The Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip has left many Palestinians refugees in their own homeland. With no voice through which to address the international community, Palestinians continue to live in fear and desolation. One might wonder how they were thrown into such a plight; losing your sovereignty to a foreign state isn't a casual occurrence for most nations. Regardless, despite the several peace talks and attempts at mediation by the US, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains an unclosed chapter.

Contrary to other views, the root cause stretches much farther back than Hamas or any other terror group.

Israel's long-term stance regarding the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state can be described as reluctant at the very least. Indeed, the Israeli state has maintained a thin veil to cover their staunch disregard for the prospect of a Palestinian state. This notion was reaffirmed by Prime Minister Netanyahu during a press conference in which he stated, “There cannot be a situation, under any agreement, in which we relinquish security control of the territory west of the River Jordan.”

Netanyahu thus relinquished the idea of an autonomous Palestinian state, essentially implying that the West Bank would remain under Israeli occupation. The irony of this situation lies in the fact that Israeli occupation and settlements in the West Bank are illegal under the UN, to which Israel owes its' existence. But regardless of Netanyahu's own perspective on the matter, the Palestinian people have remained resolute in their struggle towards self-determination. Meanwhile, the Palestinians continue to face intense discrimination and injustice from foreign militia as well as settlers.

In fact, there is overwhelming evidence from the UN that highlights severe human rights violations that Palestinians are forced to endure every day.

While Israel may continue to deny claims that it is purposefully committing war crimes and similar injustices against the Palestinian populace, it doesn't appear to be addressing the entire conflict altogether. Prime Minister Netanyahu essentially rejected the prospect of a two-state solution, which leaves the only other viable option a bi-national state. Of course, Netanyahu would find such a venture unappealing, given the fact that there are substantially more Arabs than Jews in terms of population. This leaves a sole alternative, which is for the illegal occupation and settlements to continue as they are. Clearly, when Netanyahu stated there could not be a two-state solution until "circumstances changed" he was indicating towards the prolongment of the current system of abuse and foreign control.

The world continues to watch as this 69-year-old conflict rages on. But what everyone fails to understand is that peace cannot be achieved without justice. Given the international community's failure to end the thriving injustices which have been plaguing the Palestinians for so long, it is no surprise that the conflict is still alive.