Israel has accelerated settlement construction in recent years — long before Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack ignited the war in Gaza — confining Palestinians to smaller and smaller areas of the West Bank and making the prospect of establishing a viable, independent state even more remote.

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a devastating offensive in Gaza since October 2023, killing over 54,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave's more than 2 million population.