The Palestinians: Overview, Aid, and U.S. Policy Issues
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Updated July 18, 2024
The Palestinians: Overview, Aid, and U.S. Policy Issues
Prospects for a Palestinian state seem unclear amid various regional challenges, resistance from Israeli officials, and questions regarding U.S. policy in early 2025. The Trump Administration appears to have relaxed U.S. scrutiny of the continued or expanded Israeli control and settlement activity in the West Bank that could present obstacles to Palestinian statehood. President Trump also has raised ideas about possible U.S. responsibility for Gaza and its reconstruction, and the potential relocation of Gazans, that have generated debate. Additionally, his Administration's review of U.S. foreign aid has reportedly led to reductions or delays in aid for the West Bank and Gaza. The war in Gaza has reportedly resulted in more than 1,600 Israeli and (according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza) 50,000 Palestinian deaths. Some 59 hostages are reportedly held by Hamas or other militants in Gaza. During the war, a great majority of Gazans have faced displacement, and most continue to face threats from fighting, overcrowding, and/or acute shortages of food, water, and medical care. U.S. officials have provided material support for Israel's operations against Hamas in Gaza, while also seeking to help mediate a ceasefire and hostage releases. Since early March 2025, Israel has prevented new supplies of food and other humanitarian aid from coming into Gaza. The duration and intensity of Israeli military operations and the issue of who manages Gaza's reconstruction, security, and governance remain open questions. Arab and many European states support the return to power in Gaza of the Palestinian Authority (PA)—which currently exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank. Israel has to date publicly rejected renewed rule by the PA, alleging that it has engaged in corruption and supported terrorism, while the PA insists that any return it makes to Gaza be linked with progress toward a two-state solution. Hamas forcibly seized Gaza from the PA in 2007. 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 questionbecame prominent again. How to end the war and implement a governance and security transition in Gaza are crucial questions, 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. PresidentsAdministrations 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 During much of that time, Congress has appropriated bilateral economic and nonlethal security aid in support of stated U.S. goals to assist Palestinian governance, civil society, and economic development, while also appropriating humanitarian aid for Palestinians in the region. The Bush, Obama, and Biden Administrations voiced open 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. In 2017, President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital (while leaving sovereign boundaries open to negotiation), and in 2020, his first Administration presented a plan to potentially allow for Palestinian statehood under certain conditions.
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 2 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.UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)—funded mostly by voluntary contributions from the United States and othervarious countries— is mandated by the U.N.UN 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 and its West Bank security forces vis-à-vis Hamas, and also support PA-Israel cooperation. The economy in the West Bank faces challenges related to unrest and violence, as well as measures by Israel to limit the transfer of tax revenue due to the PA, and considerable Israeli movement, access, and land use restrictions.
Timeline of Key Events Since 1993
1993-19951993-1995
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.
2000-20052000-2005
Second Palestinian intifada affects prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace, and leads to tightened Israeli security in the West Bank.
2004-2005 PLO Chairman/PA President Yasser Arafat dies; Mahmoud Abbas succeeds him.
20052005
Israel unilaterally disengages from Gaza, but remains in control of airspace and land/maritime access points.
20062006
Hamas wins majority in Palestinian Legislative Council and leads new PA cabinet; Israel,
The Palestinians: Overview, Aid, and U.S. Policy Issues
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United States, and European Union confine relations to PA President Mahmoud Abbas.
2007 2022-present2007
West Bank-Gaza split: Hamas seizes control of Gaza Strip; Abbas reorganizes PA cabinet to lead West Bank; Israel and Egypt establish tighttightened controls on goods and people transiting Gaza.
controls on goods and people transiting Gaza; this remains the status quo to date.
2007-present Various rounds of U.S.-brokered Israeli- Palestinian peace negotiations (the last in 2013-2014) end unsuccessfully; PLO/PA increases efforts to gain membership in or support from international organizations.
2017 Trump Administration recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital (without specifying the boundaries of Israeli sovereignty).
2022-present Another round of Israel-West Bank violence—which increased after the October 2023 outbreak of Israel-Hamas war—is accompanied by rising (and partly Iran- backed) Palestinian militancy, Jewish ultra- nationalist influence in the Israeli government, and Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians.
2023-present
Hamas-led attacks in October 2023 trigger Israeli counteroffensive. PLO/PA supports cases against Israel in international courts and Israel increases economic restrictions on the PA while threatening others.
PLO/PA Leadership and Succession
Since Hamas's 2007 takeover of Gaza and the establishment of divided rule between Gaza and the West Bank, PA President Mahmoud Abbas has ruled over the areas the PA controls in the West Bank by decree. It is unclear if elections will take place again. The PA's alleged violations of the rule of law and civil liberties have drawn some international criticism. Since the October 7 attacks, polls indicate increased support in the West Bank for Hamas at the expense of President Abbas and Fatah, possibly stemming from Hamas'PLO/PA Leadership and Succession Since the Hamas victory in 2006 PA legislative elections, the PA has ruled by presidential decree, and has drawn some international criticism for alleged violations of the rule of law and civil liberties. Given the West Bank-Gaza split in 2007, it is unclear if elections will take place again. While PA President Mahmoud Abbas did not directly denounce the October 7 attacks, he has been cited as saying that he rejects the killing or abusing of civilians “on both sides,” and has blamed Hamas for providing Israel with “pretexts” for war. Polls show a spike in West Bank Palestinian support for Hamas that may stem from Hamas’s military actions, prisoner releases it has secured, and civilian suffering in Gaza. A new PA government took office in March 2024, but Abbas retains ultimate authority. Abbas’
Abbas's age (b. 1935) has contributed to speculation about leadership succession in the PLO and PA. Top advisers Hussein al Sheikh (on political affairs) and Majid Faraj (on security) have major profiles internationallyhigh international visibility, but limited domestic popular support. Marwan Barghouti attracts significantmajor popular support; he has been imprisoned by Israel since 2002. Muhammad Dahlan, who was expelled from Fatah in 2011,Mohammed Dahlan was a former PA security chief in Gaza and enjoysreceives support from some Arab states.
Hamas and Gaza
Amid ongoing conflict, Hamas’'s future in Gaza is unclear. Hamas has controlled Gaza through its security forces and obtained resources from smuggling, informal “"taxes,”" and reported external assistance from Iran and private entities operating from some other regional countries. Yahya Sinwar has been Hamas’s leader for Gaza since 2017, and was a driving force behind the October 2023 attacks in IsraelKey Gaza-based leaders behind the October 2023 attacks, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, were both killed by Israel in 2024. Hamas also maintains a presence in the West Bank. Qatar-based Ismail Haniyeh is the leader of the political bureau that conducts Hamas’s worldwide dealings.
Before the ongoing conflict, Hamas and other Gaza-based militants engaged in major escalations with Israel in 2008-2009, 2012, 2014, and 2021. Hamas also constructed a vast network of tunnels—some under civilian areas—that apparently pose major challenges to dislodging it. In the previous conflicts and the present one, Hamas and other Gaza-based militants launched rockets toward Israeli population centers, and Israeli military strikes largely decimated Gaza’s infrastructure. BeforePrior to October 2023, with key actors unsure of how to allow assistance for Gazans without bolstering Hamas’'s capabilities, Israel permitted Qatar to provide certain types of funding to Gaza. Some observers have asserted that Israeli officials accepted the status quo with Hamas ruling Gaza, partly to avoid Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
U.S. Policy Issues and Aid Biden Administration officials publicly support a pathway toward a two-state solution, and oppose unilateral Israeli or Palestinian actions that incite violence or could obstruct peace efforts—including Israeli settlement building and Palestinian initiatives in international fora. Regarding U.S. bilateral aid (see Figure 1), via the Taylor Force Act (Div. S, Title X of P.L. 115-141) Congress has prohibited most Economic Support Fund (ESF) aid directly benefitting the PA unless the PLO/PA were to curtail domestically popular payments that arguably incentivize acts of terror. Figure 1. U.S. Bilateral Aid to the Palestinians
Source: U.S. Department of State. Notes: NADR=Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining and Related Programs; INCLE=International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement; ESF=Economic Support Fund. ESF for 2016 came from the ESF-Overseas Contingency Operations account. The Biden Administration plans to allocate $1 billion in enacted FY2024 supplemental humanitarian aid for Gaza, but Congress has placed prohibitions on U.S. funding for UNRWA until March 25, 2025, after allegations surfaced in January 2024 that some UNRWA staff may have participated in the October 2023 attacks. The U.S. proposal to have a revamped PA extend its rule into Gaza faces various challenges, including: • Hamas’s deep roots and long-standing presence in Gaza. • Israeli leaders’ potential entrenchment of forces in Gaza
and current resistance to a future Palestinian state.
• Questions about possible PA leadership reform. • Israeli actions that have arguably threatened West Bank
stability—including settler violence against Palestinians and a reduction in PA revenues. The Administration has imposed sanctions on some extremist Israeli actors, and has opposed Israeli measures harming PA finances.
Jim Zanotti, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
IF10644
The Palestinians: Overview, Aid, and U.S. Policy Issues
https://crsreports.congress.gov | IF10644 · VERSION 26 · UPDATED
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Figure 1. Major U.S. Bilateral Aid Appropriations for the Palestinians
Source: U.S. Department of State.
Notes: INCLE=International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (nonlethal security aid); ESF=Economic Support Fund.
Congress has prohibited most economic aid directly benefitting the PA (via the Taylor Force Act, or TFA—Div. S, Title X of P.L. 115-141) unless the PLO/PA were to curtail domestically popular payments that arguably incentivize acts of terror. In February 2025, the PA announced changes to these payments; it is unclear how such changes might address the TFA's requirements.