Difference between revisions of "Palestine"

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Map of the Holy Land Divided into the XII Tribes of Israel, by Emanuel Bowen, PUBLISHED 1752.

Palestine (from Latin: Palaestina; Hebrew: פלשת‎ Pleshet, פלשתינה Palestina; Arabic: فلسطين‎ Filastīn, Falastīn) is a name sometimes given to part of the land that generally comprises the Holy Land, known as the in the Old Testament Promised Land given to the Israelites / Jews in that part of the Bible. Though historically Jews did reside there, it is not directly associated with the Jewish promise, as it is a geopolitical designation more than a religious one. Palestine was a later name for the province of Judea in the Roman Empire, who ruled the Jewish people at that time.^[1] The Romans also renamed Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina.

After the Romans renamed Israel as Syria Palestina in 132-135 AD, Palestine is one of many names for the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan. Many different definitions of the region have been in usage in the past three thousand years. It was never an Arab state, and much of its history has been falsified by the "Palestinian" movement and its sympathizers in order to create a new identity to give the Arab nations a new weapon to use to fight against the nation of Israel.

Ancient

Main Article: History of Israel

The Hebrew scriptures call the region Canaan when referring to the pre-Israelite period,(Hebrew: כּנען‎) and afterwards Israel (Yisrael). The name "Land of the Hebrews" (Hebrew: ארץ העברים‎, Eretz Ha-Ivrim) is also found. The wide area appears to be the habitat of the ancient ethnic Hebrews, though perhaps shared with other ethnic groups. The land of Canaan is part of the land given to the descendants of Abraham, which extends from the Nile to the Euphrates River (Genesis 15:18). Already in Genesis 12:6 and 7 we can read: And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. This land is said to include an area called Aram Naharaim, which includes Haran in modern Turkey.

In the Koran, the term الأرض المقدسة ("Holy Land", Al-Ard Al-Muqaddasah) is mentioned at least seven times, once which claims Moses proclaims to the Children of Israel: "O my people! Enter the holy land which Allah hath assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin." (Surah 5:21)

Originally inhabited by a loose bonding of Canaanite tribes, the Israelites settled into the area after the Exodus from Egypt and were partially successful in driving out the Canannites and making it their home. Migrations from the "Peoples of the Sea" led to a strong Phillistine presence on the coastline, but they were generally subdued by King David and Solomon during the height of ancient Israel. The kingdom was subsequently divided into the Northern Kingdom and Judea upon the death of Solomon. The Northern Kingdom, and the remnants of the Philistine kingdoms, were conquered by the Assyrians in the late 8th century B.C. and the kingdom of Judea fell under Babylonian control in the late 7th century and lost their independence completely in 586 B.C. with the fall of Jerusalem, their capital. The Jews were allowed to return under the Persian Empire and the entire area was conquered by Alexander the Great around 330 B.C. When his empire broke apart at his death and consolidated into four different regions, it was the Ptolemies centered in Egypt who controlled the region for the better part of the next two centuries, but conquest by the Seleucids led to a harsh religious persecution on the Jews in the region. The Jews revolted and had their independence for almost 100 years before a civil war courted Roman intervention and the area came under Roman control and eventually became the province of Palestine. Byzantine rule was forcefully removed by the great Islamic waves of the 7th century A.D. Portions of Palestine were reclaimed under Crusader control from the late 11th century until the mid 13th century, but the overall region was under Islamic control for over 1000 years. Worth mentioning that the Philistines who at one time lived in part of the area were completely conquered by King David.

In the mid-1200s, Mamelukes, originally soldier-slaves of the Arabs based in Egypt, established an empire that in time included the area of Palestine. Arab-speaking Muslims made up most of the population of the area once called Palestine. Beginning in the late 1300s, Jews from Spain and other Mediterranean lands settled in Jerusalem and other parts of the land. The Ottoman Empire defeated the Mamelukes in 1517, and Palestine became part of the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish Sultan invited Jews fleeing the Spanish Catholic inquisition to settle in the Turkish empire, including several cities in Palestine.^[2]

Modern History

The breakup of the Ottoman Empire after their defeat in World War I saw the region come under the control of Great Britain. While there was always a Jewish remnant who never left, Jewish re-emigration to the area increased under the tolerant eyes of the British. This increased after the atrocities of World War II and the areas were given their independence with Palestine being divided into separate Jewish and Arab nations, the Jewish nation being called Israel and the Arab Palestine.

"Six Day War" Territories.

A war broke out in which the Jews expanded their borders and the self-claimed Arab nation of "Palestine" was absorbed by Jordan. Hostility between the Arabs and Jews continued and in 1967 Israel conquered the West Bank from Jordan, taking the bulk of the Jewish land that had been the "Palestinian state". UN resolution 242 called for the Israeli removal from that land, but it did not occur. Attempts to hold Israel accountable were vetoed in the Security Council by the United States. Although the land was part of Jordan, Jordan relinquished its rights in the 1980s telling the Israelis to speak with the "Palestinian" Arabs directly. The 1967 Israel borders have no popular support among ordinary "Palestinian" residents. What most people call the 1967 Israel borders is really a cease-fire line (armistice) dating back to 1949; this armistice agreement was never a permanent treaty between Israel and any Arab country.^[3]

In 1988, the Kingdom of Jordan renounced all claims to the territory known as Judea and Samaria within Israel, and "The West Bank" to the rest of the world.^[4] In 1994 Jordan made that renunciation permanent. It negotiated a permanent treaty of peace with Israel. That treaty set the boundary along the Jordan and Yarmouk Rivers, through the Dead Sea, then southwest along the Emek Ha’arava (or Wadi Araba in Arabic) line to the Gulf of Aqaba.^[5] For that reason, the Judea-Samaria region is not an occupied territory at all as anti-Semitic liberals claim it to be, but a territory under military administration, the civilian population of which (with key exceptions) have leaders desiring secession and independence.

Today's "Palestinian" Arabs are descendants of late 19th century and early 20th century Arab immigrants from surrounding nations such as Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq and Sudan.^[6][7][8]

East of Gaza City, 18.07.2014

The "Palestinian" Intifada from the late 1980s tried to regain Arab control of the West Bank region of Israel. While first clamping down harshly, Israel did sign an accord to grant the "Palestinian" Arabs autonomy in the West Band and the Gaza Strip, but not full independence. The borders of a future "Palestinian" state has been a stumbling block to a final solution with the Arabs wanting to control all of the area captured in the 1967 War and Israel claiming part of the land for the Jewish people. A continuing series of violent actions on the part of the "Palestinian" Arabs and an inability to find a comprise has prevented any type of permanent solution. The short term solution is bleak. With Hamas, a terrorist entity that does not even recognize Israel's right to exist in its own land (it seeks ethnic cleansing of all Jews in the area and create a radical oppressive Islamic state) having the majority of the control in the "Palestinian" legislature, its head in Damascus, Osama Hamdan, supports Ahmadinejad's genocidal call to "wipe off Israel off the map" ^[9] and Hamas Cleric Muhsen Abu 'Ita said: "The Annihilation of the Jews in Palestine is One of The Most Splendid Blessings for Palestine".^[10]

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) is an autonomous national entity comprising the territories of Gaza (formerly under Egyptian sovereignty) and West Bank (formerly under Jordan sovereignty), which were occupied by the Israeli Defense Forces in Jun 1967. As provided by the Israeli-PLO Declaration of Principles signed on 13 Sep 1993 and upon the Agreement signed on 4 May 1994, the PNA was inaugurated on 5 Jul 1994 as a transitional status including "Palestinian" interim self-governing and a phased transfer of powers and territories (towns and areas of the West Bank). Negotiations on the permanent status, which could end in a "Palestinian State", are under way. Headquarters: Ramallah, Chairmen of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): Mahmoud Ridha Abbas^[11]

Christians

Catholics in the West Bank.

Greek Orthodox Christians in the Gaza Strip.

While Arab-Palestinians are overwhelmingly Muslim and grandchildren of Arab immigrants, there are also between 3 (in Gaza) - 9 (in West Bank) percent who are Christians.

A large number of Christians are indigenous to "Palestine", and many of these are descended from the first Christians- the first Jews who chose to follow Christ and recognize him as the messiah. Also many Arameans, another Semitic group native to the area, accepted Christ very early on in the history of Christianity, and thus contribute a lot to the genetics of today's Christians in the Palestinian Authority, later joined over thousand years later by surviving European crusaders and their families after their defeat at the hands of the Islamic armies,^[12] when they blended into the native, Semitic Christian population.

There are Catholic and Orthodox Churches in the West Bank and Gaza. The Iraqi-born, Assyrian Australian prelate, Mar Mari Emmanuel, visited Gaza once.

Many of the Christians have taken on "Palestinian" nationalism promoted by the nearby Arab states, regardless of the fact that "Palestinian" nationalism is heavily rooted in both Islamism and pan-Arabism, which reject human rights for Christians or recognition of the distinct non-Arab Semitic ethnicities, mainly Aramean or Jewish, to which most of them belong, mainly due to taqiyya or propaganda to advance an Islamic cause. Israel-hatred runs very deep for these Christians because of their loyalty to this Arab identity, and many of them even hate Jewish people as a whole regardless of the ethnic, and to a lesser extent, cultural, origins of many of their own. Additionally many of these Christians will take sides with people who express a deep hatred for their fellow Christians around the Middle East.^[13] In many cases, the self-declared "Palestinian" government encourages demographic shifts in areas inhabited by minorities^[14] (an example of this is the Samaritan Genocide, a result of which only 300 Samaritans remain today in their traditional homeland in Samaria, the southern part of the West Bank) in one village (Kiryat Luza), in which there is an Israeli presence, responsible for protecting them from Arab ethnic cleansing. In Bethlehem, Christians have become a small minority of the population under control of the Palestinian Authority.^[15] In Israel, however, ethnic and religious minorities, in villages in which they historically formed the majority, have retained their status as the majority of the population in the vast majority of cases, a trend which shows no indication of changing in the future. Christians in Israel can even form their own political parties.^[16]

Christy Anastas is a "Palestinian" Christian who speaks about persecution of Christians by the Palestinian Authority,^[17] an issue largely ignored by the western liberal media.

Though the Christians in the PA avoid saying so publicly, many of them fear – with good reason – that Muslim aggression against them will only escalate.^[18]

The situation of Christians in Bethlehem has deteriorated dramatically in the last century, and especially since the PA took control of the city in 1995. In 1947, Christians comprised about 85% of the city’s population, but that figure had actually plunged to 16% by 2016, and is estimated since then.^[18][19]

2019 report cited "Islamic oppression" as the main source of persecution at Christian small minority of Arab Palestinians.^[18]

On October 4, 2023, 5 Orthodox Jews were arrested on the West Bank for spitting at Christians in East Jerusalem.^[20] And were condemned by all Rabbinical as well as Israeli government leadership. According to the Times of Israel, Itamar Ben-Gvir justified spitting toward Christians as "an ancient Jewish custom". Rabbis and other Orthodox Jews were incensed by that claim.^[21]

Palestinian Christians in Gaza fear for the future of their tiny community from the Muslim population.^[22] This sentiment of fear of disappearing grew after the Israel-Gaza War that started in 2023.^[23]

In January 2024, on the night between 14-15, an Arab-Palestinian mob caused extensive damage to a Christian holy site in Nablus (Shechem) known as Jacob’s Well, causing concern, as "we know of no arrests that are made in such cases, nor do we see the P.A. placing any guards in those sensitive locations under regular attack."^[24]

"State of Palestine"

Main article: State of Palestine

Flag of the "State of Palestine"

Currently, the "Palestinians" living in disputed territories are trying to create a state called "Palestine" even though, in truth, there has not been a country called "Palestine" before and there never has been, just as there is likewise no such thing as an actual "Palestinian" people^[25][26][27] other than the demonym of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palestine Liberation Organization has declared the "State of Palestine", which is recognized by 140 United Nations member states, the Arab League, and the United Nations.

In November 2012, "Palestine" was granted the status of a non-member observer state by the United Nations General Assembly. This move was applauded by the Holy See^[28] which recognized the "State of Palestine" in 2015^[29] and supports a two-state solution in the Arab-Israeli conflict.^[30]

Protesters 2011

Each year, "Palestinians" throughout the region mark the Nakba (or catastrophe) Day with demonstrations; they use the term "nakba" to describe their defeat and displacement in the war that followed Israel's founding on May 15, 1948 when hundreds of thousands of "Palestinians" were uprooted. But never before have marchers descended upon Israel's borders from all directions. The Syrian incursion in May 2011 was especially surprising. The events carried a message for Israel: Even as it wrestles with the "Palestinian" demand for a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem — areas Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war — there is a related problem of neighboring countries that host millions of "Palestinians" with aspirations to return.

International Protesters in the United Kingdom, led by Dave Randall, released a song in May 2011 as support for the "Palestinians".^[31] This has brought about huge criticism from Glenn Beck.^[32]

Culture of "Palestine"

"Palestine" is claimed by its supporters to be part of a region of the Middle East known as the Levant and is claimed to have cultural similarities to actual Levantine countries such as Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. The signature dish of the "Palestinians" is musakhan, a chicken dish.^[33]

See also

• State of Palestine
• Yasser Arafat
• Neturei Karta
• List of states which recognize "Palestine" as an "independent state"

External links

• Graduation Ceremony in a Hamas Kindergarten, Al-Aqsa TV (The Palestinian Authority), May 31, 2007. Children vow to die for Allah.
• Christians warned: Accept Islamic law, 'New Hamas rule means real changes,' missionaries to be 'dealt with harshly', By Aaron Klein, WorldNetDaily.com, June 19, 2007.
• 1967 Israel borders have no basis.
• What about Christians in Palestine?
• A "Jewish Settler" plans to run against Netanyahu. Who has a proposal to pay Palestinians to leave the West Bank and Gaza regions.
• A State of Palestine would backfire on its own people.

References

1. ↑ http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_early_palestine_name_origin.php
2. ↑ Israel and Palestine: A Brief History.
3. ↑ 1967 Israel borders have no basis.
4. ↑ "Jordan, History of: Disengagement from the West Bank," from the official histories of Jordan. Retrieved April 8, 2012. Cited in Hurlbut TA, "Settlements in Israel: Legal or Not?" Conservative News and Views, 2 April 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
5. ↑ "Treaty of Peace Between the State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, October 26, 1994," Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Israel. Retrieved 8 April 2012. Cited in Hurlbut TA, "Settlements in Israel: Legal or Not?" Conservative News and Views, 2 April 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
6. ↑ [1]
7. ↑ http://www.peacefaq.com/palestinians.html
8. ↑ http://www.meforum.org/article/522
9. ↑ http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/osama_hamdan0807e.htm
10. ↑ http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD208708
11. ↑ Palestinian National Authority.
12. ↑ http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/2045/palestinian-christianity-myth
13. ↑ addref
14. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_Christians#Persecutions
15. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlehem#Demographics
16. ↑ http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/joseph-puder/israeli-christians-moving-in-a-new-direction/
17. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzCAqXrBGtU
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1 18.2} A Christian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, The Jerusalem Post, Dec 25, 2019.
    In the Gaza Strip, the Christian population has plummeted from about 3,000 a decade ago to an estimated 1,000 today, most of them Greek Orthodox.

    ...

    “Though the Christians in the PA avoid saying so publicly, many of them fear – with good reason – that Muslim aggression against them will only escalate,” wrote Edy Cohen, a researcher at the center. “Such fears are all the stronger in light of the thunderous silence of the Western [and Israeli] media, in the face of the Christian minority’s ongoing disappearance from the PA and Islamic lands in general.”

    He added, pointedly, that “the ongoing international neglect of the plight of the Christians under PA rule can only lead to the vanishing of Christianity from the place where it emerged.”

    In the Gaza Strip, the Christian population has plummeted from about 3,000 a decade ago to an estimated 1,000 today, most of them Greek Orthodox...

    The situation of Christians in Bethlehem has deteriorated dramatically in the last century, and especially since the PA took control of the city in 1995. In 1947, Christians comprised about 85% of the city’s population, but that figure had plunged to 16% by 2016, and is estimated since then.

    Bethlehem’s mayor at the time said that, “Due to the stress – either physical or psychological – and the bad economic situation, many people are emigrating: either Christians or Muslims, but it is more apparent among Christians because they already are a minority.”

    A study by the Pew Research Center found that the decline in the Arab Christian population was both a result of a lower birth rate among Christians compared to Muslims and the fact that Christians were more likely to emigrate than any other religious group. A statistical analysis of the Christian exodus cited a lack of economic and educational opportunities among a community known for its middle-class status and higher education.

19. ↑ “The Mayor of Bethlehem is Christian, but it is Hamas that’s in charge.” [2], Dec 2005
20. ↑ 5 arrested for spitting at Christians in Jerusalem; police minister: It’s not criminal. Times of Israel (4 October 2023).
21. ↑ Spitting in God’s eye (JNS). B'nai B'rith International (October 5, 2023).
22. ↑ Gaza Christians fear for future of tiny community. Fox News (July 25, 2012).
23. ↑ Holy Land Custos: Fear is growing that Gaza's Christians will disappear. Vatican News (October 10, 2023).
24. ↑ Sveta Listratov, Palestinian attack on Christian holy site raises concern, JNS, January 19, 2024. “We know of no arrests that are made in such cases, nor do we see the P.A. placing any guards in those sensitive locations under regular attack.” A Palestinian mob caused extensive damage to a Christian holy site in Nablus (Shechem) known as Jacob’s Well on Sunday night.</blockquote>
25. ↑ There Was Never a Country Called Palestine at American Thinker
26. ↑ There is no such thing as "Palestine" nor "Palestinian people"
27. ↑ [http://www.targetofopportunity.com/palestinian_truth.htm The Truth About the "Palestinian" People]
28. ↑ [3]
29. ↑ Vatican formally recognises ‘state of Palestine’. Catholic Herald (May 14, 2015).
30. ↑ Pope prays for peace and for a two-state solution in Palestine and Israel. Vatican News (April 24, 2024).
31. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V28HnPTYz-I
32. ↑ About Freedom for Palestine single!
33. ↑ http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/recipes/display/recipe_id/804/

Backgrounders

• Myths & facts
• Palestine facts
• Peace dictionary