Palestine

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 Promised Land given to the Israelites / Jews in 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. 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.

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 Qur'an, the term الأرض المقدسة ("Holy Land", Al-Ard Al-Muqaddasah) is mentioned at least seven times, once when 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-1200's, 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 1300's, 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.

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.

Over 760,000 Palestinians - estimated today to number 4.7 million with their descendants - fled or were driven out of their homes in the conflict that followed Israel's creation.

"Six Day War" Territories.

A war broke out in which the Jews expanded their borders and the 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.

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. 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. For that reason, the Judea-Samaria region is not an occupied territory at all, 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 children and grandchildren of Arab immigrants from the surrounding nations

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 having the majority of the control in the Palestinian legislature, a terrorist entity that does not even recognize Israel's right to exist in its own land (seeks to ethnic cleanse all Jews in the area and create a radical oppressive Islamic state, its head in Damascus Osama Hamdan supports Ahmadinejad's genocide call to "wipe off Israel off the map" and Hamas Cleric Muhsen Abu 'Ita said: "The Annihilation of the Jews in Palestine is One of The Most Splendid Blessings for Palestine".

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

Palestinian state

The Flag of Palestine, used to represent the Palestinian Authority.

Currently, the Palestinians living in disputed territories, are trying to create a state called Palestine. At least 112 countries around the world have formally recognized Palestine as a state, stretching from Africa to Asia, Europe to Latin America... Around 150 countries maintain diplomatic relations with the Palestinians in one form or another... In October, 2011, Palestine was granted full membership at the U.N. cultural organization, UNESCO, in a diplomatic victory won despite stiff resistance from the United States and Israel.

A pro-Arab website expresses the Palestinian view concerning the border of Palestine by declaring they want a border which existed prior to the Six-Day War:

The value of a UN resolution recognizing an independent state for the Palestinian people, with its borders running exactly along the 1949 Armistice line, which was the border between Israel and the West Bank until June 4, 1967, should not be undermined.

Pro-Israel advocates typically point out that Israel has repeatedly had to defend itself against attacks by neighboring Arab states and counter that reverting Israel's border to borders which existed before the Six-Day war would not allow Israel to have defensible borders.

The Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is openly opposed to the proposed Palestinian statehood and is threatening retaliatory action. US officials, notably Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are also opposed.

Netanyahu has further alienated the Palestinians by making clear that in any future deal he would seek to retain significant chunks of the West Bank because of their strategic value, since Israel in its pre-1967 borders is at its narrowest point only nine miles wide. "The existence of a Jewish state is not just a matter of separation" from the Palestinians, he said; "It's a matter of security, preserving our basic national interests — and this requires negotiations."

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. This has brought about huge criticism from Glenn Beck.

Culture of Palestine

The dialect of Palestinian Arabs and their culture is essentially the same as that of Jordanian Arabs. The flag of the Palestinians is also almost identical to the Jordanians. To this day the second biggest concentration of Palestinian Arabs is in Jordan, partly due to their fleeing of Israel during the 1948 and 1967 wars.

See also

• Yasser Arafat
• Neturei Karta

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.

Backgrounders

• Myths & facts
• Palestine facts
• Peace dictionary