Talk:Israel

This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Frequently asked questions; please read before posting

These questions arise frequently on the talk page concerning Israel.

Why is Jerusalem listed as Israel's capital in the infobox?

Israel declares Jerusalem to be its capital, and has its seat of government there. However, the lack of international recognition is notable, hence the subtext was added "(limited recognition)" as the result of a 2018 request for comment (RfC). For further information see Status of Jerusalem.

Why does the article's introduction state that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, even though this is heavily contested and neither the ICJ nor the ICC have issued a final judgment?

The text Following the October 7 attacks in 2023, Israel began committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza was added following a November 2025 request for comment (RfC), which concluded that Israel should be described in the introduction as committing genocide without in-text attribution. For further information see Gaza genocide and another relevant RfC which was previously held there.

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Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon

Israel has occupied Southern Lebanon, this is widely reporting and needs to be included in the article, along with updating the map to invoice this occupation. ~2026-34153-27 (talk) 05:52, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

Adding a link to Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon (2026) in the body somewhere might work, but the map is separate from this article. Consider requesting at c:File talk:Israel (centered orthographic projection).svg. SuperPianoMan9167 (talk) 18:53, 10 June 2026 (UTC)

Shouldn't we remove the native names in the infobox, since they're more than one? Or maybe just list the Hebrew name?

I've seen this done for articles like Joseph Stalin and Japan. If there is more than one native name, you remove all the native names altogether, or, if, in Japan's case, there is more than one recognized language by law, just include the native name in the official language of the country. In Israel's case, that is Hebrew, isn't it? Arabic only has a special status. UltraCobson (talk) 01:47, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Arabic was changed from an official language to a special status language in 2017 though legally its use remained the same. See Arabic language in Israel. Your proposed change is likely to be controversial so should be properly discussed here first. Erp (talk) 02:23, 14 June 2026 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 16 June 2026

Replace the current paragraph (beginning with "Israel declared independence as the British Mandate ended..." and ending with the sentence "Israel and its allies, including the United States, deny that Israel's actions constitute genocide.") with the following more neutral version:

Israel declared independence as the British Mandate ended on 14 May 1948, followed by an invasion by several Arab states. The 1949 armistice agreements left Israel in control of territory beyond the area allocated in the 1947 UN Partition Plan, while no Arab state was established in the remaining territory; the Gaza Strip came under Egyptian control and the West Bank was annexed by Jordan. Most Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled during the Nakba, while the creation of Israel and the war triggered a wave of antisemitism in the Arab world and the Jewish exodus from the Muslim world, with the majority of those Jews resettling in Israel.

After the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Egyptian Sinai, and Syrian Golan Heights, and later annexed East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. Peace treaties were signed with Egypt in 1979 (with the Sinai returned in 1982) and Jordan in 1994. The 1993 Oslo Accords led to limited Palestinian self-rule in parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The 2020 Abraham Accords normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states, but the Israeli–Palestinian conflict remains unresolved.

Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories has drawn sustained international criticism and legal scrutiny. Some UN experts, human rights organizations, and governments have accused Israel of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and (in relation to the Gaza war) acts of genocide. Israel and its allies reject these accusations, maintaining that its operations constitute lawful self-defense against Hamas and other designated terrorist groups following the October 7, 2023 attacks, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and over 250 taken hostage. A case filed by South Africa alleging violations of the Genocide Convention is pending before the International Court of Justice, with no final judgment on the merits issued as of 2026.

This change attributes controversial claims to their sources rather than stating them in Wikipedia's voice, provides necessary historical context for the October 7 attacks, and reflects the current status of the ICJ case, in line with the neutral point of view policy. Emiliolsp (talk) 00:24, 16 June 2026 (UTC)

 Not done: This would require a discussion you cannot participate in. Also, please read Talk:Israel/FAQ answer #2. SuperPianoMan9167 (talk) 00:56, 16 June 2026 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 24 June 2026

Change the redirect in the name of istael to the Hebrew language from Hebrew Language to Modern Hebrew. Draecho (talk) 18:27, 24 June 2026 (UTC)

 Not done: No reason was given for the proposed change, and I don't see an issue with linking to the main article for the Hebrew language there. Day Creature (talk) 04:37, 25 June 2026 (UTC)

Reason: The Hebrew Language page is more of a summary of the entire Hebrew Language (including the extinct versions), while the Modern Hebrew page gives details on the language spoken, which is what is being referred to. Compare Greek Language to Modern Greek. Draecho (talk) 13:00, 25 June 2026 (UTC)

revert

@Veggies can you clarify your revert Cinaroot (talk) 23:09, 7 July 2026 (UTC)

Rfc?: A wording change request

Hello. I request that the phrase "Israel began committing genocide in Gaza" be replaced with "Israel began committing actions in Gaza commonly cited as genocide". Haskeymorrison (talk) 17:56, 28 July 2026 (UTC)

Please see the Frequently asked questions near the top of this page. O3000, Ret. (talk) 18:00, 28 July 2026 (UTC)