Tristan, Israelis are as divided as Americans, and for much the same reasons - namely the far right in both countries are determined to create a Jewish Democracy in Israel, and a Christian Nation in America - which in my mind, are theocracies - not democracies and I personally oppose both of them.
Geography divides the Palestinian people. The occupied territories are divided by 72 miles of land, that separate the West Bank from the Gaza strip. The West bank which is bordered by Jordan and the Dead Sea has been under Israeli military occupation since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War.
The Gaza strip is located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and is bordered by Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north. Access to the Mediterranean Sea is a very big deal.
And, just about 700,00 Palestinians refused the right of return to their homeland are still refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt. Since 1947, these refugees have about doubled in number (births).
Jerusalem is on the border between Israel and the West Bank, and includes some of the holiest ground in monotheism.
The Al-Aqṣā Mosque in Jerusalem is the place where the Prophet Muhammad led Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other messengers of God in ritual prayer. Following prayer, Mohammad ascended to heaven for an encounter with G-d.
During classical antiquity, Jerusalem was considered the center of the world, where God resided.
In Christianity, Jerusalem is one of many, many, many, many sites linked to the life of Jesus. Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ, is located in the West Bank. In 1995, Israel ceded control of Bethlehem to the Palestinian Authority.
In 2017, Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and opened the U.S. Embassy there. This move provided American Christian evangelicals a piece of real estate smack, dab in the middle of the most religiously divided land on earth. It also elevated Israel's "interests" and American Christian evangelical's "interests" above those of the Muslim faith, non-evangelical Christians and all other 'others".
