MAP 29.4 The Middle East in the Twenty-First Century
Tensions among states in the Middle East, especially the ongoing conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis and animosities among Shi‘ites and Sunnis, became more complicated from the 1990s on. The situation in the Middle East grew more uncertain in 2003 when a U.S.- and British-led invasion of Iraq deteriorated into escalating violence among competing religious and ethnic groups in the country. Additionally, for thirty-four days in the summer of 2006, Israel bombed Lebanon, including its capital city and refugee camps, with fire returned by Hezbollah and Hamas forces in the region.