Situation context
Palestine refers to the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in the Middle East. The area holds major historical and religious significance for Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Palestinian society has a rich cultural heritage shaped by centuries of trade, migration, and connection to the eastern Mediterranean region.
Open the interactive situation page
What is Palestine situation about?
Palestine - Overview
What this is about In UN Security Council discussions, the “Palestine situation” refers to the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict: Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the situation in Gaza, and Palestinians’ claims to self-determination and statehood. Across Council debates, the issue is described as involving: recurring violence between Israelis and Palestinians, Israeli settlement expansion in occupied Palestinian territory, demolitions, evictions and raids in the West Bank, restrictions and blockade-related pressures on Gaza, humanitarian suffering affecting civilians, and the steady weakening of prospects for a viable Palestinian State alongside Israel. A core political reference point in these debates is the two-State solution: Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security. --- Why the Security Council discusses it The issue remains on...
Read this module in the interactive app
How did the Palestine situation evolve over time?
Palestine - Timeline
How the Palestine situation evolved over time The Security Council record shows a clear evolution from a long-running, unresolved conflict into an even more acute humanitarian, legal and diplomatic crisis between 2020 and April 2026. At the broadest level, the issues discussed remained constant: the occupation since 1967, the status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, Gaza’s blockade and closures, Palestinian self-determination, and whether a two-State solution is still viable. What changed over time was the scale of violence, the collapse of conditions on the ground, and the growing shift from crisis management to legal and diplomatic efforts around Palestinian statehood. --- Background: a chronic conflict with worsening structural pressures In early 2020, the Council was already discussing a situation marked by deep structural strain rather than a stable status quo. Meeting 8706, on 21...
Read this module in the interactive app