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1 1 (September 9, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govehvj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Servie inforrning the legisi itive debate since 1914 Updated September 9, 2021 The Palestinians: Overview, Aid, and U.S. Policy Issues The Palestinians and their ongoing disputes and interactions with Israel raise significant issues for U.S. policy (see U.S. Policy Issues and Aid below). After a serious rupture in U.S.-Palestinian relations during the Trump Administration, the Biden Administration has started reengaging with the Palestinian people and their leaders, and resuming some economic development and humanitarian aid-with hopes of preserving the viability of a negotiated two-state solution. In the aftermath of the May 2021 conflict involving Israel and Gaza, U.S. officials have announced additional aid (also see below) and other efforts to help with recovery and engage with the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA), but near-term prospects for diplomatic progress toward Israeli-Palestinian peace reportedly remain dim. Palestinian leaders lamented some Arab states' normalization of relations with Israel near the end of the Trump Administration because it could undermine past Arab efforts to link such improvements with addressing Palestinian negotiating demands. The Palestinians are an Arab people whose origins are in present-day Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Fatah, an Arab nationalist faction, is the driving force 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. Source: Economist Intelligence Unit. Note: West Bank and Gaza Strip borders remain subject to Israeli- Palestinian negotiation. 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, more than 5 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) is mandated by the U.N. General Assembly to provide protection and essential services to these registered Palestinian refugees, including health care, education, and housing assistance. International attention to the Palestinians' situation increased after Israel's military gained control over the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Direct U.S. engagement with Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza dates from the establishment of the PA in 1994. For the past several years, other regional political and security issues have taken some of the global attention from Palestinian issues. Timeline of Key Events Since 1 993 1993-1995 Israel and the PLO mutually recognize each 2000-2005 2004-2005 2005 2006 2007 other 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. 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. 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. 2017-2020 2021 U.S.-Palestinian tensions rise during the Trump Administration. Biden Administration resumes aid and takes additional steps to reengage Palestinians; May 2021 Israel-Gaza conflict and aftermath.

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