority with the understanding that it would uphold recognition of and mutual co-existence with Israel. However there was continual contention over whether actual events and conditions proved that there was greater acceptance of Israel's existence by Palestinian leaders.
[5] Most Palestinians accept the West Bank and Gaza Strip as at least a part of the territory of their future state.[6] Most Israelis also accept this solution.[6] Vocal minorities on both sides advocate other solutions, most of which contradict the goal of 'two states for two peoples.' In both communities, some individuals and groups advocate total removal or transfer of the other community. A small minority advocates a one state solution, where all of Israel, the Gaza Strip, and West Bank would become a bi-national state, providing equal citizenship to all of its current residents.
