User blog comment:BoogieMango/Which Would You Be?/@comment-4541410-20121118180850/@comment-3242795-20121118182237

Israel was founded in 1948 after the British agreed with the United Nations to give up the land for the Jews, since it has been their homeland since 1850 B.C.E., or so it is believed. The land was known as Palestine, but the country was reborn as Israel. The Palestinians have always demanded their land back, but it's never really worked.

Basically, the Hamas, a terrorist group, is in control of the Gaza Strip, a small state along the Mediterranean, surrounded on all other sides by Israel. They lead constant attacks on Israel's borders, and Israel returns fire. They built a wall around Gaza which has saved hundreds of thousands of lives.