The crisis in the Middle East?

Ok, i want to know everything there is,that has caused the current crisis in the middle east, the origin, the actions taken, the consequences. When I say middle east i want you to mainly concentrate on Israeli-Palestinian conflict( Why it started, whats going on now, main figures etc) and secondly the gulf war. Both the first and the second. Ps: I wanna know why did US take hold of Iraq, because of their invasion of Kuwait? or Americans wanted the oil?? None of these have to be in gr8 detail, but make sure you get the basic facts right. And also any personal opinions of what should be done is welcome. Thanks!!