Soon after his election, President Trump declared himself ready to solve the Middle East puzzle that’s frustrated so many occupants of the White House.
“I would love to be able to be the one that made peace with Israel and the Palestinians,” he said.
To Trump’s supporters, it may not seem such a far-fetched ambition; after all, the real estate mogul wrote the best-selling book Trump: The Art of the Deal. But every American president who’s tried to forge a lasting peace has run up against sharply competing claims by Israel and the Palestinians. Many of those claims stem from a war that erupted 50 years ago this June. As its name makes clear, the Six-Day War lasted less than a week. But the consequences—Israel’s occupation of Arab lands, the Palestinian clamor for statehood, and the destabilization of much of the Middle East—still resonate today.
Here’s what you need to know to understand the conflict—and the challenges Trump will face if he does get involved.