Israel

Between 1,166 and 1,417 Palestinians (of whom ca 700 were Hamas) and 13 Israelis (of whom 10 were soldiers) were killed.

Israeli tank battalion consists of 3-4 companies. Each company had 3 platoons of 3 tanks each. Company HQ had 2 MBTs. So, there was depending on number of companies in the bn. 33 or 44 tanks.

Eban, or Evan. Former Foreign Minister of Israel.

Israel's borders grew in 1967 through the Six-Day War, which was a pre-emptive war with a justified causus belli. Please read more about the Six-Day War in the Related Questions.

There is no fighting in Israel. Ever since 1973, there has been no land war fought in Israel. There are areas of Israel near to the Gaza Strip that are periodically shelled by rockets and most Israeli cities used to be hit by suicide bombers prior to the construction of the Separation Fence.

The conflict is primarily in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, especially the West Bank due to the Israeli martial law imposed there. Most violence occurs in and around major cities such as Hebron, Jericho, and Nablus.

Generally speaking, the Israeli-Palestinian Relationship is one of struggle and hardship.

Israel got its independence from the British by forcing the British to depart the colony and getting permission to declare a state from UN Resolution 181. Its leaders issued a Declaration of Independence the morning after the last British soldier left.

The Palestinians did not gain their independence from the British, since their desire for self-rule was supplanted by Israel and the other Arab States. However, Palestine became a new state from the Israelis in some of the Occupied Territories as a result of the Oslo Accords. However, the sovereignty and full-nature of that independence has not yet been realized.

The Oslo accords or Oslo Agreement was between the PLO and Israel. It was a result of an initiative that came from people around the leader of the Norwegian research organization FAFO. The FAFO conducted a large research program on living conditions in the territories of Palestine. The FAFO leader, Terje Rod Larsen, became a good friend and contact of the Palestinian Leader. With the help from Larsen, the Palestinian leader has to gather with the PLO and the Israel's government for informal meetings in Norway. They chose Norway because it was far enough away, that there would be no media to bother them. Many meetings passed until they came to a sketch to how peace for land could be achieved between Palestinians and Israel. In 1993, the idea was accepted by Israel and the PLO. The final agreement involved autonomy for parts of the Gas Strip and the West Bank (Jericho). In 1995 a disagreement sprang up, it proved that Israel would not fulfill all of their processes because there were several unclear elements to the first Oslo Agreement, they called this Oslo 2.

Sabra

See the Related Link. At the bottom of the map is a scale you can use to figure out how far the countries are from each other.

About 25 miles long

Israelites or Israelis
Israelis... Pronounced I-Z-R-A-E-L-E-E-Z

The Camp David Accords

Balfour Declaration

The US voted in the affirmative for Israel's statehood and encouraged others to do so.

U.S. military aid to Israel did not in fact begin until after the events of the war of Yom Kippur. Prior to that, from its birth until Yom Kippur, all the U.S. gave was recognition, and "moral support," however the idea that Israel only won the wars because of U.S. support is an Arab myth. The truth is, historically, the U.S. has had closer diplomatic ties with the Arab world than with Israel, and Israel did not in fact become a "friend" of the U.S. until it became friends with Egypt, a country the U.S. still considers more important in the region than Israel. Israel was able to procure weapons, because of the large number of wealthy Jews outside of the country, who provided money to buy arms, as well as illicit black market deals. Additionally, many weapons were "home made" from scrap. The truth is, the Arab armies were actually much better equipped, and better trained, especially King Hussein's army which was trained by the British of all people.

All the U.S. gave, was recognition, in 1948, and nothing else. The truth is Truman was prejudiced against Ashkenazi Jews, if you wish, you can visit the white house's website, and read his memoirs, there he reveals what he thought of "the Jews." Then there was also obsolete military equipment, that Israel was able to buy at a "bargain price." Logistically speaking, the truth is the Arabs should have won; it is true, that numerically, the army defending Israel was twice as large as the Arab one but see, half of them were women, and most were not even on the front lines. American public and government policy towards Israel did not change until the late 1970's, by which point, all the old prejudices between the various shades of white, which inhabited this country, finally faded away, additionally, there was also the influence of Christian fundamentalism here in the U.S. which also had its roots in the late 1970's.

By the 1980's, all of the old stereotypes and prejudices against Europeans not of Anglican cultural background, was finally gone, and, the rise of Christian fundamentalism, combined with the fact that the Ashkenazim were "white like us" helped change the U.S. public mind regarding Israel. As prejudice towards Ashkenazi Jews fell away, and Christian fundamentalism rose, and as the old European prejudices were discarded and all whites began to see themselves as "American," pretty soon, on the will of the American public alone, NOT the U.S. government, Israel began receiving billions. There is no conspiracy to control the U.S. public, nor is there a large "Jewish plot to use the media to brainwash Americans." If that were true, then the U.S. would have given millions to Israel in 1948. Again, read Harry S. Truman's memoirs, look up the logistics of the Israeli war of independence; they were poorly equipped, and worst of all for them, the Hollywood industry only gave them moral support. There is some prejudice against American Jews in Israel, because American Jewry was "not there for us" in 1948. Prejudiced American society and all, as powerful as they were in Hollywood at that time, many Israelis feel, American Jews did not do enough. The best they did, was 5 minute newsreels saying "Israel's in trouble" but that was it.

the Golan Heights

The Philistines.

Officially, all Arab countries have declared war on Israel, but no attacks take place because there is an ongoing armistice, the only country having declared actual peace, being Egypt, but the Egyptians are not really Arabs, the majority are Hamitic, African, or somewhere in the middle. Furthermore, although officially all Arab countries still are in a state of war with Israel, the truth is, no one in the Arab world really cares, especially in the wealthier gulf states. The threat to Israel is not so much the Arabs, but Islamic fundamentalism, which teaches deep prejudice against all Jews regardless of background. Of course it also conveniently teaches prejudices against the Quraish tribe, from which Muhamad came, however the Quraish are all extinct now; refusing to convert to Islam Muhamad had them all slaughtered. Only Khalid and his family converted, insignificant handfulls really, by and large though the Quraish are gone. The country, in which the people are ardently, no, RABIDLY hostile against Israel, is Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have been agitating for an attack against Israel for years now; part of the reason the Al-Saud are bitterly hated, as well as Saudis closely connected to them, has to do with their refusal to help the Palestinians. Much of the aid Palestinian Arabs get, in fact comes from Saudi criminals; Arabs from Saudi Arabia, pay money to fund things such as underground tunnel networks, forged documents to get them supplies, etc. Even though they are in fact doing mostly humanitarian things, in Saudi Arabia its against the law, thus, officially they are "criminals." Unbeknownst to Israel, or perhaps Israel DOES know, is that among the Palestinians there are many Saudi smugglers; fanatical Muslims who believe they are on some religious crusade. Because the country is so high profile given its oil reserves, any Saudis in the West Bank or Gaza strip keep it on the DL. Because to prejudiced Israelis "they're all dirty Arabs," they're none the wiser that a Saudi could be hiding among them. Within Saudi Arabia it is not uncommon for many men to take Palestinian wives in fact, not out of lust, or a need to marry but out of "generosity." In the world of Islam, a man may marry a woman simply to provide her with a home, it does not mean he has to consumate the marriage. The prettier Palestinian girls escape from the region, often, doing exactly that, by marrying wealthy gulf Arabs. Again though; the country most hostile to Israel, and the country that WILL, not might, WILL, attack Israel the moment the Al-Saud lose power, is Saudi Arabia. The majority of Saudi citizens, have pushed so that the Palestinians would receive dual citizenship, however the royal family will hear none of it. In fact I think the majority of Arabs want to give Palestinians dual citizenship, the people who are in fact against it, are the governments, but not the Arabs themselves. Ironically, a Palestinian can only obtain dual citizenship in the Americas, especifically Honduras and Chile, both of whom recognize the "Palestinian state," far away from the middle east.

It depends on how you define Palestine.

If you define it as the territories under the de facto control of the Palestinian Authority, it only borders Israel.

If you consider only the territories of the West Bank, even those under de facto Israeli control, it borders both Israel and Jordan.

If you consider all of the Palestinian Territories, also including the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, it borders Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.

If you consider the former Mandate of Palestine that many Arabs use when they discuss Palestine replacing Israel, it would border Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon (but no Israel since Israel would be gone).

While King Solomon reigned there was peace, but when he died the peace had stopped. The kingdom then split to the north half Israel and the south half Judah. The Northern part, Israel, eventually turned to polytheism and was destroyed by assyria, while the Southern part continued to believe in one God, and their faith was renewed by the prophets.

== == The reason is that the author of I and II Kings wanted to give special emphasis to the line of David through the kings of Judah. It would be through this line of kings that King Jesus would come. I and II Kings is anticipating the coming of the King of Kings and is preparing the reader to look for such a king from this line.