Representatives from around 70 nations are to meet in Paris on 15 January to try to chart a course toward restarting moribund Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The conflict in its modern form dates back to 1947, when the United Nations proposed two states on the territory – one Jewish and the other Arab. Israel came into being as a nation the following year.
In 1967, Israel seized the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan during the Six Day War with neighbouring countries. It later annexed east Jerusalem, where key Christian, Jewish and Muslim holy sites are located, and continues to occupy the West Bank.
The Oslo accords of the 1990s laid out what is commonly referred to as the peace process. Efforts at an agreement have been centred on a two-state solution based on pre-1967 borders, with Jerusalem as a shared capital. It would see Israel withdraw from territory it occupied, though likely with land swaps.
It is also meant to resolve longstanding issues such as the status of Jerusalem – one of the most difficult in the conflict – and the right of return for Palestinian refugees and their descendants. But more than two decades after the Oslo accords, the Israeli occupation remains and two deadly Palestinian intifadas have erupted, in addition to sporadic violence that continues today.
There have been growing warnings that the chances of a two-state solution are slipping away. The Paris conference’s aim is to put it back on track.
Both the Israelis and Palestinians say they are willing to talk, but haven’t done so face-to-face since 2014. The Palestinians say years of negotiations have not ended the occupation and have pursued an international approach. They want a stop to Israeli settlement building before further talks, among other demands.
Israel wants face-to-face talks and calls on the Palestinians to recognise the country as a Jewish state.
The Palestine Liberation Organisation has long recognised Israel, but it believes doing so as a Jewish state would preempt negotiations on refugees’ right of return. Both sides also face domestic challenges that make concessions harder.