Updated September 18, 2018April 25, 2019
The Palestinians: Overview and Key Issues for U.S. Policy
The Palestinians are an Arab people whose origins are in
present-day Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip
(Gaza). Their conflict with Israel has garnered significant
U.S. policy attention since the Cold War, with some major
developments occurring during the Trump Administration
(see “Key U.S. Policy Issues” below). Israel’s military
gained control over the West Bank and Gaza in the 1967
Arab-Israeli War, but in 1994 Israel agreed to permit a
Palestinian Authority (PA) with various governmental
functions to have some limited authority—via arrangements
with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)—over
Gaza and specified areas of the West Bank. Fatah, a
traditionally secular Arab nationalist faction, is the
predominant force within the PA and PLO. In 2007, two
years after a unilateral Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the
Sunni Islamist group Hamas (a U.S.-designated terrorist
organization) forcibly seized control of Gaza and has
exercised de facto authority there ever since—leaving the
Palestinians subject to divided rule. Israel retains overall
control of the West Bank and patrols Gaza’s frontiers (other
than those with Egypt), airspace, and maritime access.
The PA held occasional elections for president and a
legislative council until a Hamas victory in 2006 legislative
elections. Since then, it has ruled by presidential decree.
Given the West Bank-Gaza split, it is unclear if and when
presidential and legislative elections will be held again.
elsewhere. Of the total Palestinian population, around 5.4
million (roughly 44%) are refugees (livingand their ongoing disputes and interactions
with Israel raise significant issues for U.S. policy. U.S.Palestinian tensions have risen in connection with Trump
Administration actions on Israeli-Palestinian matters such
as Jerusalem and aid (see “Key U.S. Policy Issues” below).
The Palestinians are an Arab people whose origins are in
present-day Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip
(Gaza). Fatah, a traditionally secular Arab nationalist
faction, is the predominant faction 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.
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, around 5.4
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 IsraeliPalestinian dispute. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) provides
assistance (such as health care, education, and housing) to
Palestinian refugees.
Since the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire at the end of
World War I, major world powers and international
organizations have unsuccessfully sought a sustained
political resolution to disputes between Jews and Arabs in
historic Palestine regarding territorial control, governance,
and security. Numerous formal or informal armed conflicts
have ensued between Israelis and Arabs (including
Palestinians), and the nature of the political problem has
evolved over time.
Since the 1990s, a number of U.S.-brokered IsraeliPalestinian efforts to reach a final-status agreement have
made little or no progress in that direction. Unilateral
actions by both Israelis and Palestinians—including Israeli
settlement expansion in the West Bank and security
measures, and PLO/PA initiatives in international
organizations—became more controversial after a
breakdown in the Oslo peace process and the beginning of
the second Palestinian intifada (uprising) in 2000-2001. In
the past two decades, other regional political and security
issues have taken some of the global attention from
Palestinian issues.
Fatah, Palestinian Authority, and West Bank
Fatah leaders Yasser Arafat (1994-died 2004) and
Mahmoud Abbas have headed the PA since its creation.
Both Abbas’s age (b. 1935) and reports in 2018 of
deteriorating health have contributed to widespread
speculation about who might lead the PA and PLO upon the
end of his tenure. Possible successors to Abbas include:
Marwan Barghouti often leads in opinion polls, but is
imprisoned by Israel for terrorist-related offenses
allegedly committed during the second intifada.
Muhammad Dahlan was a top security figure in Gaza
who enjoys support from some Arab states, but he was
expelled from Fatah in 2011 and is currently based in
the United Arab Emirates.
Majid Faraj (arguably the security figure most trusted
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit
Note: West Bank and Gaza Strip borders remain subject to IsraeliPalestinian 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
by Abbas), Saeb Erekat (a top PLO negotiator), and
Salam Fayyad (a previous PA prime minister) are
prominent and well-connected, but have questionable
political clout with domestic constituencies. Mahmoud
al Aloul and Jibril Rajoub have political heft within
Fatah, but relatively less international experience.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
The Palestinians: Overview and Key Issues for U.S. Policy
Since the West Bank-Gaza split, the United States and other
Western countries generally have sought to bolster the
Abbas-led PA vis-à-vis Hamas, including through the
provision of economic and nonlethal security assistance.
The security assistance reinforces ongoing Israel-PA
security coordination, but with polls suggesting widespread
Palestinian opposition to the coordination, questions persist
about its duration without significant diplomatic progress.
Observers debate whether international aid can help West
Bankers become more self-sufficient if Israel does not
significantly loosen constraints on the movement of people
and goods
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit.
Note: West Bank and Gaza Strip borders remain subject to IsraeliPalestinian negotiation.
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 Palestinian
Authority (PA) in 1994. In the past decade, other regional
political and security issues have taken some of the global
attention from Palestinian issues.
Timeline of Key Events Since 1993
1993-1995
Israel and the PLO mutually recognize one
another 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.
2000-2005
The Clinton Administration is unable to
broker an Israel-PLO peace agreement;
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.
2004-2005
PLO Chairman/PA President Yasser Arafat
dies; Mahmoud Abbas succeeds him.
2005
Israel unilaterally disengages from Gaza, but
remains in control of airspace and
land/maritime access points; Israeli
settlements continue to expand in the West
Bank (including East Jerusalem).
2006
Hamas wins majority in Palestinian Legislative
Council and leads new PA cabinet; Israel,
United States, and European Union confine
relations to PA President Abbas.
2007
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 IsraeliPalestinian peace negotiations (the last in
2013-2014) end unsuccessfully; PLO/PA
increases efforts to gain membership in or
support from international organizations.
2017-present
Trump Administration recognizes Jerusalem
as Israel’s capital, and U.S.-Palestinian
tensions increase.
PLO/PA, West Bank, and Possible Succession
The PA held occasional elections for president and a
legislative council until the Hamas victory in the 2006
legislative elections. Since then, it has ruled by presidential
decree. Given the West Bank-Gaza split in 2007, it is
unclear if and when presidential and legislative elections
will take place again.
The United States and some other countries sought to
bolster the Abbas-led PA in the West Bank vis-à-vis
Hamas, including through the provision of economic and
nonlethal security assistance. However, U.S. aid shrank
considerably in 2018 and ended completely in early 2019.
https://crsreports.congress.gov
The Palestinians: Overview and Key Issues for U.S. Policy
Assistance for Palestinians continues from various sources
such as the European Union and Arab Gulf states.
The PA faces acute financial concerns because, as of
February 2019, it has rejected monthly revenue transfers
from Israel representing approximately 65% of the PA
budget, in protest of some amounts withheld by Israel (for
more detail, see CRS Report R44245, Israel: Background
and U.S. Relations in Brief, by Jim Zanotti). The PA has
asked the Arab League to follow through on a 2010
decision to provide it with budgetary assistance.
Mahmoud Abbas’s age (b. 1935) and reports of
deteriorating health have contributed to speculation about
who might lead the PA and PLO upon the end of his tenure.
There are a number of possible successors. Majid Faraj
(arguably the adviser most trusted by Abbas), Saeb Erekat
(a top PLO negotiator), and Salam Fayyad (a previous PA
prime minister) are well-known in international circles, but
less so among domestic constituencies. Mohammed
Shtayyeh (PA prime minister since March 2019 and a close
Abbas confidant) is an internationally visible Fatah insider.
Other Fatah figures include Mahmoud al Aloul and Jibril
Rajoub. Marwan Barghouti attracts significant popular
support, but has been imprisoned by Israel since 2002.
Muhammad Dahlan enjoys support from some Arab
states, but was expelled from Fatah in 2011.
Hamas and Gaza
Hamas controls Gaza through its security forces and obtains
resources from smuggling, informal “taxes,” and reported
external assistance from some Arab sources and Iran.
Hamas also maintains a presence in the West Bank and a
political bureau that conducts the movement’s worldwide
dealings. Gaza-based Ismail Haniyeh is the leader of
Hamas’s political bureau. There is some speculation that
Hamas’s military wing (the Izz ad Din al Qassam Brigades)
seeks to drive political decisions via its control over
security. Yahya Sinwar, a Qassam Brigades leader, is also
Hamas’s designated leader for Gaza.
Hamas apparently seeks to supplant Fatah as the leading
faction in the Palestinian national movement. It appeals to
some Palestinians with its militant stance, which formally
rejects Israel’s existence. Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s
designated leader for Gaza, came from Hamas’s military
wing (the Izz ad Din al Qassam Brigades).
Hamas and other Gaza-based
militants have engaged in
three significant conflicts with
Israel (2008-2009, 2012,
2014). In each conflict, the
militants launched rockets
indiscriminately toward Israeli
targetsIsrael, and Israeli military responses strikes
largely decimated
Gaza’s infrastructure. The actions on both sides fueled
debate over various legal and ethical issues. They also
both sides exacerbated a conundrum for third-party
countries and
international organizations, which encounter difficulty in
rebuilding that seek to
rebuild Gaza’s infrastructure without bolstering Hamas.
A sharp decrease in PA and external funding to Gaza since
2017 has worsened already difficult humanitarian
conditions there. This
has led some international observers
and Israeli officials to
warn of an impendinga growing crisis, and
some Members of Congress to call in 2018 for urgent U.S.
assistance to alleviate suffering. According to the World
to call for a resumption of U.S. assistance to help alleviate
suffering. Israeli-approved cash transfers from Qatar since
late 2018 have provided some relief for Gazans. According
to the World Bank, Gazans’ real per capita incomes have
fallen by onethirdone-third since 1994, owing largely to the West
Bank-Gaza split
and to Israel’s and Egypt’s tight controls
on goods and
people transiting Gaza’s borders.
Violence periodically flares between Gazans and Israel’s
military. In 2018, Hamas has reportedly encouraged actions
from Gaza that are challenging for Israel to target militarily.
These include protests that sometimes feature rudimentary
weapons, and flaming kite or balloon launches that damage
Israeli land but pose relatively little danger to people. At the
flares regularly between Gazans and Israel’s
military, periodically escalating toward larger conflict. At
the same time, Hamas is reportedly keeping options open
for a
long-term cease-fire with Israel.
Fatah and Hamas have reached a number of Egypt-brokered
agreements aimed at ending the West Bank-Gaza split.
However, key provisions remain unimplemented, with
Hamas still effectively in control despite PA responsibility
for some civil services and border crossings.
Key U.S. Policy Issues
During the first year of the Trump Administration, the
Palestinians welcomed diplomatic efforts on the IsraeliPalestinian peace process. However, the PLO/PA stance
changed in December 2017 after. A new Fatah-dominated PA
government established by Abbas in March 2019 may
deepen rather than ease Fatah-Hamas tensions.
Key U.S. Policy Issues
The Trump Administration has clashed politically with
Mahmoud Abbas and the PLO/PA. After President Trump
recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017
and announced his
intention to relocate the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv.
Alleging U.S. bias toward Israel, Palestinian leaders broke
there, Abbas broke off high-level political contacts with the
United States and
sought support from other international actors.
The Palestinian response to the U.S. policy on Jerusalem
appears to have influenced Administration decisions to
reprogram U.S. aid initially allocated to the Palestinians,
end turned to other international actors.
Since then, the Trump Administration significantly
reduced bilateral aid to the West Bank and Gaza,
discontinued contributions to UNRWA for Palestinian
refugees,
and close closed the PLO’s representative office in Washington,
DC. According to a September 2018 State Department
statement, the PLO office closure “is also consistent with
Administration and Congressional concerns with
Palestinian attempts to prompt an investigation of Israel by
the International Criminal Court.” The Administration
reportedly still intends to introduce a peace process
proposal. However, prospects for renewed negotiations
appear dim, with Palestinian leaders insisting that the
Trump Administration has aligned itself with Israel to
predetermine key diplomatic outcomes regarding Jerusalem
and refugees. Top U.S. officials, meanwhile, assert that
they are discarding failed diplomatic frameworks of the past
and helping the Palestinians come to terms with the realities
they will face in a future negotiation.
The Administration has made the following specific
funding decisions in the second half of 2018. In August, it
announced that $200 million in FY2017 economic aid
originally appropriated for the Palestinians would be
reprogrammed elsewhere as a matter of national interest. In
September, the Administration disclosed that an additional
$25 million for East Jerusalem hospitals would be
reprogrammed, and that Palestinians would not participate
in an Arab-Jewish conflict management and mitigation
initiative ($10 million allocated for FY2017) that had
included them since 2004. Also in September, the
Administration announced that it would end all U.S.
contributions to UNRWA, leading UNRWA officials to
appeal to other Western and Arab countries for funding to
cover a 2018 budget shortfall of approximately $200
million. Observers, including some within Israeli official
circles, debate the merits of funding reductions or cutoffs,
referencing anticipated effects on regional stability,
humanitarian concerns (especially in Gaza), and political
leverage. For more information and background, see CRS
Insight IN10964, Decision to Stop U.S. Funding of UNRWA
(for Palestinian Refugees), by Jim Zanotti and Rhoda
Margesson; and CRS Report RS22967, U.S. Foreign Aid to
the Palestinians, by Jim Zanotti.
Congress’s enactment of the Taylor Force Act (Title X of
P.L. 115-141) in March 2018 withheld most economic aid
that “directly benefits” the PA unless the PA terminates
payments “for acts of terrorism,” among other things
Washington, DC, and subsumed the U.S. consulate
general in Jerusalem within the U.S. embassy to Israel.
Figure 1.U.S. Bilateral Assistance to the Palestinians
Sources: U.S. State Department and USAID, adapted by CRS.
Notes: All amounts are approximate. Amounts stated for FY2019
and FY2020 have been requested, with ultimate appropriation and
allocation amounts to be determined. NADR = Nonproliferation,
Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related Programs, INCLE =
International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement, ESF =
Economic Support Fund, OCO = Overseas Contingency Operations.
The Trump Administration claims that it will introduce a
peace plan, but has delayed publicizing it numerous times.
Partly due to the Administration’s lack of stated opposition
to statements by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu regarding Israel’s possible unilateral annexation
of West Bank settlements, Palestinian leaders and some
other observers claim that the Administration has aligned
itself with Israel to predetermine key diplomatic outcomes.
Congress enacted the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act in
2018 (ATCA; P.L. 115-253). Under the ATCA, as of
February 2019 the PA refused to accept any U.S.
bilateral aid in the West Bank and Gaza—including
nonlethal security assistance that Israel supports—because
doing so might subject the PLO/PA to legal liability in U.S.
courts. Apparently, U.S. aid to the Palestinians will not
resume unless Congress amends or repeals the ATCA, or
the Administration channels the aid differently.
Jim Zanotti, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IF10644
The Palestinians: Overview and Key Issues for U.S. Policy
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF10644 · VERSION 1112 · UPDATED