https://crsreports.congress.gov
Updated May 24, 2023
The Palestinians: Overview, Aid, and U.S. Policy Issues
The Palestinians are an Arab people whose origins are in
present-day Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Their ongoing
disputes and interactions with Israel raise significant issues
for U.S. policy (see “U.S. Policy Issues and Aid” below).
After a serious rupture in U.S.-Palestinian relations during
the Trump Administration, the Biden Administration
reengaged with the Palestinian people and their leaders in
the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA), and
resumed aid—with hopes of preserving the viability of a
negotiated two-state solution. The Palestinians aspire to an
independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Near-term prospects for diplomatic progress toward Israeli-
Palestinian peace reportedly remain dim. Palestinian leaders
lamented some Arab states’ normalization of relations with
Israel near the end of the Trump Administration because it
could undermine past Arab efforts to link such
improvements with addressing Palestinian negotiating
demands. Domestic political uncertainty among both
Palestinians and Israelis also presents challenges to a return
to Israeli-Palestinian talks.
Palestinian domestic politics are dominated by two factions.
Fatah, an Arab nationalist faction, is the driving force
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. Since 2007, the United States and
other Western countries have generally sought to bolster the
Fatah-led PA vis-à-vis Hamas.
Source: Economist Intelligence Unit.
Note: West Bank and Gaza Strip borders remain subject to Israeli-
Palestinian negotiation.
Of the approximately 13.4 million Palestinians worldwide,
about 5.1 million (98% Sunni Muslim, 1% Christian) live in
the West Bank and Gaza. About 1.6 million additional
Palestinians are citizens of Israel, and about 6.7 million
more live elsewhere. Of the total Palestinian population,
more than 5.7 million (roughly 43%) 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 Israeli-Palestinian dispute. The U.N. Relief
and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
(UNRWA)—funded mostly by voluntary contributions
from the United States and other countries—is mandated by
the U.N. General Assembly to provide protection and
essential services to these registered Palestinian refugees,
including health care, education, and housing assistance.
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 PA in 1994. Since
the 2010s, other regional political and security issues have
taken some of the global attention from Palestinian issues.
Reduced international focus on the Palestinians may affect
their economy, which faces political risk challenges related
to unrest and violence, as well as considerable Israeli
movement, access, and land use restrictions. According to
the World Bank, external aid to the PA declined from 27%
of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008 to just under 2%
in 2022, contributing to large fiscal deficits that endanger
the economy’s sustainability. The World Bank estimated
end-2022 unemployment as 45% in Gaza and 13% in the
West Bank. Price hikes connected to the Russia-Ukraine
war, including on grain, affect Palestinians alongside others
in the region.
Timeline of Key Events Since 1993
