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Palestinian Territories
The Palestinian territories consist of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, whose final status has yet to be determined. They were originally part of the British Mandate of Palestine, then captured and occupied by Jordan and by Egypt and later captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War.
1,619 Questions
What are the Palestinians fighting for?
Depends on the Palestinian. Some want the West Bank and Gaza Strip as an independent Palestinian State. The remainder want all of the former British Mandate of Palestine as a Palestinian State.
What is happening in Gaza right now?
Answer #1:
It depends entirely on which day "today" is.
Currently, on December 8, 2013, the son of Greek Orthodox Priest
Gabriel Nadaf, a resident of Nazareth, Israel, was beaten by Israeli
Muslims because of Nadaf's vocal support of the IDF and enlistment.
=======================================
Answer #2: (same date, from another contributor)
My grandkids went to the synagogue with their parents yesterday,
and today, their mother took them to the park and to visit their
other (local) grandmother.
The fundamental issue between Israel on the one side, and the Muslim nations
and so-called Palestinian "refugees" on the other side, is the existence of a
sovereign and democratic nation largely populated and controlled by Jews, in
the place where Israel is.
What was the main occupation in the first century palestine?
There was no nation of Israel in the first century, Israel having been destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BCE.
In Judea and Galilee, the most common occupations were associated with farming. Jews had traditionally held a strong bond with the land and avoided losing their farms at all costs, since a landless farmer was destined to extreme poverty. Nevertheless, many Jews did lose their land through indebtedness during the Roman period and became farm labourers. Fishing was an occupation available to some in Galilee. Village artisans performed a variety of tasks such as carpentry and pottery.
Townspeople included priests and scribes, of whom there were many, especially in Jerusalem. As in other parts of the Roman Empire, merchants formed an important part of town life. Good quality pottery, furniture, clothing and other crafts and manufactures provided work in the towns.
Inevitably, those among the very poor who were unable to support themselves turned to brigandry, petty theft and begging. In turn, a corps of guards and local soldiers was required.
Will there be peace between Israel and Palestine?
Religious Answer
The Bible says that there will be seven years of peace in Israel, then the end of the world. So yes, there will be in the future.
Practical Answer
A number of things would have to take place before a long-standing peace (as opposed to a mere cessation of hostilities) could take place. There are other requisites, but there are the most important.
1) Mutual Recognition: Israel would need to recognize a completely independent and sovereign Palestinian Government that would fully control a certain amount of the former British Mandate of Palestine (most likely Gaza and the West Bank). Israel would also have to confer on this state the unambiguous nature of being correct and necessary for Israel. Conversely, Palestine would have to recognize the Right for Israel to Exist as a Jewish State occupying the remaining amount of the British Mandate of Palestine (most likely 1949-Israel). Both sides would have to recognize the historical and emotional value that the land also has to the other.
2) Regional/International Recognition: States that have adopted attitudes strongly favoring one side at the expense of the other, such as the Arab States would need to recognize the legitimacy of both Israel and Palestine.
3) Israeli Reparation Payments: Israel dispossessed many Palestinians of their property, either by malicious activities that took place during the Arab-Israeli Wars or by Ben-Gurion refusing to let Palestinians who left return after the 1948-9 War. Israel needs to pay the Palestinian government reparations for the land that was taken in this way.
4) Israeli Withdrawal from the Settlements: Israel must withdraw from the Settlements to provide Palestine with a viable infrastructure and complete sovereignty. The Settlers must return to Israeli territory. The buildings, however, should be left as partial payment of the above-mentioned reparations.
5) Palestinians Must Concede Right of Return: Recognizing the State of Israel as a Jewish State is meaningless if Palestinians en masse are allowed to Return to Israel. Therefore, Palestinians (and their backers) must abandon the notion that they can ever return to Israeli territory. Palestinians should leave the refugee camps and become proper citizens in this new country of Palestine.
6) Jerusalem Must Be Shared or Internationalized:Palestine and Israel both want Jerusalem and the only way to solve this is either divide the city East/West respectively and divide the Old City or Internationalize the City or some combination of Internationalization and division. Neither side will rest until it can assure its followers that its holy sites will be protected.
7) Liberal Thought: Just in general, people have to be willing to compromise and live with that compromise.
What country did israel take the west bank from in 1967?
Before World War I, the area ka the West Bank was considered a part of the province of Syria within the Ottoman Empire. In 1920, by the decisions of the victorious Allies, the area became ka the British Mandate of Palestine. After World War II, the area was captured during the Arab-Israeli War of 1948, and annexed by Jordan. Jordan maintained rule over the area until 1967, even though Jordanian claims found no major international recognition other than by the United Kingdom. Israelcaptured the West Bank during the Six-Day War of June 1967. But Jordan made no official relinquishment of claims to the land until 1988.
Who did Palestine originally belong to?
It depends on how far back you wish to go. The earliest archaeology dates settlements near the city of Haifa from 100,000 years ago. It then passed hands to early tribe, Proto-Canaanites, Canaanites, Israelites, Philistines, Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Macedonian Greeks, Egyptian Greeks, Syrian Greeks, Hasmonean Jews, Romans, Byzantines, several different Arab Caliphates and Turkish Empires, Crusader States, the Ottomans, the Britons, and finally Israel and modern Arab States.
When was Palestine first called Palestine?
The name "Palestine" is the cognate of an ancient word meaning "Philistines".
The earliest known mention of the word was by Ancient Egyptian scribes, used to describe invaders from the Palestinian area during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses III in the 12th century BCE (BC).
Are Philistines the ancient inhabitants of Palestine?
This excerpt is taken from keyway.ca
"Regardless of the place of origin of the Philistines, whether Crete or Egypt, or anywhere else, we do know for certain how "Philistine" became "Palestine." The name Palestine originated from the Greek word pronounced Palaistina, which is derived from the Hebrew word pronounced pel-eh-sheth, meaning land of the Philistines (one of the most famous of whom was Goliath). The original word referred only to a small coastal territory corresponding to what is today Gaza, never to all of the land of Jacob, who God renamed Israel."
AnswerAfter about 1250 BCE, the Philistines occupied the coastal plains and foothills of Palestine, south from about present-day Tel Aviv. In later centuries they absorbed the culture and religious beliefs of their northern neighbours, the Canaanites, and became indistinguishable from them. The Hebrew people occupied the inland, in an area somewhat larger than today's Western Bank.What portion of the population in Israel and the Palestinian territories is Jewish Arab?
As concerns "Jewish Arabs":
It is important to note, before answering the question, that the people you are referring to are not considered to be "Jewish Arabs" by either Arabs or Jews or themselves. They are typically referred to as "Jews from Arab countries", "Mizrahi Jews", "Mizrahim", or "Sephardi Jews". Many Jews consider the term Jewish Arab offensive because the Jews were in much of the Middle East and North Africa long before the Arabs arrived and did not intermarry with them to a large degree, making them Un-Arabized (as opposed to the remaining indigenous population which did experience this). Therefore, they are not Arabs of Jewish faith, but Jews who happened to grow up in Arab countries.
As concerns Israel:
Racial Jewish demographics are always hard to do in Israel because there is a huge push in Israel for Jews from all different walks of life to intermarry and create a United Sabra Culture. (Sabra is the term for Israeli Cultural Judaism). Mizrahim first came to Israel in the "Exodus Wave" which occurred from 1950-1952. During that period, between 450,000 and 550,000 Mizrahim left the Arab World and came to Israel, with the largest communities leaving from Iraq and Morocco. Israel had, prior to that point, a population of around 600,000. This made the Mizrahim a very large percentage of Israelis.
During the 1960s, the Israeli Religious Population was relatively small and Mizrahim reproduced at a slightly higher rate than Ashkenazim which led to Mizrahim being the largest Jewish community from that period until the 1990s when a mass of Russian Jews shifted the balance back to Ashkenazim being the Jewish majority. However, it is also important to note that the children of the Mizrahim born in Israel in the 1960s and 1970s began to intermarry with the Ashkenazim, leading to many in Israel having mixed heritage. (For example, one-quarter of Israelis claim Moroccan heritage, but only one-fifth claim it from both sides, representing a difference of 250,000 people)
The best estimate today of the Mizrahi Jewish population in Israel would be around 2 million individuals.
As concerns the Palestinian Territories:
There used to be a relatively sizable Mizrahi Jewish population in what would become the Palestinian Territories in the early 1900s (prior to the increase brought on by the Mandatory Period). There were roughly 20,000 Jews in Jerusalem and its environs, as compared with an Arab population of around 300,000 (which is nearly 7%). This grew during the the Mandatory Period to roughly 100,000 Jews, most of whom were not Mizrahi Jews, but the descendants of Europeans.
The Jewish-Arab Engagement of 1947-1949 saw the expulsion of all Jews in the Palestinian Territories as they were seen to be on the side of the Jewish State. The period from 1949-1967 (the Jordanian West Bank) was the only time in the last two millenia when no Jews lived in or were permitted to visit the Old City of Jerusalem. Any endemic Palestinian Jewry crossed into Israel after this forcible expulsion. In 1967, a minority of Israeli Mizrahi Jews (of which some were historically Palestinian, but had shed that title) joined in the settlement building in the West Bank and Gaza, primarily in the environs of Jerusalem and in the Old City itself. However, this was a minority of settlers both because a stronger pull to attract settlers existed in the Ashkenazic Communities (Nationalist fervor) and because those communities contained more individuals. With the Israeli unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, there are no more Mizrahi Jews in that area.
A decent estimate of the Mizrahim remaining in East Jerusalem and the Israeli Settlements scattered throughout the West Bank would be 60,000 (of a total of between 200,000 and 300,000 settlers).
What climate did ancient palestine have?
It was the same as it is today in Modern Israel: a Mediterranean climate with long, hot, rainless summers and relatively short, cool, rainy winters.
Does the US support Israel or palestine?
Answer 1
In the Israel -- Palestine conflict, the US is neutral on the side of Israel. The United States is trying to get Israel and Palestine to reach a peace agreement between each other.
Answer 2
The United States supports both Israel and Palestine. The United States is also prepared to support and aide any Arab country (like Egypt) that is willing to trade violence and antagonism for peace.
The United States support for the State of Israel is the stronger of the two and comes from a variety of sources. Israel has cooperated with the United States on diplomatic issues, military and intelligence exchanges, large amounts of trade, and significant technological investment. In addition there a numerous Americans who support the State of Israel because of religious convictions on top of the already-listed reasons.
The United States is the largest donor to UNRWA, the UN organization maintaining the Palestinian Refugee Camps, and is one of the largest donors to the Palestinian Authority, the current official government of Palestine. The United States has consistently endorsed a Roadmap to Peace with a Two-State Solution since the Oslo Accords in 1993.
Why should we as Americans care about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
For the simple reason that we should prefer that fewer people die or live horrible lives. It is the same reason we should care about the Kurdish conflict, the Burmese conflicts, the large-scale strife in Africa, and so many other humanitarian problems.
Who is the rightful owner of the land between Israel and Palestine?
Answer 1
That is a very good question - and a very sensitive one, as it is a very controversial subject - as I'm sure you know. Nonetheless, I shall offer my answer, and hope that it does not offend too much.
How does one measure the degree of 'rightfulness' in a claim such as this one?
The Israelis believe that they hold rightful claim to the Land as it was a gift to them from God, who promised it to their ancestors thousands of years ago, and as the only reason why they were no longer in actual possession of it for many centuries prior to 1948 is because it was it was forcibly taken from them and they themselves forcibly removed. It is interesting to note, though, that that is also the very means by which they themselves originally acquired it - by forcibly conquering and driving out those who already lived there, known as Canaanites. Many of the Palestinians of the day were allowed to remain in the land, because they made a pact with the People of Israel to help them to conquer it.
Isn't it funny how history can repeat itself.
Answer 2
This is one of those questions where the Asker appears to be looking for a number of opinions vindicating each side. The problem is that both sides have legitimacy in certain claims and extremists who would rather derail the process of negotiations than not get everything in their wishlists. The Israelis and the Palestinians who truly want to live together in peace respecting each others' Rights to Exist, are in the Right and those who would rather stir up antagonism and hatred on both sides are in the Wrong.
Some arguments on each side are as follows.
Israel:
1) UN Resolution 181: In 1947 the UN Partition Plan, which was passed into law split the British Mandate of Palestine into a Jewish and Arab State. The Jews decided to agree with the Partition even though the Arabs refused. Because the Resolution passed, Israel had the Right to Declare a State, which they did.
2) Wars Won: Israel fought for its right to exist and has fought three existential wars (the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-9, the Six-Day War of 1967, and the Arab-Israeli War of 1973). In each conflict, it was only by Israeli perseverance and cunning that the territory was maintained. If Israel had lost any of these wars, regardless of its international legal case, it would have been denied the ability to re-declare a State.
3) Jewish Nationalism: Jews have lived in other nations under other governments for two millennia and were either actively or passively discriminated against. Israel represents to Jews the guarantee that even if the situation in their current Diaspora country turns sour, they have somewhere to go. This guarantee of a homeland has actually been used in various waves such as the Post-Holocaust refugees, the Mizrahi Exodus, Operations Joshua and Solomon in Yemen and Ethiopia, and the Russian Immigration in the 1990s.
4) Population Exchanges: Just as Palestinians left the British Mandate of Palestine, Jews were forced to leave the Arab World in roughly the same numbers. Around 720,000 Palestinian Arabs fled the new state of Israel, whereas 850,000 Jews fled from Arab countries with 500,000 settling in Israel. As a result, just as Israel took in Mizrahi Jews fleeing the Arab World, it would be contingent on Arab countries to take in Palestinian Arabs fleeing the Jewish State.
5) Jewish Holy Sites: Israel is home to numerous holy Jewish sites across the country, harkening back to the Jewish biblical past and imagery. In addition, the holiest site in the world for the Jewish people is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Palestine:
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 Muslims 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.
It is highly unlikely that Palestine will prevail against Israel through strength of arms. Arab armies far larger and better equipped have not been able to achieve this. Palestine can certainly fight a guerrilla war or an intifada that will have an affect on Israeli resolve, but the best bet for a free and independent Palestine is to choose to accept that Israel is a necessary partner for peace. Israel is not going anywhere.
What is the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians most likely related to?
It is most likely related to the fact that the Muslim nations that surround
Israel cannot come to peace with the concept of a democratic, sovereign
nation, with a vibrant economy, gender equality, and religious freedom,
largely populated and controlled by Jews, in their neighborhood.
Since when have the muslims and the jews been fighting for palestine?
Jews first fought for Palestine in the Biblical Period (around 1000 BCE). Muslims first fought for Palestine in 634 CE.
If the question means to ask when they first fought each other for Palestine, there were pogroms and violent outbursts between Jews of the Yishuv and Settled Arabs of Palestine as early as the later 1920s.
Who governed Palestine before the State of Israel was declared?
Britain.
Answer2.
The territory of Palestine, i.e. the geographical area that included modern Jordan( it comprises over 70% of Palestine), Gaza, Israel ( including Judea and Samaria), Southern part of Syria and Soutehrn part of Lebanon, was by the decision of the League of Nations passed under the mandate of Great Britain with the condition that Great Britain would make it "The Home for Jewish People".
Great Britain, in pursue of its political goals, breached this condition and passed over 70% of the territory of Palestine to Arab clan of Hashemites, proclaiming Abdallah, the son of the small Arabian war-lord Hussein ibn Ali al-Hashimi , the Emir of Transjordan and then he proclaimed himself the King.
That was the beginning of the conflict known as the Arab-Israeli conflict that lasts already more than 70 years.
As a matter of fact, Great Britain did not rule in Palestine; it was a Mandate Power whose role was to create the necessary conditions for making the territory under its Mandate ready for becoming independent nations.
How long was the Israeli Palestinian conflict resolve?
Answer 1
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict has its origins in the confrontation between immigrant Zionist Jews in the Mandate of Palestine and their interaction with the indigenous Palestinian Arabs in the 1920s and 1930s. Before that point, the immigration into the land had been a small trickle and Arabs were not terribly concerned. However, the Jewish immigration in the 1920s was quite large and disruptive. By the mid 1930s, both sides had developed militias which they used both to attack British colonial institutions and each other. In 1947, as UN Resolution 181 was being debated, a full-scale war erupted between the Jewish militias and the Arab militias. When Israel declared its independence in 1948, the neighboring Arab States joined in the War which caused it to be internationally recognized and called the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-9.
Therefore, if we use the terms Israeli and Palestinian retroactively to those people who would eventually identify or would be identified as Israelis or Palestinians, the conflict started during the 1920s, making it a conflict of over 90 years in length. If we require that these terms be strictly applied, then the conflict started in 1948 when Israel declared its independence, which would make it a conflict of only 64 years in length.
Answer 2
"Palestinians" is a relative new invention, dating from the middle 70's Before that, Arabs defined themselves as either Arabs citizens of Jordan , Syria or Egypt. Jews called themselves Palestinians from 1918 (when the British received a mandate from the league of nations to establish a Jewish state in the historical land of Israel) till 1948, when they became Israelis. The Arab - Israeli conflict has been going on for more than 100 years (with different levels of intensity), where Arabs (and most Muslims) see it as religious offense that Jews live in Israel. Interestingly enough most Islamic scholars do not see any problem with a Jewish state, but as usual , the violent and extreme minority sway the majority.
How many Palestinians did Jews kill?
Palestine was not involved in World War II. The Palestinians who died during World War II were those who went to fight in Europe (such as the Jewish Brigades in Italy and Hannah Senesh). Arab Palestinians emerged almost unscathed by the war.
When did Palestine take over Israel?
Israel did not invade Palestine per se. There were Jewish communities living in the land of Historic Palestine before the creation of the state of Israel. The mistake they did was to create a state exclusively for them and they denied the right of other groups (Muslims and Christians) to live on the land; the same groups who were their neighbors for hundreds of years.
How long has the war between Israel and the Gaza Strip been going on?
Palestinians is a nickname of the Arabs that lives in Israel but are not Israel citizens. There is no war between to them and the Arabs. Maybe you meant the war between the Arabs and the Jews.
Do the Israelis have the right to occupy Palestine?
Answer 1
As in all similar conflicts, both sides have rights. Unfortunately , generations of diplomats have attempted to sort this one out unsuccessfully.
Answer 2
This is one of those questions where the Asker appears to be looking for a number of opinions vindicating each side. The problem is that both sides have legitimacy in certain claims and extremists who would rather derail the process of negotiations than not get everything in their wishlists. The Israelis and the Palestinians who truly want to live together in peace respecting each others' Rights to Exist, are in the Right and those who would rather stir up antagonism and hatred on both sides are in the Wrong.
Some arguments on each side are as follows.
Israel:
1) UN Resolution 181: In 1947 the UN Partition Plan, which was passed into law split the British Mandate of Palestine into a Jewish and Arab State. The Jews decided to agree with the Partition even though the Arabs refused. Because the Resolution passed, Israel had the Right to Declare a State, which they did.
2) Wars Won: Israel fought for its right to exist and has fought three existential wars (the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-9, the Six-Day War of 1967, and the Arab-Israeli War of 1973). In each conflict, it was only by Israeli perseverance and cunning that the territory was maintained. If Israel had lost any of these wars, regardless of its international legal case, it would have been denied the ability to re-declare a State.
3) Jewish Nationalism: Jews have lived in other nations under other governments for two millennia and were either actively or passively discriminated against. Israel represents to Jews the guarantee that even if the situation in their current Diaspora country turns sour, they have somewhere to go. This guarantee of a homeland has actually been used in various waves such as the Post-Holocaust refugees, the Mizrahi Exodus, Operations Joshua and Solomon in Yemen and Ethiopia, and the Russian Immigration in the 1990s.
4) Population Exchanges: Just as Palestinians left the British Mandate of Palestine, Jews were forced to leave the Arab World in roughly the same numbers. Around 720,000 Palestinian Arabs fled the new state of Israel, whereas 850,000 Jews fled from Arab countries with 500,000 settling in Israel. As a result, just as Israel took in Mizrahi Jews fleeing the Arab World, it would be contingent on Arab countries to take in Palestinian Arabs fleeing the Jewish State.
5) Jewish Holy Sites: Israel is home to numerous holy Jewish sites across the country, harkening back to the Jewish biblical past and imagery. In addition, the holiest site in the world for the Jewish people is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Palestine:
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 Muslims 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.
What will be the end result of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?
As this is forecasting, there are different opinions.
Answer 1
Historically, Israel has won all the wars or other military engagements in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but the conflict has not yet been resolved. Additionally, the Qur'an shows that the Jews will be victorious in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Verses 5:20-21 indicate that as long as the people shepherded by Moses (i.e. the Children of Israel) defend the land, they will be victorious, else they will be losers. It is likely that Israel will remain the dominant power in this relationship.
Answer 2
Israel will prevail.
Why did Arabs go to Palestine?
Answer
The Arab Rashidun Caliphate conquered the Levant in 634-638 C.E. The Arabs who led this conquest did so because they could (see "Right to Conquest" below) and they perceived that doing this was their duty as pious Muslims.
However, not many Arabs actually moved to Palestine during the Caliphate period. Egypt and Mesopotamia were far more attractive for those Arabs who wished to leave Arabia, and those who wished to leave Arabia (and abandon what their families had known for generations) were rare anyway. Those who did go usually went in order to perform bureaucratic or government functions. During the period of Arab Caliphates, non-Arab peoples in Palestine, such as Phoenicians, Canaanites, Samaritans, etc. began to convert to Islam and consider themselves Levantine Arabs. In this way, the Arabs did not move to Palestine en masse, but the masses in Palestine chose to become Arabs.
More recently, during the late 1800s in Ottoman Palestine up through the British Mandate period, the increasing immigration of Zionist Jews led to increasing number of nascent business, improved hygiene, and increased carrying capacity of Palestine. This drew in Levantine Arabs from surrounding areas as well as permitting the indigenous population to multiply.
Discussion on "Right to Conquest"
Historically, there was the "Right to Conquest" which was a pervasive idea in political thought. The idea was that it was natural for any country or state to grow and control more territory as it grew stronger. This allowed weaker states to dissolve in place of ones that were better run, a bureaucratic version of "survival of the fittest". The "Right to Conquest" prevailed as the dominant theory of nation-building until the mid-1800s when people started bringing up the concept of self-sovereignty and ethnic nationalism, which held the idea that people should govern themselves even if they are not the most powerful in the world. This view of state sovereignty has become dominant today and the Right to Conquest is seen as incorrect.
Since the Caliphates existed well within the Right to Conquest Period, the Caliphs did not have to assert a reason to conquer neighboring territories in Southwest Asia. It was their natural prerogative
