Hamas, like many groups in the Middle East, remains resentful of the creation of Israel after the Second World War, something promoted largely by Western powers.
They believe that territory was effectively stolen from the rightful owners and occupiers – the Palestinian people.
“Nakba” or “catastrophe” is a reference to the forced removal of an estimated 750,000 Palestinians from their homes when Israel was founded in 1948. Palestinians see it as a core element of their identity. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, some Jewish militias massacred Palestinian civilians, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.
Israelis see this time period differently. After the Holocaust, hundreds of thousands of Jews sought refuge in the newly created State of Israel for their own safety. They had been immigrating to Ottoman- and then British-ruled Palestine for decades.
Supporters of Israel say the area is the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people, who were exiled following an invasion by the Babylonian Empire more than 2,500 years ago and the subsequent occupation of the region by the Romans.
Read more:
Israel-Hamas war: A glossary of terms
Israeli-Palestinian conflict: A century of war, heartbreak, hope
What is the two-state solution?
In the decades that followed its creation, Israel fought several wars and ended up occupying the West Bank and Gaza – contrary to a 1947 UN designation.
Hamas was created in 1987 during The First Intifada, an uprising against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
While Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005 (Gaza is now administered by Hamas – but under severe restriction of movement from Israel), it still occupies East Jerusalem and most of the West Bank – named so because of its position to the west of the River Jordan.
Israel has established numerous Jewish settlements throughout the territory – which the United Nations Security Council has previously criticised as a “flagrant violation of international law”.
