Glossary: Key Terms Explained

The term Palestinians use for the events of 1947-1949, when more than 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes during the establishment of the State of Israel, and more than 500 Palestinian villages were destroyed. Palestinians use "Nakba" not just for 1948 but to describe an ongoing process of displacement that continues today.

The military control Israel has exercised over the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip since 1967. Under international law, an occupying power has specific legal obligations toward the civilian population it controls. The International Court of Justice ruled in 2004 that Israel's occupation and the separation wall built on Palestinian land violate international law.

A legal term under international law referring to a system of institutionalized racial domination and oppression by one group over another. Both Amnesty International (2022) and Human Rights Watch (2021), in separate independent investigations, concluded that Israel's treatment of Palestinians meets this legal definition.

Under the 1948 Genocide Convention, genocide refers to acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group. In January 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that it is plausible Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered provisional measures. In September 2025, a UN Commission of Inquiry concluded that four of the five acts of genocide as defined by the Convention had been committed.

A political nationalist movement founded in the late 19th century by Theodor Herzl, with the goal of establishing a Jewish-majority state in historic Palestine. Zionism is a political ideology, not a religion -- many religious and secular Jews worldwide oppose it. Criticism of Zionism as a political movement is distinct from criticism of Jewish people or Judaism as a religion.

A Palestinian-led nonviolent movement calling on individuals, companies, and governments to boycott Israeli products and institutions connected to the occupation, divest from companies that profit from it, and impose sanctions until Israel complies with international law. Modeled on the international boycott campaign against South African apartheid.

The principle, affirmed in UN General Assembly Resolution 194 (1948), that Palestinian refugees displaced during the Nakba and their descendants have the right to return to the homes and lands from which they were expelled. Today this affects over 7 million registered Palestinian refugees.

The armistice line established after the 1948 war, separating Israel from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It is the internationally recognized boundary of Israel prior to the 1967 occupation. Israeli settlements built beyond the Green Line, in the West Bank, are considered illegal under international law by the international community.

A form of colonialism in which settlers permanently displace and replace the indigenous population of a territory, rather than simply extracting resources and leaving. Scholars including Ilan Pappe and Edward Said have analyzed the Zionist project and the establishment of Israel through this framework, pointing to the displacement of the indigenous Palestinian population as a defining feature.

Communities built by Israel for Israeli citizens on land in the West Bank occupied since 1967. Over 700,000 Israeli settlers currently live in West Bank settlements. Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits an occupying power from transferring its civilian population into occupied territory, making these settlements illegal under international law.

The land, air, and sea blockade Israel (with Egypt's cooperation) has imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007, controlling the movement of people and goods in and out of the territory. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have both described the blockade as a form of collective punishment, illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

A proposed resolution to the conflict involving the creation of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, generally based on pre-1967 borders. Decades of negotiations, including the Oslo Accords, have failed to implement this framework, and ongoing settlement expansion has made the territorial basis for a viable Palestinian state increasingly difficult to achieve.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Established in 1949, UNRWA provides education, healthcare, and humanitarian relief to millions of registered Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. Israel has sought to defund and ban UNRWA's operations.

The military forces of the State of Israel, responsible for enforcing the occupation of the West Bank, the blockade of Gaza, and military operations in both territories. The IDF's conduct has been the subject of numerous investigations by the UN, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch documenting violations of international humanitarian law.

A term used for two major Palestinian uprisings against Israeli occupation: the First Intifada (1987-1993) and the Second Intifada (2000-2005). Both involved mass civil resistance and were met with significant Israeli military responses, resulting in thousands of Palestinian deaths.