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1 1 (April 25, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govzlt0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informi ig the legislative debate since 1914 S Updated April 25, 2019 The Palestinians: Overview and Key Issues for U.S. Policy The Palestinians and their ongoing disputes and interactions with Israel raise significant issues for U.S. policy. U.S.- Palestinian tensions have risen in connection with Trump Administration actions on Israeli-Palestinian matters such as Jerusalem and aid (see Key U.S. Policy Issues below). The Palestinians are an Arab people whose origins are in present-day Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip (Gaza). Fatah, a traditionally secular Arab nationalist faction, is the predominant faction within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which represents Palestinians internationally. The Sunni Islamist group Hamas (a U.S.-designated terrorist organization) has not accepted PLO recognition of Israel and constitutes the main opposition to Fatah. Of the approximately 12.4 million Palestinians worldwide, about 4.8 million (98% Sunni Muslim, 1% Christian) live in the West Bank and Gaza. About 1.5 million additional Palestinians are citizens of Israel, and 6.1 million more live elsewhere. Of the total Palestinian population, around 5.4 million (roughly 44%) are refugees (registered in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria) whose claims to land in present-day Israel constitute a major issue of Israeli- Palestinian dispute. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) provides assistance (such as health care, education, and housing) to Palestinian refugees. Jordan Source: Economist Intelligence Unit. Note: West Bank and Gaza Strip borders remain subj Palestinian negotiation. International attention to the Palestinians' situa increased after Israel's military gained control West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Arab-Israeli' U.S. engagement with Palestinians in the West Gaza dates from the establishment of the Pales ect to Israeli- tion Authority (PA) in 1994. In the past decade, other regional political and security issues have taken some of the global attention from Palestinian issues. Timeline of Key Events Since 1993 1993-1995 Israel and the PLO mutually recognize one another and establish the PA, which has limited self-rule (subject to overall Israeli control) in the Gaza Strip and specified areas of the West Bank. 2000-2005 2004-2005 2005 2006 2007 The Clinton Administration is unable to broker an Israel-PLO peace agreement; second Palestinian intifada affects prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace, leads to tightened Israeli security in the West Bank, and complicates the U.S. third-party role. PLO Chairman/PA President Yasser Arafat dies; Mahmoud Abbas succeeds him. Israel unilaterally disengages from Gaza, but remains in control of airspace and land/maritime access points; Israeli settlements continue to expand in the West Bank (including East jerusalem). Hamas wins majority in Palestinian Legislative Council and leads new PA cabinet; Israel, United States, and European Union confine relations to PA President Abbas. West Bank-Gaza split: Hamas seizes control of Gaza Strip; Abbas reorganizes PA cabinet to lead West Bank; this remains the status quo to date. 2007-present Various rounds of U.S.-brokered Israeli- Palestinian peace negotiations (the last in 2013-2014) end unsuccessfully; PLO/PA increases efforts to gain membership in or support from international organizations. 2017-present Trump Administration recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and U.S.-Palestinian tensions increase. PLO/PA, West Bank, and Possible Succession The PA held occasional elections for president and a legislative council until the Hamas victory in the 2006 legislative elections. Since then, it has ruled by presidential decree. Given the West Bank-Gaza split in 2007, it is unclear if and when presidential and legislative elections will take place again. over the The United States and some other countries sought to Var. Direct bolster the Abbas-led PA in the West Bank vis-t-vis Bank and Hamas, including through the provision of economic and rinian nonlethal security assistance. However, U.S. aid shrank considerably in 2018 and ended completely in early 2019. ittps://crsreports.congress .gov

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