Arab – Israeli conflict The Arab – Israeli conflict ( " Al - Sira ' a Al ' Arabi A ' Israili " ; " Ha ' Sikhsukh Ha ' Yisraeli - Aravi " ) refers to the political tension and military conflicts between the Arab League and Israel and between Arabs and Israelis . The roots of the modern Arab – Israeli conflict lie in the rise of Zionism and Arab nationalism towards the end of the 19th century . Territory regarded by the Jewish people as their historical homeland is also regarded by the Pan - Arab movement as historically and presently belonging to the Palestinian Arabs , and in the Pan - Islamic context , as Muslim lands . The conflict between Palestinian Jews and Arabs emerged in the early 20th century during the 1920 Nebi Musa riots , the Jaffa riots , 1929 Palestine riots and the Arab revolt exploding into a full - scale civil war in 1947 and expanding to all Arab League countries with the creation of the modern State of Israel in May 1948 . The conflict , which started as a political and nationalist conflict over competing territorial ambitions following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire , has shifted over the years from the large scale regional Arab – Israeli conflict to a more local Israeli – Palestinian conflict , as large - scale hostilities largely ended with the cease fire , following the 1973 Yom Kippur War . Consequently , peace agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt in 1979 , and Israel and Jordan in 1994 . The Oslo Accords led to the creation of the Palestinian National Authority in 1993 , though a final peace agreement has yet to be reached . A cease - fire currently stands between Israel and Syria , as well as more recently with Lebanon ( since 2006 ) . The conflict between Israel and Hamas - ruled Gaza , which resulted in the 2009 cease fire ( although fighting has continued since then ) , though not directly related with the Arab League is usually also included as part of the Israeli – Palestinian conflict and hence the Arab – Israeli conflict . Despite the peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan and the generally existing cease fire , the Arab world and Israel generally remain at odds with each other over specific territory . Background . Religious aspects of the conflict . Jewish , Muslim , and Christian groups invoke religious arguments for their uncompromising positions . Contemporary history of the Arab – Israeli conflict is very much affected by Christian , Jewish and , Muslim religious beliefs and their interpretations of the idea of the chosen people in their policies with regard to the " Promised Land " and the " Chosen City " of Jerusalem . The Land of Canaan or " Eretz Yisrael " ( Land of Israel ) was , according to the Hebrew Bible , promised by God to the Children of Israel . In his 1896 manifesto , " The Jewish State " , Theodor Herzl repeatedly refers to the Biblical Promised land concept . Likud is currently the most prominent Israeli political party to include the Biblical claim to the Land of Israel in its platform . Muslims also claim rights to that land in accordance with the Quran . Contrary to the Jewish claim that this land was promised only to the descendants of Abraham ' s younger son Isaac , they argue that the Land of Canaan was promised to what they consider the elder son , Ishmael , from whom Arabs claim descent . Additionally , Muslims also revere many sites holy for Biblical Israelites , such as The Cave of the Patriarchs and the Temple Mount . In the past 1 , 400 years , Muslims have constructed Islamic landmarks on these ancient Israelite sites , such as the Dome of the Rock and the Al - Aqsa Mosque only feet from the Western Wall , the holiest site in Judaism . This close proximity has brought the two groups into conflict over the rightful possession of Jerusalem . Muslim teaching is that Muhammad passed through Jerusalem on his first journey to heaven . Hamas , which governs the Gaza Strip , claims that all of the land of Palestine ( the current Israeli and Palestinian territories ) is an Islamic " waqf " that must be governed by Muslims . Christian Zionists often support the State of Israel because they claim an ancestral right of the Jews to the Holy Land , as suggested , for instance , by Paul in . Christian Zionism teaches that the return of Jews in Israel is a prerequisite for the Second Coming of Christ . National movements . The roots of the modern Arab – Israeli conflict lie in the rise of Zionism and Arab Nationalism towards the end of the 19th century . Territory regarded by the Jewish people as their historical homeland is also regarded by the Pan - Arab movement as historically and presently belonging to the Palestinian Arabs . Before World War I , the Middle East , including Southern Syria ( later Mandatory Palestine ) , had been under the control of the Ottoman Empire for nearly 400 years . During the closing years of their empire , the Ottomans began to espouse their Turkish ethnic identity , asserting the primacy of Turks within the empire , leading to discrimination against the Arabs . The promise of liberation from the Ottomans led many Jews and Arabs to support the allied powers during World War I , leading to the emergence of widespread Arab nationalism . Both Arab nationalism and Zionism had their formulative beginning in Europe . The Zionist Congress was established in Basel in 1897 , while the " Arab Club " was established in Paris in 1906 . In the late 19th century European and Middle Eastern Jewish communities began to increasingly immigrate to Southern Syria and purchase land from the local Ottoman landlords . The population of the late 19th century in Southern Syria ( later British Palestine ) reached 600 , 000 - mostly Muslim Arabs , but also significant minorities of Jews , Christians , Druze and some Samaritans and Bahai ' s . At that time , Jerusalem did not extend beyond the walled area and had a population of only a few tens of thousands . Collective farms , known as kibbutzim , were established , as was the first entirely Jewish city in modern times , Tel Aviv . During 1915 – 16 , as World War I was underway , the British High Commissioner in Egypt , Sir Henry McMahon , secretly corresponded with Husayn ibn ' Ali , the patriarch of the Hashemite family and Ottoman governor of Mecca and Medina . McMahon convinced Husayn to lead an Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire , which was aligned with Germany against Britain and France in the war . McMahon promised that if the Arabs supported Britain in the war , the British government would support the establishment of an independent Arab state under Hashemite rule in the Arab provinces of the Ottoman Empire , including Palestine . The Arab revolt , led by T . E . Lawrence ( " Lawrence of Arabia " ) and Husayn ' s son Faysal , was successful in defeating the Ottomans , and Britain took control over much of this area . Sectarian violence in Mandatory Palestine . In 1917 , Southern Syria was conquered by the British forces ( including the Jewish Legion ) . The British government issued the Balfour Declaration , which stated that the government viewed favourably " the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people " but " that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non - Jewish communities in Palestine " . The Declaration was issued as a result of the belief of key members of the government , including Prime Minister David Lloyd George , that Jewish support was essential to winning the war ; however , the declaration caused great disquiet in the Arab world . After the war , the area came under British rule as the British Mandate of Palestine . The area mandated to the British in 1923 included what is today Israel , the Palestinian Authority and Gaza Strip . Transjordan eventually was carved into a separate British protectorate - the Emirate of Transjordan , which gained an autonomous status in 1928 . A major crisis among the Arab nationalists took place with the failed establishment of the Arab Kingdom of Syria in 1920 . With the disastrous outcome of the Franco - Syrian War , the self - proclaimed Hashemite kingdom with its capital in Damascus was defeated and the Hashemite ruler took refuge in Mandatory Iraq . The crisis saw the first confrontation of nationalist Arab and Jewish forces , taking place in the Battle of Tel Hai in March 1920 , but more importantly the collapse of the pan - Arabist kingdom led to the establishment of the local Palestinian version of Arab nationalism , with the return of Hajj Amin al - Husseini from Damascus to Jerusalem in late 1920 . At this point in time Jewish immigration to Mandatory Palestine continued , while to some opinions a similar , but less documented , immigration also took place in the Arab sector , bringing workers from Syria and other neighbouring areas . Palestinian Arabs saw this rapid influx of Jewish immigrants as a threat to their homeland and their identity as a people . Moreover , Jewish policies of purchasing land and prohibiting the employment of Arabs in Jewish - owned industries and farms greatly angered the Palestinian Arab communities . Demonstrations were held as early as 1920 , protesting what the Arabs felt were unfair preferences for the Jewish immigrants set forth by the British mandate that governed Palestine at the time . This resentment led to outbreaks of violence later that year , as the al - Husseini incited riots broke out in Jerusalem . Winston Churchill ' s 1922 White Paper tried to reassure the Arab population , denying that the creation of a Jewish state was the intention of the Balfour Declaration . In 1929 , after a demonstration by Vladimir Jabotinsky ' s political group Betar at the Western Wall , riots started in Jerusalem and expanded throughout Palestine ; Arabs murdered 67 Jews in the city of Hebron , in what became known as the Hebron Massacre . During the week of the 1929 riots , at least 116 Arabs and 133 Jews were killed and 339 wounded . By 1931 , 17 percent of the population of Mandatory Palestine were Jews , an increase of six percent since 1922 . Jewish immigration peaked soon after the Nazis came to power in Germany , causing the Jewish population in British Palestine to double . In the mid - 1930s Izz ad - Din al - Qassam arrived from Syria and established the Black Hand , an anti - Zionist and anti - British militant organization . He recruited and arranged military training for peasants and by 1935 he had enlisted between 200 and 800 men . The cells were equipped with bombs and firearms , which they used to kill Jewish settlers in the area , as well as engaging in a campaign of vandalism of Jewish settler plantations . By 1936 , escalating tensions led to the 1936 – 1939 Arab revolt in Palestine . In response to Arab pressure , the British Mandate authorities greatly reduced the number of Jewish immigrants to Palestine ( see White Paper of 1939 and the Exodus ship ) . These restrictions remained in place until the end of the mandate , a period which coincided with the Nazi Holocaust and the flight of Jewish refugees from Europe . As a consequence , most Jewish entrants to Palestine were considered illegal ( see Aliyah Bet ) , causing further tensions in the region . Following several failed attempts to solve the problem diplomatically , the British asked the newly formed United Nations for help . On May 15 , 1947 , the General Assembly appointed a committee , the UNSCOP , composed of representatives from eleven states . To make the committee more neutral , none of the Great Powers were represented . After five weeks of in - country study , the Committee reported to the General Assembly on September 3 , 1947 . The Report contained a majority and a minority plan . The majority proposed a " Plan of Partition with Economic Union " . The minority proposed " The Independent State of Palestine " . With only slight modifications , the " Plan of Partition with Economic Union " was the one the adoption and implementation of which was recommended in resolution 181 ( II ) of November 29 , 1947 . The Resolution was adopted by 33 votes to 13 with 10 abstentions . The Arab states , which constituted the Arab League , voted against it . On the ground , Arab and Jewish Palestinians were fighting openly to control strategic positions in the region . Several major atrocities were committed by both sides . Civil War in Palestine . In the weeks prior to the end of the Mandate the Haganah launched a number of offensives in which they gained control over all the territory allocated by the UN to the Jewish State , creating a large number of refugees and capturing the towns of Tiberias , Haifa , Safad , Beisan and , in effect , Jaffa . Early in 1948 , the United Kingdom announced its firm intention to terminate its mandate in Palestine on May 14 . In response , U . S . President Harry S . Truman made a statement on March 25 proposing UN trusteeship rather than partition , stating that " unfortunately , it has become clear that the partition plan cannot be carried out at this time by peaceful means . . . . unless emergency action is taken , there will be no public authority in Palestine on that date capable of preserving law and order . Violence and bloodshed will descend upon the Holy Land . Large - scale fighting among the people of that country will be the inevitable result . " History . 1948 Arab - Israeli war . On May 14 , 1948 , the day on which the British Mandate over Palestine expired , the Jewish People ' s Council gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum , and approved a proclamation which declared the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel , to be known as the State of Israel . There were no mention of the borders of the new state other than that it was in Eretz Israel . In an official to the UN Secretary - General on May 15 , 1948 , the Arab stated publicly that Arab Governments found " themselves compelled to intervene for the sole purpose of restoring peace and security and establishing law and order in Palestine . " ( Clause 10 ( e ) ) . Further in Clause 10 ( e ) - " The Governments of the Arab States hereby confirm at this stage the view that had been repeatedly declared by them on previous occasions , such as the London Conference and before the United Nations mainly , the only fair and just solution to the problem of Palestine is the creation of United State of Palestine based upon the democratic principles . . . " That day , the armies of Egypt , Lebanon , Syria , Jordan , and Iraq invaded / intervened in what had just ceased to be the British Mandate , marking the beginning of the 1948 Arab - Israeli War . The nascent Israeli Defense Force repulsed the Arab League nations from part of the occupied territories , thus extending its borders beyond the original UNSCOP partition . By December 1948 , Israel controlled most of the portion of Mandate Palestine west of the Jordan River . The remainder of the Mandate consisted of Jordan , the area that came to be called the West Bank ( controlled by Jordan ) , and the Gaza Strip ( controlled by Egypt ) . Prior to and during this conflict , 713 , 000 Palestinian Arabs fled their original lands to become Palestinian refugees , in part , due to a promise from Arab leaders that they would be able to return when the war had been won , and also in part due to attacks on Palestinian villages and towns by Israeli forces and Jewish militant groups . Many Palestinians fled from the areas that are now present - day Israel as a response to massacres of Arab towns by militant Jewish organizations like the Irgun and the Stern Gang ( See Deir Yassin massacre ) . The War came to an end with the signing of the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and each of its Arab neighbours . Before the adoption by the United Nations of Resolution 181 in November 1947 and the declaration of the State of Israel in May 1948 , several Arab countries adopted discriminatory measures against their local Jewish populations . The status of Jewish citizens in Arab states worsened dramatically during the 1948 Israeli - Arab war . Major anti - Jewish riots erupted throughout the Arab World in December 1947 , and Jewish communities were hit particularly hard in Syria and Aden , with hundreds of dead and injured . By mid - 1948 , almost all Jewish communities in Arab states had suffered attacks and their status deteriorated . Jews under Islamic regimes were uprooted from their longtime residency or became political hostages of the Arab – Israeli conflict . As a result , a large number of Jews fled or were forced to emigrate from Arab countries and other Muslim countries as well . Anti - Jewish violence and persecution initiated the first waves of exodus , with many following . In Libya , Jews were deprived of citizenship , and in Iraq , their property was seized . Egypt expelled most of its Jewish community in 1956 , while Algeria denied its Jews of citizenship , upon its independence in 1962 . The majority were fleeing due to worsening political conditions , although some emigrated for ideological reasons . 1949 – 1967 . As a result of Israel ' s victory in its 1948 War of Independence , any Arabs caught on the wrong side of the ceasefire line were unable to return to their homes in what became Israel . Likewise , any Jews on the West Bank or in Gaza were exiled from their property and homes to Israel . Today ' s Palestinian refugees are the descendants of those who left , the responsibility for their exodus being a matter of dispute between the Israeli and the Palestinian side . Over 700 , 000 Jews emigrated to Israel between 1948 and 1952 , with approximately 285 , 000 of them from Arab countries . In 1956 , Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping , and blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba , in contravention of the Constantinople Convention of 1888 . Many argued that this was also a violation of the 1949 Armistice Agreements . On July 26 , 1956 , Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal Company , and closed the canal to Israeli shipping . Israel responded on October 29 , 1956 , by invading the Sinai Peninsula with British and French support . During the Suez Canal Crisis , Israel captured the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula . The United States and the United Nations soon pressured it into a ceasefire . Israel agreed to withdraw from Egyptian territory . Egypt agreed to freedom of navigation in the region and the demilitarization of the Sinai . The United Nations Emergency Force ( UNEF ) was created and deployed to oversee the demilitarization . The UNEF was only deployed on the Egyptian side of the border , as Israel refused to allow them on its territory . Most of Egyptian Jews were expelled , following the Suez crisis . The PLO ( Palestinian Liberation Organization ) was first established in 1964 , under a charter including a commitment to " [ t ] he liberation of Palestine [ which ] will destroy the Zionist and imperialist presence . . . " ( PLO Charter , Article 22 , 1968 ) . On May 19 , 1967 , Egypt expelled UNEF observers , and deployed 100 , 000 soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula . It again closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping , returning the region to the way it was in 1956 when Israel was blockaded . On May 30 , 1967 , Jordan signed a mutual defense pact with Egypt . Egypt mobilized Sinai units , crossing UN lines ( after having expelled the UN border monitors ) and mobilized and massed on Israel ' s southern border . On June 5 , Israel launched an attack on Egypt . The Israeli Air Force ( IAF ) destroyed most of the Egyptian Air Force in a surprise attack , then turned east to destroy the Jordanian , Syrian and Iraqi air forces . This strike was the crucial element in Israel ' s victory in the Six - Day War . At the war ' s end , Israel had gained control of the Sinai Peninsula , the Gaza Strip , the West Bank , eastern Jerusalem , Shebaa farms , and the Golan Heights . The results of the war affect the geopolitics of the region to this day . 1967 – 1973 . At the end of August 1967 , Arab leaders met in Khartoum in response to the war , to discuss the Arab position toward Israel . They reached consensus that there should be no recognition , no peace , and no negotiations with the State of Israel , the so - called " three no ' s " . In 1969 , Egypt initiated the War of Attrition , with the goal of exhausting Israel into surrendering the Sinai Peninsula . The war ended following Gamal Abdel Nasser ' s death in 1970 . On October 6 , 1973 , Syria and Egypt staged a surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur , the holiest day of the Jewish calendar . The Israeli military were caught off guard and unprepared , and took about three days to fully mobilize . This led other Arab states to send troops to reinforce the Egyptians and Syrians . In addition , these Arab countries agreed to enforce an oil embargo on industrial nations including the U . S , Japan and Western European Countries . These OPEC countries increased the price of oil fourfold , and used it as a political weapon to gain support against Israel . The Yom Kippur War accommodated indirect confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union . When Israel had turned the tide of war , the USSR threatened military intervention . The United States , wary of nuclear war , secured a ceasefire on October 25 . 1974 – 2000 . Egypt . Following the Camp David Accords of the late 1970s , Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in March , 1979 . Under its terms , the Sinai Peninsula returned to Egyptian hands , and the Gaza Strip remained under Israeli control , to be included in a future Palestinian state . The agreement also provided for the free passage of Israeli ships through the Suez Canal and recognition of the Strait of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba as international waterways . Jordan . In October 1994 , Israel and Jordan signed a peace agreement , which stipulated mutual cooperation , an end of hostilities , the fixing of the Israel - Jordan border , and a resolution of other issues . The conflict between them had cost roughly 18 . 3 billion dollars . Its signing is also closely linked with the efforts to create peace between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization ( PLO ) representing the Palestinian National Authority ( PNA ) . It was signed at the southern border crossing of Arabah on October 26 , 1994 and made Jordan only the second Arab country ( after Egypt ) to normalize relations with Israel . Iraq . Israel and Iraq have been implacable foes since 1948 . Iraq sent its troops to participate in the 1948 Arab - Israeli War , and later backed Egypt and Syria in the Six Day War in 1967 and in the Yom Kippur War in 1973 . In June 1981 , Israel attacked and destroyed newly built Iraqi nuclear facilities in Operation Opera . During the Gulf War in 1991 , Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles into Israel , in the hopes of uniting the Arab world against the coalition which sought to liberate Kuwait . At the behest of the United States , Israel did not respond to this attack in order to prevent a greater outbreak of war . Lebanon . In 1970 , following an extended civil war , King Hussein expelled the Palestine Liberation Organization from Jordan . September 1970 is known as the Black September in Arab history and sometimes is referred to as the " era of regrettable events " . It was a month when Hashemite King Hussein of Jordan moved to quash the autonomy of Palestinian organisations and restore his monarchy ' s rule over the country . The violence resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people , the vast majority Palestinians . Armed conflict lasted until July 1971 with the expulsion of the PLO and thousands of Palestinian fighters to Lebanon . The PLO resettled in Lebanon , from which it staged raids into Israel . In 1981 , Syria , allied with the PLO , positioned missiles in Lebanon . In June 1982 , Israel invaded Lebanon . Within two months the PLO agreed to withdraw thence . In March 1983 , Israel and Lebanon signed a ceasefire agreement . However , Syria pressured President Amin Gemayel into nullifying the truce in March 1984 . By 1985 , Israeli forces withdrew to a 15 km wide southern strip of Lebanon , following which the conflict continued on a lower scale , with relatively low casualties on both sides . In 1993 and 1996 , Israel launched major operations against the Shiite militia of Hezbollah , which had become an emergent threat . In 2000 , as part of a greater plan for a peace agreement with Syria , Israel abandoned its occupation of Southern Lebanon . In 2006 , as a response to a Hezbollah cross - border raid , Israel launched air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Southern Lebanon , starting the 2006 Lebanon War . The war lasted for 34 days , and resulted in the creation of a buffer zone in Southern Lebanon and the deployment of Lebanese troops south of the Litani river for the first time since the 1960s . Hezbollah withdrew its fighters from the border areas , and Israel eventually turned over its occupied areas in Lebanon to UN peacekeepers . Both sides declared victory in the conflict . Palestinians . The 1970s were marked by a large number of major , international terrorist attacks , including the Lod Airport Massacre and the Munich Olympics Massacre in 1972 , and the Entebbe Hostage Taking in 1976 , with over 100 Jewish hostages of different nationalities kidnapped and held in Uganda . In December 1987 , the First Intifada began . The First Intifada was a mass Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule in the Palestinian Territories . The rebellion began in the Jabalia refugee camp and quickly spread throughout Gaza , the West Bank and East Jerusalem . Palestinian actions ranged from civil disobedience to violence . In addition to general strikes , boycotts on Israeli products , graffiti and barricades , Palestinian demonstrations that included stone - throwing by youths against the Israel Defense Forces brought the Intifada international attention . The Israeli army ' s heavy handed response to the demonstrations , with live ammunition , beatings and mass arrests , brought international condemnation . The PLO , which until then had never been recognised as the leaders of the Palestinian people by Israel , was invited to peace negotiations the following year , after it recognized Israel and renounced terrorism . In mid - 1993 , Israeli and Palestinian representatives engaged in peace talks in Oslo , Norway . As a result , in September 1993 , Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo Accords , known as the " Declaration of Principles " or Oslo I ; in side letters , Israel recognized the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people while the PLO recognized the right of the state of Israel to exist and renounced terrorism , violence and its desire for the destruction of Israel . The Oslo II agreement was signed in 1995 and detailed the division of the West Bank into Areas A , B , and C . Area A was land under full Palestinian civilian control . In Area A , Palestinians were also responsible for internal security . The Oslo agreements remain important documents in Israeli - Palestinian relations . 2000 – 2009 . The Second Intifada forced Israel to rethink its relationship and policies towards the Palestinians . Following a series of suicide bombings and attacks , the Israeli army launched Operation Defensive Shield . It was the largest military operation conducted by Israel since the Six Day War . As violence between the Israeli army and Palestinian militants intensified , Israel expanded its security apparatus around the West Bank by re - taking many parts of land in Area A . Israel established a complicated system of roadblocks and checkpoint s around major Palestinian areas to deter violence and protect Israeli settlements . However , since 2008 , the IDF has slowly transferred authority to Palestinian security forces . Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon began a policy of unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2003 . This policy was fully implemented in August 2005 . Sharon ' s announcement to disengage from Gaza came as a tremendous shock to his critics both on the left and on the right . A year previously , he had commented that the fate of the most far - flung settlements in Gaza , Netzararem and Kfar Darom , was regarded in the same light as that of Tel Aviv . The formal announcements to evacuate seventeen Gaza settlements and another four in the West Bank in February 2004 represented the first reversal for the settler movement since 1968 . It divided his party . It was strongly supported by Trade and Industry Minister Ehud Olmert and Tzipi Livni , the Minister for Immigration and Absorption , but Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strongly condemned it . It was also uncertain whether this was simply the beginning of further evacuation . On March 16 , 2003 , Rachel Corrie , an American peace activist was crushed to death by an Israeli Defense Forces ( IDF ) bulldozer in Rafah , Gaza , during a non - violent protest of the Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes . Corrie stood in confrontation with the bulldozers for three hours wearing a bright orange jacket and carrying a megaphone . Although the Israeli government has denied responsibility in the incident and ruled her death as an accident , several eye - witness reports say that the Israeli soldier operating the bulldozer deliberately ran her over . In June 2006 , Hamas militants infiltrated an army post near the Israeli side of the Gaza Strip and abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit . Two IDF soldiers were killed in the attack , while Shalit was wounded after his tank was hit with an RPG . 3 days later Israel launched Operation Summer Rains to secure the release of Shalit . He was held hostage by Hamas , who barred the International Red Cross from seeing him , until October 18 , 2011 , when he was exchanged for 1 , 027 Palestinian prisoners . In July 2006 , Hezbollah fighters crossed the border from Lebanon into Israel , attacked and killed eight Israeli soldiers , and abducted two others as hostages , setting off the 2006 Lebanon War which caused much destruction in Lebanon . A UN - sponsored ceasefire went into effect on August 14 , 2006 , officially ending the conflict . The conflict killed over a thousand Lebanese and over 150 Israelis , severely damaged Lebanese civil infrastructure , and displaced approximately one million Lebanese and 300 , 000 – 500 , 000 Israelis , although most were able to return to their homes . After the ceasefire , some parts of Southern Lebanon remained uninhabitable due to Israeli unexploded cluster bomblets . In the aftermath of the Battle of Gaza , where Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in a violent civil war with rival Fatah , Israel placed restrictions on its border with Gaza borders and ended economic cooperation with the Palestinian leadership based there . Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007 . Israel maintains the blockade is necessary to limit Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza and to prevent Hamas from smuggling advanced rockets and weapons capable of hitting its cities . On September 6 , 2007 , in Operation Orchard , Israel bombed an eastern Syrian complex which was allegedly a nuclear reactor being built with assistance from North Korea . Israel had also bombed Syria in 2003 . In April 2008 , Syrian President Bashar Al Assad told a Qatari newspaper that Syria and Israel had been discussing a peace treaty for a year , with Turkey as a go - between . This was confirmed in May 2008 by a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert . As well as a peace treaty , the future of the Golan Heights is being discussed . President Assad said " there would be no direct negotiations with Israel until a new US president takes office . " Speaking in Jerusalem on August 26 , 2008 , then United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticized Israel ' s increased settlement construction in the West Bank as detrimental to the peace process . Rice ' s comments came amid reports that Israeli construction in the disputed territory had increased by a factor of 1 . 8 over 2007 levels . A fragile six - month truce between Hamas and Israel expired on December 19 , 2008 ; attempts at extending the truce failed amid accusations of breaches from both sides . Following the expiration , Israel launched a raid on a tunnel suspected of being used to kidnap Israeli soldiers which killed several Hamas fighters . Following this , Hamas resumed rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli cities , most notably firing over 60 rockets on December 24 . On December 27 , 2008 , Israel launched Operation Cast Lead against Hamas . Numerous human rights organizations accused Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes . In 2009 Israel placed a 10 - month settlement freeze on the West Bank . Hillary Clinton praised the freeze as an " unprecedented " gesture that could " help revive Middle East talks . " A raid was carried out by Israeli naval forces on six ships of the " Gaza Freedom Flotilla " in May 2010 . after the ships refused to dock at Port Ashdod . On the MV " Mavi Marmara " , activists clashed with the Israeli boarding party . During the fighting , nine activists were killed by Israeli special forces . Widespread international condemnation of and reaction to the raid followed , Israel – Turkey relations were strained , and Israel subsequently eased its blockade on the Gaza Strip . Several dozen other passengers and seven Israeli soldiers were injured , with some of the commandos suffering from gunshot wounds . 2010 – present . Following the latest round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority , 13 Palestinian militant movements led by Hamas initiated a terror campaign designed to derail and disrupt the negotiations . Attacks on Israelis have increased since August 2010 , after 4 Israeli civilians were killed by Hamas militants . Palestinian militants have increased the frequency of rocket attacks aimed at Israelis . On August 2 , Hamas militants launched seven Katyusha rockets at Eilat and Aqaba , killing one Jordanian civilian and wounding 4 others . Intermittent fighting continued since then , including 680 rocket attacks on Israel in 2011 . On November 14 , 2012 , Israel killed Ahmed Jabari , a leader of Hamas ' s military wing , launching Operation Pillar of Cloud . Hamas and Israel agreed to an Egyptian - mediated ceasefire on November 21 . The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights said that 158 Palestinians were killed during the operation , of which : 102 were civilians , 55 were militants and one was a policeman ; 30 were children and 13 were women . B ' Tselem stated that according to its initial findings , which covered only the period between 14 and 19 November , 102 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip , 40 of them civilians . According to Israeli figures , 120 combatants and 57 civilians were killed . International outcry ensued , with many criticizing Israel for what much of the international community perceived as a disproportionately violent response . Protests took place on hundreds of college campuses across the U . S . , and in front of the Israeli consulate in New York . Additional protests took place throughout the Middle East , throughout Europe , and in parts of South America . However , the governments of the United States , United Kingdom , Canada , Germany , France , Australia , Belgium , Bulgaria , Czech Republic and Netherlands expressed support for Israel ' s right to defend itself , and / or condemned the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel . Cost of conflict . A report by Strategic Foresight Group has estimated the opportunity cost of conflict for the Middle East from 1991 – 2010 at $ 12 trillion . The report ' s opportunity cost calculates the peace GDP of countries in the Middle East by comparing the current GDP to the potential GDP in times of peace . Israel ' s share is almost $ 1 trillion , with Iraq and Saudi Arabia having approximately $ 2 . 2 and $ 4 . 5 trillion , respectively . In other words , had there been peace and cooperation between Israel and Arab League nations since 1991 , the average Israeli citizen would be earning over $ 44 , 000 instead of $ 23 , 000 in 2010 . In terms of the human cost , it is estimated that the conflict has taken 92 , 000 lives ( 74 , 000 military and 18 , 000 civilian from 1945 to 1995 ) . From September 29 , 2000 to October 2 , 2012 , 7 , 714 deaths occurred as a direct result of the conflict . In the same time period , 1 , 447 Palestinian children were killed , along with 129 Israeli children .