This website uses cookies to help us understand the way visitors use our website. We can't identify you with them and we don't share the data with anyone else. If you click Reject we will set a single cookie to remember your preference. Find out more in our privacy policy.

Easy Read

Donate

Easy Read

Donate

Easy News: Israel and Palestine conflict

This Easy News story is about Israel and Palestine and the violence that took place recently. It was translated by Ben.

Easy News: Israel and Palestine conflict

Easy Read home

    1. Last month there was serious violence in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas with bombs and rockets being fired.

    2. Hamas is a Palestinian-Islamic group that began in 1987, and is currently in control of the Gaza Strip (Also known as Gaza).

    3. Palestine is a state that is made up of two areas, Gaza and the West Bank. Israel is a country that controls the land between the Palestinian areas.

    4. There has been lots of fighting for many years over who gets what land and how it is controlled. The two Palestinian areas are currently occupied by Israel. This means that the Israeli military is there and in charge.

    5. Recently things got worse in the city of Jerusalem at the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan in mid-April 2021.

    6. Jerusalem is important in the conflict as both Israel and Palestine claim it as their capital city. Israel claims the whole city whereas Palestine claims East Jerusalem as its capital.

    7. The city is very important to lots of different religions. This has made things more difficult when it comes to deciding if it should be shared.

    8. The recent conflict started with fighting between Palestinians and Israeli police. Hamas fired rockets into Israel and Israel used air strikes over Gaza.

    9. Both sides blame each other and consider them responsible for the conflict.

    10. More than 250 people were killed, most of them in Gaza. More than 100 of the people that died were women or children.

    11. There are other areas and reasons which Israel and Palestine disagree about. We will look at some of these in an upcoming Easy News.

    12. On Friday 21 May both Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire. This is when both sides in a war agree to stop attacking each other temporarily.

    13. Israel and Hamas both said that they won the conflict. This was the worst fighting between them since 2014.

    14. Peace talks have been taking place on and off for more than 25 years, but so far they have not solved things.

    15. Sign up here to receive the latest issue of Easy News delivered direct to your inbox. If you would like to see previous issues of Easy News, contact us.

    Back to top