Palestinian Territories

Answer 1

According to the Bible and Qur'an, Israel is the home of Jews.

In 1948 the U.N offered to split Israel into 2 parts through UN Resolution 181. 1 for the Arabs and 1 for the Jews to live in Peace.

Jews agreed, Arabs didn't.

War...

Jews won.

Discussion about Arab Rejection of UN Resolution 181

More importantly is the reason by the Arabs didn't agree. The land was not evenly split. The Jews got more land than the Arabs. The Arabs should have gotten more due to their higher population compared to the Jews. Also, the land quality in terms of farming and in habitability was different. The Arabs got marshes and wastelands with no water, while the Jewish people got more fertile lands.

(although this Add On has nothing to do with why the Jews should have Israel, it helps explain why the Arabs didn't want them to have it other than the fact the land was promised to them by the British at the time)

Answer 1

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 the Related Question.

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 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 and 17:104.) 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.)

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.

Hi,

Distance from Gaza to Tel Aviv is 52.9 Miles

( 85.1 Kilometers / 45.9 Nautical Miles )

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The Balfour Declaration

In a formal, but classified statement of the British Government's policy, on November 2,1917, Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour had given this declaration to Baron Rothschild, leader of the Jewish Federation in England, addressed to his London home:

"His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country." Balfour added this personal note to Rothschild: "I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation."

The battle for this land is almost ageless. When Israel first came to the promised land, God had established Abraham, Issac, then Jacob (Israel) there, with his twelve sons. During famine they were forced to go to Egypt, where God had prepared the the way through Joseph to have plenty of grain stored to last through the famine. Israel wound up staying in Egypt for four hundred years, where they ultimately became slaves to Pharaoh.

God called Moses to deliver the nation of Israel out of the slavery in Egypt, thus the Exodus event. Israel spent forty years in the wilderness, basically in the Sinai Desert. When God led them into the Promised Land by Joshua, it was the land of Canaan, not Palestine.

The Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and the Jebusites were there. Exodus 3:8. By and large these people were antagonistic towards God's people and against God. A picture of this is stated by Christ: "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you." John 15:18. God dealt with this hatred differently in those days, whereas in Christ, forgiveness of even hatred of God is available, if a person would turn to God. Somehow, just as God had said of the Amalekites, who fought letting Israel go through there land, that they were perpetual enemies with Him.

It seems that god knew that the nations in Canaan Land were like that also, so god gave Israel victory in conquering the land back which he promised to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob (Israel) years before.

On the border of this land, where the Gaza Strip is today was the Philistine nation, who also troubled Israel. They sometimes were called Palestina. When Britain pledged to give Israel the land she now has, plus more, in the Balfour Declaration of 1917, she mistakenly called the whole land Palestine. There was no Philistines any more, nor Palestinians, just nomads and small settlements in the area, which was desert land, yet they were also protected by the Declaration. Unfortunately, the Arab league rejected the plan. After WW2 the land was finally given to Israel, becoming independent on May 14, 1948. The Arab League declared war against Israel the next day.

Israel had made a successful transformation of the land into fruitful farms and bustling communities. Yet, at the outset, the Arab league effectively ruined the peaceful homes of those who were in the country, having to flee because of the war. Now there is the claim for Palestinians, who in effect want the whole land for themselves. Much propaganda shades the truth of the transactions over the years, the invasions and wars, and the victories that have kept and expanded Israel as she is today.

After the promise of the Balfour Declaration, through political wrangling and stalling in time, the atmosphere in England grew more Anti-Semitic. Minister Balfour attempted to press on to open the land to Jewish immigration. By the time the British Mandate expired, on May 14, 1948, Israel declared independence on the same day. The State of Israel had been formally established. Eleven minutes after the declaration was signed, president Truman recognized the State of Israel, with other nations following: Iran, Guatemala, Iceland, Nicaragua, Romania, and Uraguay. A few days later, the Soviets, the Czechs, Yogoslavs, Irish and So. Africans joined in.

The next day, however, there was an invasion by Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, starting the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, which lasted until July 4, 1949. This war had actually followed a Civil War in 1947, declared by the Arabs, after they rejected the United Nations plan to partition the land between the Arabs and Israelis. By the time of the peace armistice of the 1948 war, Israel had increased its land by about 50% over the partition plan. The long antagonism between the Arabs and the Jews continues to this day. Some Arab nations have learned peace, but their remains those who want to destroy Israel.

British policy on the territory was informed by the Balfour Declaration of 1917, whereby Palestine would be regarded as a homeland for the Jews, subject to the rights of the Arabs, but would not necessarily be an independent state. By 1939, Britain was moving away from this position, and a white Paper recommended that an Arab state of Palestine be created.

A new phase of terrorism was then initiated in order to force Britain's hand and ensure a favourable outcome for the Jews, with the Stern Gang as the main participant. In 1946, the British headquarters in the King David Hotel were blown up. By February 1947, the number of British casualties in Palestine has risen sharply and Britain called on the UN to solve the Palestinian problem.

Initially, The United Nations proposed dividing the territory into four quadrants that touched at one point, with each side receiving two quadrants and approximately half the territory. Jewish aggression resulted in this solution no longer being tenable, and a United Nations Green Line was proposed, with the Palestinians receiving rather less territory, but still much more than the Gaza Strip and present-day West Bank.

In the Civil War that followed, the Jews were well-armed and well-organised, while the Palestinians were largely defenceless. The turning point was arguably the Dir Yassin massacre, when the entire population was lined up and shot (A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples, Professor Ilan Pappe, University of Haifa, Israel.) Soon the Jewish side was able to force Palestinians to flee their villages simply by reminding them of Dir Yassin. The bulk of the Arab population of what was to become modern-day Israel was forcibly deported by the Jews, and their land and property confiscated. Israel then unilaterally declared independence.

So, modern Palestine was not invaded, but was decimated by Jewish terrorism and the Civil War. Following the establishment of Israel in 1948, it became the turn of the Palestinians to be the terrorists, but at a high cost to their own people.

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict is fundamentally different from the Crusades. There are three major distinctions and numerous minor ones.

Religion vs. Ethnicity:

The Crusades was a religious movement, organized by leading religious figures in Europe as a multinational Christian endeavor. Franks, Germans, Italians, and Slavs all fought in the Crusades at the urging of the Popes and the Orthodox Patriarchs. Their goal, similarly, was also religious: to evict to Muslims from the Holy Land. The establishment of Christian Kingdoms was merely a by-product of the success (from a European perspective) of the First Crusade and these states were integrally linked to Europe and European dictates.

The Zionist and Arab Nationalist movements were nation-building exercises. They were both lead primarily by secular individuals who saw religion as an identifier and dissociated themselves from religious ritual and belief. Term "Jewish State" was (and is still) viewed by Jews in the same way that Germans see the term "German State" as in the idea that it is a state with predominantly German citizens and German folk history. The Arab Nationalist movement similarly counted being Muslim as part of being an Arab, but the Arab Nationalist movement never endorsed the public application of Islamic Law. Both groups were interested in building independent, viable nations and to varying degrees, they have succeeded.

Rallying Cry vs. Primary Objective:

The Crusade to Jerusalem was not the primary objective of the War. If it had been, the Crusades would have begun centuries earlier when Caliph Omar conquered Jerusalem and removed it from Christendom. The reason that the Crusades began was that the Byzantine Empire was being threatened and Constantinople (its capital) was being threatened by Turkish (Muslim) armies. As the Patriarchs and Leadership in Constantinople needed additional soldiers to defend their eastern borders, they requested assistance from the Pope. The Pope, in order to sell such an operation to Franks, Germans, Italians, and others who could care less about Byzantine problems was to stir up religious fervor and declare a Holy War. The primary objective was the stability of the Byzantine Empire, but the rallying cry was to free Jerusalem.

The Zionist and Arab Nationalist movements actually want, as a primary condition, to control certain pieces of land. They have no secondary objectives other than to use that land for their own people to build a country and a society. The creation of Jewish and Arab States is the primary intent of the Zionists and Arab Nationalists.

Conquer vs. Return:

In the Crusades, Christians with no ancestral or historical connection to the Holy Land arrived to conquer and subdue it. As mentioned above, this was a Holy War and an intent to "defend the faith". As a result, Christians slaughtered Muslims and Jews when they took over cities and refused to give quarter to any who opposed them. This is similar to the way that the Mongols conquered the Middle East a few centuries later. Similar to other acts of conquest, the conquerors still remember where they come from and intend, one day to return home, an act that was eventually performed by many or their children or grandchildren.

The Jews do have an ancestral connection to the Land of Israel and the Arabs do have an ancestral connection to the Levant region. As a result, both groups want to live in this region. For the Jews, this required (for the most part), a physical migration. For the Arabs (for the most part) were already living in the area. Jews did not intend to remove or subjugate the native Arab population. Many Zionists wrote that they intended to work the land with the Felahin (the Palestinian farmers) and did not wish to exile them, kill them, or otherwise displace them. The Arabs as a political unit, however, did not wish to cede any land to a Jewish political project and therefore any attempt for the Jews to do such a thing was met with violence and antagonism. Palestinians who fled the creation of Israel, similarly wish to return to their native land and not necessarily to conquer it or to exile the Jewish population. (It is important to note that there are certainly views on both sides at this point to marginalize or exterminate the other group, but that is not the main thrust of either side's vision.)

Answer 2

In addition to those numbers, we know that the amount of Jews in Mandatory Palestine in 1931 was 175,000 according to Sergio della Pergola. If I had to guess what the Jewish population was in Palestine in 1940, I agree with Answer 1 in saying that it would be less than 335,000 (halfway between 70,000 and 600,000). My guess would be around 230,000-250,000.

According to the Bible, Israel became a divided nation approximately 921 BCE, when Israel broke away from its Judahite oppressors.

However, modern scholars see the history of Israel and Judah differently. Finkelstein and Silberman (The Bible Unearthed) believe that the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were always separate, with different life styles, different pottery, different myths and legends, and even speaking different dialects of Hebrew. They insist there is no evidence the kingdoms ever were united.

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.

• 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.