News highlights
A ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants was held in a bid to end nearly three days of violence that killed dozens of Palestinians and disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Israelis.
Key takeaways
- The Egyptian-mediated ceasefire helped prevent the outbreak of a full-scale war.
- It warned that resumption of hostilities would only have devastating consequences for Palestinians and Israelis and make any political progress elusive.
About Israel
- Israel is a country in the Middle East bordering the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea.
- Israel borders Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip;
- It shares maritime borders with Cyprus.
- Capital – Jerusalem
- Disputed areas and countries:
- The West Bank – Palestine
- The Gaza Strip – Egypt
- The Golan Heights – Syria
- Sinai Peninsula – Syria.
About Palestine
- Palestine is an area of the eastern Mediterranean region, comprising parts of modern Israel and the Palestinian territories of the Gaza Strip (along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea) and the West Bank (west of the Jordan River).
- Capital
- Proclaimed Capital: Jerusalem
- Administrative centre in Ramallah
- Bordered by
- East: Jordan River
- North: Modern Israel and Lebanon
- West: The Mediterranean Sea
- South: The Negev
The Gaza Strip
- It is located between Israel and Egypt.
- Israel occupied the strip after 1967 but relinquished control of Gaza City and day-to-day administration in most of the territory during the Oslo peace process.
- In 2005, Israel unilaterally removed Jewish settlements from the territory, though it continues to control international access to it.
About West Bank
- The West Bank is a landlocked territory in West Asia that is almost one-and-a-half times the size of Goa.
- It also includes a large portion of the western Dead Sea.
- Jordan conquered it after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, but Israel reclaimed it during the 1967 Six-Day War and has occupied it ever since.
- In the West Bank, there are around 130 formal Israeli settlements and 26 lakh Palestinians.
Golan Heights:
- The Golan Heights is a strategic plateau that Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 war.
- Israel effectively annexed the territory in 1981.
Pic Courtesy: The Hindu
Content Source: The Hindu