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The Palestinians: Overview, Aid, and U.S. Policy Issues

The Palestinians are an Arab people whose origins are in
present-day Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. The
October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel-led by the Iran-backed
Sunni Islamist group Hamas (a U.S.-designated foreign
terrorist organization)-and subsequent conflict in Gaza
have raised new challenges for U.S. policy in the region.
Palestinian issues that had arguably faded as a priority since
the 2010s for the United States and many Arab states have
returned to the forefront. Post-conflict governance in Gaza
is one crucial question, along with potentially interrelated
developments regarding political outcomes in the West
Bank, the status of Jerusalem, risks of a broader regional
war with Iran and its allies, and Israel's efforts to improve
its security and relations with Arab states.
Successive U.S. Presidents and Congresses have helped
shape developments on Palestinian issues, including
through humanitarian, economic, and non-lethal security
assistance. Since the mid-1990s, U.S. officials have sought
to actively facilitate a negotiated Israeli-Palestinian peace.
Most U.S. Administrations since the early 2000s have
voiced support for an eventual independent Palestinian state
in the West Bank and Gaza, with a capital in East Jerusalem
(and then-President Trump's 2020 plan arguably allowed
for a variation on the idea).
The ongoing conflict has reportedly resulted in more than
1,500 Israeli and (according to the Hamas-controlled health
ministry in Gaza) 38,000 Palestinian deaths, with some 120
hostages reportedly held by Hamas or other militants in
Gaza. As Israel seeks to recover hostages and eliminate
Hamas's military and governing capabilities, life has been
upended for Gaza's citizens-with around 90% displaced,
and most facing threats from the fighting, overcrowding,
and acute shortages of food, water, and medical care. While
U.S. officials have provided material support for Israel's
operations against Hamas, they have pushed for a cease-fire
and hostage release, and urged Israel to minimize threats to
civilians in Gaza and increase humanitarian access.
The duration and intensity of Israeli military operations and
the issue of who manages Gaza's security and governance
remain open questions. U.S. officials support the idea of a
revamped Palestinian Authority (PA)-which currently
exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank-returning to
power in Gaza, despite public opposition from Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PA insistence that any
return be linked with progress toward a two-state solution.
Hamas forcibly seized Gaza from the PA in 2007.
Overview: Population, Politics, and Economy
About 3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, plus an
estimated 2.1 million in Gaza. Around 98% are Sunni
Muslim, with a small Christian minority. Another estimated
1.9 million Palestinians live in Israel as citizens. Of the
Palestinians living in the Middle East, about 5.9 million are
registered refugees (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)-funded mostly by voluntary
contributions from the United States and other countries-
is mandated by the U.N. General Assembly to provide
protection and services to these registered refugees.

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit.
Note: West Bank and Gaza Strip borders remain subject to Israeli-
Palestinian negotiation.
Palestinian domestic politics are dominated by two factions.
Fatah, a secular Arab nationalist faction, is the driving force
within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which
represents Palestinians internationally. Hamas has not
accepted PLO recognition of Israel and constitutes the main
opposition to Fatah. The United States and other Western
countries have generally sought to bolster the Fatah-led PA
vis-2-vis Hamas and support PA-Israel cooperation. The
economy in the West Bank faces challenges related to
unrest and violence, as well as considerable Israeli
movement, access, and land use restrictions.

Timeline of K
1993-1995
2000-2005
2004-2005
2005
2006

,y Events Since 1993
Israel-PLO mutual recognition, and their
establishment of the PA with 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, and leads to
tightened Israeli security in the West Bank.
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,

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