The Israeli-Palestinian conflict for more than a century has been one of the most vexing and complicated issues in the Middle East. Palestinian Arabs and Jews have fought over traditional Palestine—the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea—for control, resources, religious legitimacy, governance, and civil and human rights—without any resolution.

The conflict has been shaped, and ultimately will be settled, by several factors including geography, power preponderance, resources, regional powers, and foreign powers, including the United States. The current bloody war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel is a microcosm of the wider conflict. The US remains a pivotal actor in effecting any resolution of this intractable conflict.