That 75 Year Number

When discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict people keep throwing around 75 years. While that may mark the birth of the state of Israel it's not really accurate.

75 years would be 1948 and the war of 1948 in which an Arab coalition attempted to destroy the newly declared nation of Israel. Now it doesn't matter whether one believes that war was justified or not. What matters is who controlled what at the end of it. 

The UN had voted to kick the British out (see Mandate for Palestine) and partition Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state. That plan fell apart pretty quickly as the Arabs rejected the plan and the Jews declared the existence of the state of Israel. What was a Palestine civil war spread as Egypt, Jordan and Syria joined the conflict. 

Once the war ended Jordan controlled the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza and Israel controlled everything else. 

Jordan annexed the West Bank in 1950. Egypt set up a puppet Palestinian government in Gaza which never really had any authority. Things remained that way until 1967. 

 In 1956 the Egyptians nationalized the Suez Canal because, why not, it's on their territory. They also closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping. This led to an invasion of Egypt by British, French and Israeli forces which captured the canal. After both the Soviet Union and the United States expressed opposition to the invasion the British, French and Israeli forces withdrew essentially with their tails between their legs. 

In 1967, Egypt again closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping despite warnings from Israel that this would be viewed as a casus belli. The resulting war saw Israel capture the West Bank from Jordan, Gaza from Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria. 

Jordan relinquished all claims to the West Bank in 1988 and recognized the Palestine Liberation Organization as "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people." 

Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980 and the Golan Heights in 1981. In 2005 Israel withdrew from Gaza and Northern Samaria. 

The West Bank is currently divided into three zones A, B and C. Zone A (18%) is administered by the Palestinian Authority. Zone B (22%) is administered by the Palestinian Authority but with joint Israeli security control. Zone C (60%) is administered by Israel, contains all of the Israeli settlements and divides Zones A and B into hundreds of separate areas.