<p>Amid an avalanche of news on the escalating Israel-Gaza war, media reports have been interspersed with names and terms that may not be familiar to all. Here are some of the common names and terms related to the Israel-Palestine conflict and what they mean:</p>
<p>Hamas</p>
<p>Founded in 1987, Hamas is an Islamist political outfit and one of the two major parties in Palestine. Hamas, an Arabic word, means "zeal". Dozens of countries, including Israel and Western nations like the US and the UK, have designated Hamas and its military wing as a terrorist organisation.</p>
<p>The militant outfit receives most of its funds, weapons and training from Iran. Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip after defeating its rival political party, Fatah, in the 2006 election.</p>
<p>Gaza Strip</p>
<p>Gaza, one of the most densely populated places in the world, is a small rectangular strip of land that is mostly surrounded by Israel in the east and north, Egypt in the south and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. It is mostly occupied by around 2 million Palestinians and the region has a poverty rate above 50%.</p>
<p>In 2005, Israel withdrew its soldiers from the region and the Gaza Strip was handed over to the Palestine Authority. Israel has imposed an air, land and sea blockade on Gaza since 2006. Hamas took complete control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.</p>
<p>West Bank</p>
<p>A chunk of land bigger than the Gaza Strip, West Bank lies east of Israel and is home to nearly 3 million Palestinians. Israel took control of the West Bank following the 1967 Six Day War. The people of Palestine consider it illegally occupied land, as Israel has allowed Jews to settle in the area. Presently, there are around 500,000 Jewish settlers living there.</p>
<p>The West Bank is currently administered by three entities, as was decided upon according to the Oslo Accords. The West Bank is divided into three areas — one area is managed by the Palestinian Authority, another and a major chunk by Israel, and a third is under joint control until a permanent agreement is reached between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Israel.</p>
<p>Nakba</p>
<p>Nakba, meaning "catastrophe" in Arabic, refers to the mass displacement of Palestinians during and after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that led to the creation of Israel. An estimated 7,60,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled. Palestinians observe May 15 each year as Nakba Day. It comes a day after Israeli Independence Day — May 14.</p>
<p>Zionism</p>
<p>Zionism is Israel’s national ideology and was coined in 1980 by philosopher and author Nathan Birnbaum. In simple terms, Zionism is a nationalist ideology that called for the creation of a separate state for Jews and upholding of Jewish sovereignty in the land of Israel.</p>
<p>Theodor Herzl, an Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist, is considered the "father" of modern political Zionism. He had formed the Zionist Organisation and advocated Jewish immigration to Palestine in a bid to form a Jewish state in 1896.</p>
<p>The Zionist movement gained momentum in the late 19th century amidst increasing anti-Semitism in Europe. The main aim of Zionists was to create a Jewish state in Palestine. The movement found support among Western European governments. The Arab nations see Zionism as a hangover of colonialism and racism aimed at appropriating Palestinian land.</p>
<p>Intifada</p>
<p>Intifada, which in Arabic means "shaking off" or "getting rid of" someone or something, refers to the two Palestinian uprisings against Israel — first in the late 1980s and the second in the early 2000s.</p>
<p>Kibbutz</p>
<p>Kibbutz, which means "gathering" in Hebrew, is a type of small agricultural settlement centred around farms owned collectively by the residents. The Kibbutz settlements, which usually consist of 100-1,000 residents, are the worst affected in the recent wave of violence by Hamas.</p>
<p>They consist of around 3% of Israel’s population but hold wide significance and several of Israel’s politicians and military leaders are from the community. Kibbutzniks make up around 15% of Israel’s Knesset, its parliament.</p>
<p>Iron Dome</p>
<p>Recently, videos of dark skies illuminated by exploding balls of light have flooded social media amid Israel’s war with Hamas. It is nothing but Israel’s famed Iron Dome at work. The Iron Dome is an aerial defence mechanism that intercepts incoming short-range rockets fired by enemies.</p>
<p>The Iron Dome, built with help from the United States, can block around 85-90% of missiles. The system has three components — radar that detects the threat, a command-and-control system that processes the information and activates the interceptor, which is basically a missile that destroys the incoming rocket.</p>
<p>Two-State Solution</p>
<p>Several countries and global leaders, including India and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, have advocated for a two-state solution to end the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The "two-state solution" entails creating an independent Israel and Palestine states.</p>
<p>The proposal for a "two-state" solution was first made in 1947 by the United Nations. As per the proposal, Israel would be given around 55 per cent of the land that had made up the erstwhile Palestine and the rest to the Arab state. This, however, was not agreed to by the Arabs. </p>
<p>Hezbollah</p>
<p>Hezbollah, meaning "The Party of God", is a political outfit and militant group based in Lebanon that has been backed by Iran and Syria. The outfit was formed in 1982 to tackle Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon. The militant wing of Hezbollah has been designated as a terrorist group by the United States and many other countries.</p>
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