Why do the Palestinians claim land?

Answer 1

Answer 1

Unfortunately, the Palestinians Arabs are exposed to self serving wicked leaders who are trying to take away the 3500 year old spiritual and national center of the Jewish people, to advance their personal power trip. The land was called Palestine by the Romans after the destruction of the second Jewish Temple of Jerusalem, along time before Islam was established. Therefore the first Palestinians were the Jews, then the early Christians and only later the Muslims who were living in the area. If not for the meddling of self serving bad people ALL individuals who live in the region would have enjoyed paradise on earth which would have benefited everybody.

Answer 2

The land is Palestine and the native people are Palestinians irrelevant to their religions. Palestinians could be Jews, Christians, or Muslims. However, most of the current Israelis are originally immigrants from outside the country while the native people were expelled from their land by force and the remainder, who are still in the country are deprived from living in dignity and equality.

Israel attacks the Palestinians to expel the remainder out of their homes and their original lands. The only solution, in my own opinion, is one of two options:

• One country (name it Israel, Palestine, Isratine, or what so ever) for all people of all religions with same human rights and bilingual ), same model as current South Africa, or
• Two countries; Israel and Palestine with Palestine territories, as agreed upon by the UN, extending over all territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 war with enough assurances of the security of both countries.

Answer 3

Israel attacks the Palestinians only to defend themselves against constant terrorism. For example, today Palestinians fired over 50 missiles into Israel. Israel occupies less than 1% of the land in the Middle East; the Arab countries occupy over 99%.

Answer 4

Israel does not WANT to kill Palestinians. Contrary to some stereotypes, Israelis do not enjoy or desire to kill the Palestinians or teach their children to enjoy or desire to kill them either. Israelis find that they need to attack the Palestinians to prevent violence against Israeli citizens or retaliate for violence already initiated.

Answer 5

• I don't find any meaning that Israel occupies less than 1% of the land in the Middle East; the Arab countries occupy over 99%. Each country in the Middle East has its borders and entity whether an Arab country or not as any country of the world. So, to compare the land of Israel with all countries of the Middle East is misleading. Compare the land of Kuwait, Qatar, or Tunisia, or any other country with total area of the Middle East. You will find that they are all comparable. Otherwise you may compare the land of Israel with the world land.
• The other point is that not all Jews were living in Palestine. They were living every where including all Arab countries and USA and Europe. So, it is not fair for all Jews of the world to come to Palestine on behalf of its original Jewish, Christian, and Muslim people.
• The Jewish religion started by prophet Moses (through the revelation of Torah by God to him) not prophet Abraham. Prophet Abraham called his people to worship God as one and only one which is the basic call of all God prophets since Adam until Jesus and Muhammad. So, the Jewish history as religion does not come to 3500 years ago but much less.
• I still emphasize on the solution in Answer 2 if we are really keen to solve the problem fairly.

Answer 2

Answer 1

All of the protestations, demands, complaints, objections and claims that you will hear from Israel's opponents grow out of the simple fact that they are viscerally opposed to the existence of a Jewish state in that neighborhood.

Answer 2

Levantine Arabs were the dominant population of what is currently Israel for around 800 years. While they did not own the land for most of that period (as it was owned by various Turkish Pasha and Nobles as opposed to actual inhabitants), they established a firm connection and love for its hills, ridges and rugged terrain. This love was no less real and no less true than the love that Jews harbored for the land from afar. The difference, of course, from the Palestinian perspective is that they were already living there whereas the Jews were not.

Answer 3

Israel as a nation does not want the West Bank of the Jordan.

Some Israelis want the West Bank to be included in Israel because they believe it is part of the lands they believe were granted to the Jews by their God.

Other Israelis do not want the West Bank as part of Israelis, because the large population of Palestinians would tend over time top make Israel a multi-ethnic state, rather than a Jewish state.

In our small piece of time, the West Bank is prominent for 2 main reasons:

-- Until there is peace with the Palestinian government, Israel must maintain a buffer area, just to increase the difficulty of missile firing and individual entry into Israel.

-- There is no formal international boundary between Israel and the West Bank. The 'line' is the armistice line, where ground troops happened to be when the armistice took effect in 1949. It was never meant as an international border. It was to be replaced by one, through negotiation that hasn't happened yet. It is not the boundary of "Palestinian territory".

Answer 4

If you're referring to the entire area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, you're about seventy years out of date. It's Israel, not Palestine. If, however, you're speaking about the Palestinian areas specifically, some of the land has in any case been ceded by the Israelis to the Palestinians, in whole or in part. In general, that is a matter for negotiation.

Israel is more than willing to get along with the Palestinians and to come to some negotiated arrangement. However, it must be realistic since its citizens are under constant threat and attack. Areas which have been handed over to Palestinians, have been used to stage these attacks.

Israel is more concerned for the citizens of those who attack it, than are the attackers themselves. While far from perfect, its treatment of civilians is better than that of any other country in the region.

As to the principle itself, it may be noted that: Israel is important to Jews because God promised it to Jacob (Genesis ch.28), the father of the Israelites, and his descendants. Jacob was renamed Israel by God (Genesis ch.35); and the Israelites lived in Israel during the era of the Patriarchs (220 years), during the era from Joshua until the First Destruction (850 years), during the Second Temple era (420 years) and afterwards. They remained a majority in the land for another 300 years after the Second Destruction; and a minority of Jews remained there throughout the ensuing centuries.

Israel had been the site of the First Temple, built by King Solomon; the dynasty of King David; the Second Temple, built by Ezra; and the Hasmonean Dynasty. It was where the Hebrew Prophets lived, and where the Mishna (Oral Torah) was codified. Also, many of the Torah's commands apply only in Israel.

• Answer 2

Israelis have had the land since the time of The Bible. The Jews have lived there since about 2000 BC. You might think that Israel is Jewish only, but many Muslims and Christians live there as well.

Answer 5

Israel is important to Jews because God promised it to Jacob (Genesis ch.28), the father of the Israelites, and his descendants. Jacob was renamed Israel by God (Genesis ch.35); and the Israelites lived in Israel during the era of the Patriarchs (220 years), during the era from Joshua until the First Destruction (850 years), during the Second Temple era (420 years) and afterwards. They remained a majority in the land for another 300 years after the Second Destruction; and a minority of Jews remained there throughout the ensuing centuries. Israel had been the site of the First Temple, built by King Solomon; the dynasty of King David; the Second Temple, built by Ezra; and the Hasmonean Dynasty. It was where the Hebrew Prophets lived, and where the Mishna (Oral Torah) was codified. Also, many of the Torah's commands apply only in Israel.

See also the Related Links.

Link: Jewish history timeline

Link: Jewish history in Israel

Link: Is Israel still protected by God?

Link: Does Israel belong to the Jews?

Link: What a Muslim has to say

Answer 6

The way the question is written is to assume that it is not theirs, which is not the case in the slightest. According to historical, religious, legal, and political grounds, the territory of the British Mandate of Palestine at least partially, if not entirely, belongs to the Jewish people.

1) Historically: The Jews have an undeniable presence in the land from at least 700 BCE until 70 CE and this is proven not only by the Biblical account, but from Assyrian Ruins, Babylonian documents, Hellenistic inscriptions, and Roman volumes. Jews had a continuous presence in the land from 70 CE until the present day (even though they were nowhere near the majority) even though they were forcibly deported from the territory. The fact that they survived, as opposed to the Arameans or Hittites who were similarly exiled does not illegitimate their claims. For more on the history, please see this Related Question: Why did the Jews believe that Palestine belongs to them?.

In addition to the population-part of the historical claim, Jews have physical ruins and cities that are very sacred to them in the territory of the British Mandate of Palestine. The city of Jerusalem is mentioned over 700 times in the Jewish Bible. The city of Nablus used to be the Northern Metropolis of Shechem. Hebron was the first capital of Ancient Israel whence Saul ruled and David ruled until he conquered Jerusalem from the Jebusites. Even more recent (i.e. "only" 1900 year old) sites like Masada document the Jewish presence and struggle to persevere.

2) Religiously: The Jewish claim to have a connection to the land of the British Mandate of Palestine is firmly grounded in their religion. Jews as early as the Babylonian exiles wrote about returning to the land because God had promised it to them. According to the Pentateuch, God promised Abraham that piece of land. (This promise is even acknowledged in the Qur'an 5:20-21, 17:104, and 26:59.) Many Jewish Holy Sites are in Israel such as the Kotel Hama'aravi (Western Wall).

3) Legally: By international law, the Ottoman Empire took the territory from the Seljuks and Abbassids by internationally recognized conquest. The territory was ceded to the British as a Mandate by the Ottomans as a term of surrender in World War I. (Even though the British had promised the territory to both the Arabs and Jews during the War, neither promise is legally binding.) According to the terms of the Mandate, even though the British were in control, the League of Nations had official jurisdiction. In 1947, the British gave direct authority to the League of Nations' successor, the United Nations, in accordance with the terms of their Mandate. The UN passed the 1947 Partition Plan that gave both a Jewish State and an Arab State the Right to Declare Statehood. The fact that the Arabs decided not to immediately declare such a state does not make the Israeli declaration any less valid. (It is important to note that Palestine did declare statehood on these grounds in 1988, which further cements the legality of this view, especially in the view of the International Court of Justice.)

4) Politically: Jews invested a lot in building the political and physical infrastructure of the land even before they had control. Jews built farms, trained military brigades, created political parties, studied government, and defended themselves. This created a system that was able to repel the Arab Attacks in the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-9, secure expanded borders in the Six Day War of 1967, and hold those borders in the Arab-Israeli War of 1973. Israelis were actually able to exert control over this territory.

Of course, this list is not exhaustive, but should capture the sentiment of the question.

Answer 7

First, everyone needs land to live on, so everyone claims some piece of land. If the question is asking specifically why they claim the land of the historic British Mandate for Palestine, there are a number of reasons that the Palestinians for this:

1) Original Inhabitants: This is the strongest case for the Palestinians and goes back to how the Palestinians lived in the British Mandate of Palestine for at least 800 years as the consistent majority of people in the territory. They have love and reverence for the land and consider it to be an intrinsic part of their identity.

2) Atrocities have no Statute of Limitations: Many Palestinians assert that Israelis stole their land and possessions from 1920-1949, most violently during the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-9 when numerous massacres were perpetrated by Jewish militias to secure the exodus of the Palestinian People. These Palestinians assert that Israel should not be allowed to profit from this seizure of territory.

3) Muslim and Christian Holy Sites: The Palestinians have numerous holy sites that pertain to their religions as well in the British Mandate of Palestine. Jerusalem holds Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, the third most holy sites in all of Islam. There are also the Christian Monuments such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the cities of Nazareth and Bethlehem. Many Palestinian Moslems and Christians want to live in these places as they used to.

4) Arab Reception: Palestinians have been confined to refugee camps and occasionally attacked in violent pogroms by their Arab neighbors (like the attack on Sabra and Shatila in 1982 and Nahr El-Bared in 2007). Palestinians assert like the Jews that nobody is really looking out for their best interests other than other Palestinians and this is why they could never truly settle in another Arab State.

5) Never Allowed to Declare a State: Whether the Palestinians accepted UN Resolution 181 or not, they were never given an opportunity to Declare the Arab State which that Resolution gave them the right to do. After the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-9, Jordan and Egypt occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip, effectively preventing the nascent Palestinian organizations from becoming a nation, even though they may have wanted to do so. In the present day, the United States has actively tried to prevent Palestinian access to the forums that would allow it to declare its Right to be a State because of its protection of Israel.

Answer 8

Israel does not want Palestine's land. Israel wants to live in peace with

neighbors who behave as if Israel has a right to exist. Israel doesn't have

that type of neighbors yet.

Answer 9

Israel did not want war at any point, but they are also not willing to surrender their right to a state. Unfortunately, the Arabs were less gracious.

Answer 10

You might as well ask why any family that has repeatedly been expelled from its home should be allowed to return to it.