Mattat ( Hebrew : מַתָּת ) is a small community settlement in northern Israel . Located near the Lebanese Border between the cities of Ma'alot-Tarshiha and Safed , it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council . In 2022 it had a population of 227.
141-560: The village was founded in 1979 by a group of families from an organisation called HaSukah , and was the first settlement of the "Lookouts in the Galilee" plan. It is located on the land of the Palestinian villages of Dayr al-Qassi and Al-Mansura , both depopulated in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . Today many of its residents are employed in local industry and agriculture. Tourism is also an important source of income, and Mattat's scenic setting
282-501: A Jewish state and the dispossession of the Arab majority crystallised among most editors, Christian and Muslim, of local newspapers. The term itself Filasṭīnī was first introduced by Khalīl Beidas in a translation of a Russian work on the Holy Land into Arabic in 1898. After that, its usage gradually spread so that, by 1908, with the loosening of censorship controls under late Ottoman rule,
423-443: A number of Muslim, Christian and Jewish correspondents writing for newspapers began to use the term with great frequency in referring to the 'Palestinian people' ( ahl/ahālī Filasṭīn ), 'Palestinians' ( al-Filasṭīnīyūn ), the 'sons of Palestine' ( abnā’ Filasṭīn ) or to 'Palestinian society' ( al-mujtama' al-filasṭīnī ). Whatever the differing viewpoints over the timing, causal mechanisms, and orientation of Palestinian nationalism, by
564-618: A 2015 Foreign Affairs article that "based on hundreds of manuscripts, Islamic court records, books, magazines, and newspapers from the Ottoman period (1516–1918), it seems that the first Arab to use the term "Palestinian" was Farid Georges Kassab, a Beirut-based Orthodox Christian ." He explained further that Kassab's 1909 book Palestine, Hellenism, and Clericalism noted in passing that "the Orthodox Palestinian Ottomans call themselves Arabs, and are in fact Arabs," despite describing
705-802: A British "colony of the lowest order." The Arabs tried to get the British to offer an Arab legal establishment again roughly ten years later, but to no avail. After the British general, Louis Bols, read out the Balfour Declaration in February 1920, some 1,500 Palestinians demonstrated in the streets of Jerusalem. A month later, during the 1920 Nebi Musa riots, the protests against British rule and Jewish immigration became violent and Bols banned all demonstrations. In May 1921 however, further anti-Jewish riots broke out in Jaffa and dozens of Arabs and Jews were killed in
846-562: A ban of the sale of land to Jews. By the end of 1936, the movement had become a national revolt, and resistance grew during 1937 and 1938. In response, the British declared martial law , dissolved the Arab High Committee and arrested officials from the Supreme Muslim Council who were behind the revolt. By 1939, 5,000 Arabs had been killed in British attempts to quash the revolt; more than 15,000 were wounded. In November 1947,
987-669: A degree of continuity over a long historical period (much as 'the Israelites' of the Bible suggest a long historical continuity in the same region)." Baruch Kimmerling and Joel S. Migdal consider the 1834 Peasants' revolt in Palestine as constituting the first formative event of the Palestinian people. From 1516 to 1917, Palestine was ruled by the Ottoman Empire save a decade from the 1830s to
1128-483: A long history, destroyed by Israeli forces. In addition, Palestinians lost from 1.5 to 2 million acres of land, an estimated 150,000 urban and rural homes, and 23,000 commercial structures such as shops and offices. Recent estimates of the cost to Palestinians in property confiscations by Israel from 1948 onwards has concluded that Palestinians have suffered a net $ 300 billion loss in assets. Those parts of British Mandatory Palestine which did not become part of
1269-679: A major attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. On 9 October 2023, following the beginning of the Israel–Hamas war and attacks in Israel by Hamas militants, Israel imposed a "total blockade" of the Gaza Strip . The total blockade of Gaza was announced by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant , who declared: "There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed." Al Haq , an independent Palestinian human rights organization based in Ramallah in
1410-491: A new civilian government. Israel disputes whether, and if so to what extent, it is an occupying power in relation to the Palestinian territories and as to whether Israeli settlements in these territories are in breach of Israel's obligations as an occupying power and constitute a grave breach of the Geneva Conventions and whether the settlements constitute war crimes . In 2015, over 800,000 Israelis resided outside
1551-861: A result of the Oslo Accords , is an interim administrative body nominally responsible for governance in Palestinian population centres in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since 1978, the United Nations has observed an annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People . According to British historian Perry Anderson , it is estimated that half of the population in the Palestinian territories are refugees, and that they have collectively suffered approximately US$ 300 billion in property losses due to Israeli confiscations, at 2008–2009 prices. Despite various wars and exoduses , roughly one half of
SECTION 10
#17328584779271692-668: A speech to the Security Council on 1 May 1968. In March 1972, Syria "conditionally" accepted Resolution 242, and in May 1974, the Agreement on Disengagement between Israel and Syria was signed. In the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Syria attempted to recapture the Golan Heights militarily, but the attempt was unsuccessful. Israel and Syria signed a ceasefire agreement in 1974 that left almost all
1833-517: A state. However, Palestinian sovereignty over the areas claimed as part of the Palestinian state remains limited, and the boundaries of the state remain a point of contestation between Palestinians and Israelis. The first Palestinian nationalist organizations emerged at the end of the World War I . Two political factions emerged. al-Muntada al-Adabi , dominated by the Nashashibi family, militated for
1974-584: A tradition that emerged in the 1960s that argues Palestinian nationalism has deep historical roots, with extreme advocates reading a Palestinian nationalist consciousness and identity back into the history of Palestine over the past few centuries, and even millennia, when such a consciousness is in fact relatively modern. The Battle of Karameh and the events of Black September in Jordan contributed to growing Palestinian support for these groups, particularly among Palestinians in exile. Concurrently, among Palestinians in
2115-441: A treaty when it has undertaken an act expressing its consent thereto." The Treaty, which is substantially a codification of customary international law, also provides that a State "may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform a treaty" (Art. 27). The Israeli government maintains that according to international law the West Bank status is that of disputed territories . The question
2256-519: Is a disputed issue amongst scholars. For some, the term " Palestinian " is used to refer to the nationalist concept of a Palestinian people by Palestinian Arabs from the late 19th century and in the pre-World War I period, while others assert the Palestinian identity encompasses the heritage of all eras from biblical times up to the Ottoman period . After the Israeli Declaration of Independence ,
2397-518: Is difficult to overstate the humanitarian impact of the Barrier. The route inside the West Bank severs communities, people's access to services, livelihoods and religious and cultural amenities. In addition, plans for the Barrier's exact route and crossing points through it are often not fully revealed until days before construction commences. This has led to considerable anxiety among Palestinians about how their future lives will be impacted...The land between
2538-423: Is featured by several small hotels. Mattat's name is equivalent in gematria to 840, its altitude in metres. The high location and mountainous region provides the town with a relatively temperate climate. Summer temperatures rarely break 30 °C and humidity is low, and summer nights are even chilly. The winters are cold and wet, with an average of over 800mm precipitation, including the occasional snow. During
2679-458: Is independent of the existence of any actual Arabian origins. Palestinians are sometimes described as indigenous. In a human rights context, the word indigenous may have different definitions; the UN Commission on Human Rights uses several criteria to define this term. Palestine has undergone many demographic and religious upheavals throughout history. During the 2nd millennium BCE , it
2820-495: The 1948 Arab–Israeli War . Today, Palestinians make up around half of Jordan's population. Jordan occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, from 1948 to 1967, annexing it in 1950 and granting Jordanian citizenship to the residents in 1954 (the annexation claims and citizenship grants were rescinded in 1988 when Jordan acknowledged the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole representative of
2961-438: The 1948 Palestinian expulsion , and more so after the 1967 Palestinian exodus , the term "Palestinian" evolved into a sense of a shared future in the form of aspirations for a Palestinian state . Founded in 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization is an umbrella organization for groups that represent the Palestinian people before international states. The Palestinian National Authority , officially established in 1994 as
SECTION 20
#17328584779273102-660: The 1982 Lebanon War and subsequently retained its forces to support the Christian South Lebanon Army militia in Southern Lebanon. In 1982, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and allied Free Lebanon Army Christian militias seized large sections of Lebanon, including the capital of Beirut , amid the hostilities of the wider Lebanese Civil War . Later, Israel withdrew from parts of the occupied area between 1983 and 1985, but remained in partial control of
3243-523: The 2023 war between Hamas and Israel , northern Israeli border communities, including Mattat, faced targeted attacks by Hezbollah and Palestinian factions based in Lebanon, and were evacuated. Palestinians Palestinians ( Arabic : الفلسطينيون , romanized : al-Filasṭīniyyūn ) are an Arab ethnonational group native to the region of Palestine . In 1919, Palestinian Muslims and Palestinian Christians constituted 90 percent of
3384-566: The Al-Quds , Al-Munadi , Falastin , Al-Karmil and Al-Nafir newspapers, which used the term "Filastini" more than 170 times in 110 articles from 1908 to 1914. They also made references to a "Palestinian society", "Palestinian nation", and a "Palestinian diaspora". Article writers included Christian and Muslim Arab Palestinians, Palestinian emigrants, and non-Palestinian Arabs. The Palestinian Arab Christian Falastin newspaper had addressed its readers as Palestinians since its inception in 1911 during
3525-512: The Battle of Gaza (2007) and took control over the Gaza Strip, Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza . Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli raids, such as Operation Hot Winter continued into 2008. A six month ceasefire was agreed in June 2008, but it was broken several times by both Israel and Hamas. As it reached its expiry, Hamas announced that they were unwilling to renew the ceasefire without improving
3666-514: The Bronze-Age population of Canaan . Variations have been noted between Muslim and Christian Palestinians . Additionally, there are indications within Palestinian populations of maternal gene flow from Sub-Saharan Africa , possibly linked to historical migrations or the Arab slave trade . Genetic studies have also shown a genetic relationship between Palestinians and Jews . A 2023 study looking at
3807-749: The Jerusalem Embassy Act in 1995, stating that "Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel; and the United States Embassy in Israel should be established in Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999." As a result of the Embassy Act , official U.S. documents and web sites refer to Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Until May 2018, the law had never been implemented, because successive U.S. Presidents Clinton , Bush , and Obama exercised
3948-548: The Middle East after World War I . Khalidi also states that although the challenge posed by Zionism played a role in shaping this identity, that "it is a serious mistake to suggest that Palestinian identity emerged mainly as a response to Zionism." Conversely, historian James L. Gelvin argues that Palestinian nationalism was a direct reaction to Zionism. In his book The Israel-Palestine Conflict: One Hundred Years of War he states that "Palestinian nationalism emerged during
4089-498: The Middle East peace process . Syria wants the return of the Golan Heights, while Israel has maintained a policy of " land for peace " based on Resolution 242. The first high-level public talks aimed at a resolution of the Syria–Israel conflict were held at and after the multilateral Madrid Conference of 1991 . Throughout the 1990s several Israeli governments negotiated with Syria's president Hafez Al-Assad . While serious progress
4230-655: The Muslim conquest of the Levant . Some Palestinian families, notably in the Hebron and Nablus regions, claim Jewish and Samaritan ancestry respectively, preserving associated cultural customs and traditions. Genetic studies indicate a genetic affinity between Palestinians and other Arab and Semitic groups in the Middle East and North Africa . Recent research suggests a genetic continuity between modern Palestinians and ancient Levantine populations, evidenced by their clustering with
4371-550: The Palestinian fedayeen , sumud provided an important subtext to the narrative of the fighters, "in symbolizing continuity and connections with the land, with peasantry and a rural way of life." In 1974, the PLO was recognized as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people by the Arab nation-states and was granted observer status as a national liberation movement by the United Nations that same year. Israel rejected
Mattat - Misplaced Pages Continue
4512-746: The Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights since the Six-Day War of 1967. It previously occupied the Sinai Peninsula and southern Lebanon as well. Prior to 1967, the Palestinian territories was split between the Gaza Strip controlled by Egypt and the West Bank by Jordan , while the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights are parts of Egypt and Syria , respectively. The Israeli occupation of
4653-504: The Philistines . Among Semitic languages , Akkadian Palaštu (variant Pilištu ) is used of 7th-century Philistia and its, by then, four city states. Biblical Hebrew 's cognate word Plištim , is usually translated Philistines . When the Romans conquered the region in the first century BCE, they used the name Judaea for the province that covered most of the region. At the same time,
4794-510: The San Remo conference , it was decided to accept the text of those articles, while inserting in the minutes of the conference an undertaking by the Mandatory Power that this would not involve the surrender of any of the rights hitherto enjoyed by the non-Jewish communities in Palestine. In 1922, the British authorities over Mandatory Palestine proposed a draft constitution that would have granted
4935-548: The Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem. The Gaza Strip was allotted to the Arab state envisioned by the United Nations Partition Plan of 1947 , but no Arab state formed as a result of the 1947 partition plan. As a result of the 1949 Armistice Agreements , the Gaza Strip became occupied by Egypt . Between 1948 and 1967, the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian military administration, being officially under
5076-629: The Six-Day War . Historian Avi Shlaim states that the Palestinians' lack of sovereignty over the land has been used by Israelis to deny Palestinians their rights to self-determination. Today, the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination has been affirmed by the United Nations General Assembly , the International Court of Justice and several Israeli authorities. A total of 133 countries recognize Palestine as
5217-457: The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Partition Plan , which divided the mandate of Palestine into two states: one majority Arab and one majority Jewish. The Palestinian Arabs rejected the plan and attacked Jewish civilian areas and paramilitary targets. Following Israel's declaration of independence in May 1948, five Arab armies (Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Transjordan) came to
5358-472: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were deployed to the security belt (from the end of Operation Litani in 1978). The strip was a few kilometers wide, and consisted of about 10% of the total territory of Lebanon, which housed about 150,000 people who lived in 67 villages and towns made up of Shiites , Maronites , and Druze (most of whom lived in the town of Hasbaya ). In
5499-506: The boundaries it had during the British Mandate, is an indivisible territorial unit." Historical records and later genetic studies indicate that the Palestinian people descend mostly from Ancient Levantines extending back to Bronze Age inhabitants of Levant. According to Palestinian historian Nazmi Al-Ju'beh like in other Arab nations, the Arab identity of Palestinians, largely based on linguistic and cultural affiliation,
5640-530: The occupying power under international law. Under international law there are certain laws of war governing military occupation , including the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention . One of those obligations is to maintain the status quo until the signing of a peace treaty , the resolution of specific conditions outlined in a peace treaty, or the formation of
5781-419: The pan-Arabist ideology put forward by Gamal Abdel Nasser —popular among Palestinians for whom Arabism was already an important component of their identity —tended to obscure the identities of the separate Arab states it subsumed. Since 1967, Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have lived under military occupation, creating, according to Avram Bornstein, a carceralization of their society . In
Mattat - Misplaced Pages Continue
5922-506: The peasants' revolt in Palestine in 1834 (or even as early as the 17th century), while others argue that it did not emerge until after the Mandatory Palestine period. Legal historian Assaf Likhovski states that the prevailing view is that Palestinian identity originated in the early decades of the 20th century, when an embryonic desire among Palestinians for self-government in the face of generalized fears that Zionism would lead to
6063-492: The whole genomes of world populations found that the Palestinian samples clustered in the "Middle Eastern genomic group", which included samples such as Samaritan , Bedouin , Jordanian , Iraqi Jew and Yemenite Jew samples. The timing and causes behind the emergence of a distinctively Palestinian national identity among the Arabs of Palestine are matters of scholarly disagreement. Some argue that it can be traced as far back as
6204-486: The "Syrians of Palestine" or "Palestinian-Syrians", an ethnically amorphous group he distinguishes from the Phoenicians. Herodotus makes no distinction between the inhabitants of Palestine. The Greek word reflects an ancient Eastern Mediterranean-Near Eastern word which was used either as a toponym or ethnonym . In Ancient Egyptian Peleset/Purusati has been conjectured to refer to the " Sea Peoples ", particularly
6345-517: The 1 October 2006 and has since began an ongoing occupation of parts of southern Lebanon during the 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War . A ceasefire was signed on 11 June 1967 and the Golan Heights came under Israeli military administration. Syria rejected UNSC Resolution 242 of 22 November 1967, which called for the return of Israeli-occupied State territories in exchange for peaceful relations. Israel had accepted Resolution 242 in
6486-468: The 1840s when an Egyptian vassal of the Ottomans, Muhammad Ali , and his son Ibrahim Pasha successfully broke away from Ottoman leadership and, conquering territory spreading from Egypt to as far north as Damascus, asserted their own rule over the area. The so-called Peasants' Revolt by Palestine's Arabs was precipitated by heavy demands for conscripts. The local leaders and urban notables were unhappy about
6627-491: The 1949 Armistice Lines, constituting nearly 13% of Israel's Jewish population. Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt in the 1967 Six-Day War . It established settlements along the Gulf of Aqaba and in the northeast portion, just below the Gaza Strip . It had plans to expand the settlement of Yamit into a city with a population of 200,000, though the actual population of Yamit did not exceed 3,000. The Sinai Peninsula
6768-702: The 1950s, a new generation of Palestinian nationalist groups and movements began to organize clandestinely, stepping out onto the public stage in the 1960s. The traditional Palestinian elite who had dominated negotiations with the British and the Zionists in the Mandate, and who were largely held responsible for the loss of Palestine, were replaced by these new movements whose recruits generally came from poor to middle-class backgrounds and were often students or recent graduates of universities in Cairo , Beirut and Damascus. The potency of
6909-452: The Arabic speakers of Palestine as Palestinians throughout the rest of the book." Bernard Lewis argues it was not as a Palestinian nation that the Arabs of Ottoman Palestine objected to Zionists, since the very concept of such a nation was unknown to the Arabs of the area at the time and did not come into being until very much later. Even the concept of Arab nationalism in the Arab provinces of
7050-666: The Arabic-speaking Muslims of Palestine but also the Arab Christians and other religious communities of Palestine who were at that time Arabic-speakers, such as the Samaritans and Druze . Thus, the Jews of Palestine were/are also included, although limited only to "the [Arabic-speaking] Jews who had normally resided in Palestine until the beginning of the [pre-state] Zionist invasion." The Charter also states that "Palestine with
7191-576: The Arabs of Palestine." Israeli historian Efraim Karsh takes the view that the Palestinian identity did not develop until after the 1967 war because the Palestinian exodus/expulsion had fractured society so greatly that it was impossible to piece together a national identity. Between 1948 and 1967, the Jordanians and other Arab countries hosting Arab refugees from Palestine/Israel silenced any expression of Palestinian identity and occupied their lands until Israel's conquests of 1967. The formal annexation of
SECTION 50
#17328584779277332-584: The Barrier and the Green Line constitutes some of the most fertile in the West Bank. It is currently the home for 49,400 West Bank Palestinians living in 38 villages and towns. On Feb 6, 2017, The Knesset passed the controversial Regulation Law , which aimed at retroactively legalizing 2,000 to 4,000 Israeli settlements in Area C . On June 9, 2020, the Israeli Supreme Court struck down the law as "infringing on
7473-513: The British, and Izz ad-Din al-Qassam . After the killing of sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam by the British in 1935, his followers initiated the 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine , which began with a general strike in Jaffa and attacks on Jewish and British installations in Nablus . The Arab Higher Committee called for a nationwide general strike, non-payment of taxes, and the closure of municipal governments, and demanded an end to Jewish immigration and
7614-497: The Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs maintains an office on "Occupied Palestinian Territory", which concerns itself with the Gaza Strip. In his statement on the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict Richard Falk , United Nations Special Rapporteur on "the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories " wrote that international humanitarian law applied to Israel "in regard to the obligations of an Occupying Power and in
7755-600: The Gaza Strip came under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority . A July 2004 opinion of the International Court of Justice treated Gaza as a part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In February 2005, the Israeli government voted to implement a unilateral disengagement plan from the Gaza Strip. The plan began to be implemented on 15 August 2005, and was completed on 12 September 2005. Under
7896-497: The Gaza Strip, over 870,000 in the West Bank, and around 250,000 in Israel proper. Of the Palestinian population who live abroad, known as the Palestinian diaspora , more than half are stateless , lacking legal citizenship in any country. 2.3 million of the diaspora population are registered as refugees in neighboring Jordan , most of whom hold Jordanian citizenship; over 1 million live between Syria and Lebanon , and about 750,000 live in Saudi Arabia , with Chile holding
8037-435: The Gaza Strip. To avoid allegations that it was still in occupation of any part of the Gaza Strip, Israel also withdrew from the Philadelphi Route , which is a narrow strip adjacent to the Strip's border with Egypt , after Egypt's agreement to secure its side of the border. Under the Oslo Accords the Philadelphi Route was to remain under Israeli control to prevent the smuggling of materials (such as ammunition) and people across
8178-487: The Golan Heights and East Jerusalem in 1980, and brought the rest of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under the Israeli Civil Administration . The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN General Assembly , and the UN Security Council all regard Israel as the occupying power for the territories. The ICJ in 2024 ruled that Israel's occupation was illegal and called for Israel to end its "unlawful presence ... as rapidly as possible" and to make reparations to
8319-625: The Golan Heights there is another area occupied by Israel, namely the Shebaa farms . Syria and Lebanon have claimed that the farms belong to Lebanon and in 2007 a UN cartographer came to the conclusion that the Shebaa farms do actually belong to Lebanon (contrary to the belief held by Israel). UN then said that Israel should relinquish the control of this area. Both of these territories were part of Mandate Palestine , and both have populations consisting primarily of Palestinians Arabs , including significant numbers of refugees who fled or were expelled from Israel and territory Israel controlled after
8460-464: The Heights under Israeli control, while returning a narrow demilitarized zone to Syrian control. A United Nations observation force was established in 1974 as a buffer between the sides. By Syrian formal acceptance of UN Security Council Resolution 338 , which set out the cease-fire at the end of the Yom Kippur War, Syria also accepted Resolution 242. On 14 December 1981, Israel passed the Golan Heights Law , extending Israeli administration and law to
8601-581: The Israeli army. The Israeli position is that it no longer occupies Gaza, as Israel does not exercise effective control or authority over any land or institutions inside the Gaza Strip. Foreign Affairs Minister of Israel Tzipi Livni stated in January, 2008: "Israel got out of Gaza. It dismantled its settlements there. No Israeli soldiers were left there after the disengagement." Israel also notes that Gaza does not belong to any sovereign state. Immediately after Israel withdrew in 2005, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas stated, "the legal status of
SECTION 60
#17328584779278742-470: The Jewish population in Jerusalem and its surroundings in Judea , and Samaritan population in Samaria , never fully recovered as a result of the Jewish-Roman Wars and Samaritan revolts respectively. In the centuries that followed, the region experienced political and economic unrest , mass conversions to Christianity (and subsequent Christianization of the Roman Empire ), and the religious persecution of minorities. The immigration of Christians,
8883-421: The Mandatory Power considered the Palestinian population to be composed of religious, not national, groups. Consequently, government censuses in 1922 and 1931 would categorize Palestinians confessionally as Muslims, Christians and Jews, with the category of Arab absent. The articles of the Mandate mentioned the civil and religious rights of the non-Jewish communities in Palestine, but not their political status. At
9024-409: The Ottoman Empire as part of a 'sacred trust of civilization'. Article 7 of the League of Nations Mandate required the establishment of a new, separate, Palestinian nationality for the inhabitants. This meant that Palestinians did not become British citizens, and that Palestine was not annexed into the British dominions. The Mandate document divided the population into Jewish and non-Jewish, and Britain,
9165-458: The Ottoman Empire, "had not reached significant proportions before the outbreak of World War I." Tamir Sorek, a sociologist , submits that, "Although a distinct Palestinian identity can be traced back at least to the middle of the nineteenth century (Kimmerling and Migdal 1993; Khalidi 1997b), or even to the seventeenth century (Gerber 1998), it was not until after World War I that a broad range of optional political affiliations became relevant for
9306-439: The Ottoman period. During the Mandatory Palestine period, the term "Palestinian" was used to refer to all people residing there, regardless of religion or ethnicity , and those granted citizenship by the British Mandatory authorities were granted "Palestinian citizenship". Other examples include the use of the term Palestine Regiment to refer to the Jewish Infantry Brigade Group of the British Army during World War II, and
9447-423: The PLO's Palestinian National Council in July 1968, defined "Palestinians" as "those Arab nationals who, until 1947, normally resided in Palestine regardless of whether they were evicted from it or stayed there. Anyone born, after that date, of a Palestinian father – whether in Palestine or outside it – is also a Palestinian." Note that "Arab nationals" is not religious-specific, and it includes not only
9588-415: The Palestinian Arabs representation in a Legislative Council on condition that they accept the terms of the mandate. The Palestine Arab delegation rejected the proposal as "wholly unsatisfactory", noting that "the People of Palestine" could not accept the inclusion of the Balfour Declaration in the constitution's preamble as the basis for discussions. They further took issue with the designation of Palestine as
9729-486: The Palestinian Arabs' aid against the newly founded State of Israel . The Palestinian Arabs suffered such a major defeat at the end of the war, that the term they use to describe the war is Nakba (the "catastrophe"). Israel took control of much of the territory that would have been allocated to the Arab state had the Palestinian Arabs accepted the UN partition plan. Along with a military defeat, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled from what became
9870-420: The Palestinian mission to the U.N. has argued that: it is of no relevance whether a State has a monist or a dualist approach to the incorporation of international law into domestic law. A position dependent upon such considerations contradicts Article 18 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties of 1969 which states that: "a state is obliged to refrain from acts which would defeat the object and purposes of
10011-445: The Palestinian people's right to form a sovereign independent state, "The right of self-determination gives the Palestinian people collectively the inalienable right freely to determine its political status, while Israel, having recognized the Palestinians as a separate people, is obliged to promote and respect this right in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations". Israeli-occupied territories Israel has occupied
10152-522: The Palestinian people). Egypt administered the Gaza Strip from 1948 to 1967 but did not annex it or make Gazans Egyptian citizens. The West Bank was allotted to the Arab state under United Nations Partition Plan of 1947 , but the West Bank was occupied by Transjordan after the 1948 war. In April 1950, Jordan annexed the West Bank, but this was recognized only by the United Kingdom and Pakistan. (see 1949 Armistice Agreements , Green Line ) In 1967,
10293-535: The Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, where Israel had transferred its parts of population there and built large settlements , is the longest military occupation in modern history . From 1967 to 1981, the four areas were administered under the Israeli Military Governorate , and after the return of the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt after the Egypt–Israel peace treaty , Israel effectively annexed
10434-659: The Roman and Byzantine periods to about 300,000 by the early Ottoman period. Over time, the existing population adopted Arab culture and language and much converted to Islam . The settlement of Arabs before and after the Muslim conquest is thought to have played a role in accelerating the Islamization process. Some scholars suggest that by the arrival of the Crusaders , Palestine was already overwhelmingly Muslim, while others claim that it
10575-470: The State of Israel. Israel did not allow the Palestinian refugees of the war to return to Israel. After the war, there was a hiatus in Palestinian political activity. Khalidi attributes this to the traumatic events of 1947–49, which included the depopulation of over 400 towns and villages and the creation of hundreds of thousands of refugees. 418 villages had been razed, 46,367 buildings, 123 schools, 1,233 mosques, 8 churches and 68 holy shrines, many with
10716-626: The State of Israel." In 1975, the United Nations established a subsidiary organ, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People , to recommend a program of implementation to enable the Palestinian people to exercise national independence and their rights to self-determination without external interference, national independence and sovereignty, and to return to their homes and property. The First Intifada (1987–93)
10857-433: The West Bank and Gaza Strip, a new ideological theme, known as sumud , represented the Palestinian political strategy popularly adopted from 1967 onward. As a concept closely related to the land, agriculture and indigenousness , the ideal image of the Palestinian put forward at this time was that of the peasant (in Arabic, fellah ) who stayed put on his land, refusing to leave. A strategy more passive than that adopted by
10998-625: The West Bank and an affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists , has asserted that "As noted in Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, 'a party may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to perform a treaty'. As such, Israeli reliance on local law does not justify its violations of its international legal obligations". Further,
11139-468: The West Bank and another 200,000 live in East Jerusalem. The barrier has many effects on Palestinians including reduced freedoms, road closures, loss of land, increased difficulty in accessing medical and educational services in Israel, restricted access to water sources, and economic effects. Regarding the violation of freedom of Palestinians, in a 2005 report, the United Nations stated that:[47] ...it
11280-423: The West Bank and partly along the 1949 Armistice line , or "Green Line" between Israel and Palestinian West Bank. 12% of the West Bank area is on the Israel side of the barrier. In 2004, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion stating that the barrier violates international law . It claimed that "Israel cannot rely on a right of self-defence or on a state of necessity in order to preclude
11421-501: The West Bank by Jordan in 1950, and the subsequent granting of its Palestinian residents Jordanian citizenship, further stunted the growth of a Palestinian national identity by integrating them into Jordanian society. The idea of a unique Palestinian state distinct from its Arab neighbors was at first rejected by Palestinian representatives. The First Congress of Muslim-Christian Associations (in Jerusalem , February 1919), which met for
11562-475: The West Bank came under Israeli military administration. Israel retained the mukhtar ( mayoral ) system of government inherited from Jordan, and subsequent governments began developing infrastructure in Arab villages under its control. (see Palestinians and Israeli law , International legal issues of the conflict , Palestinian economy ). As a result of " Enclave law ", large portions of Israeli civil law are applied to Israeli settlements and Israeli residents in
11703-490: The West Bank for the PLO. In 2000, the Israeli government started to construct the Israeli West Bank barrier , within the West Bank , separating Israel and several of its settlements, as well as a significant number of Palestinians, from the remainder of the West Bank. State of Israel cabinet approved a route to construct separation barrier whose total length will be approximately 760 km (472 mi) built mainly in
11844-429: The West Bank is disputed territory. Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip in 2005. The UN and a number of human rights organizations continue to consider Israel as the occupying power of the Gaza Strip due to its blockade of the territory ; Israel rejects this characterization. The significance of the designation of these territories as occupied territory is that certain legal obligations fall on
11985-795: The area into the Jerusalem Municipality. In 1980, the Knesset passed the Jerusalem Law , which was declared a Basic Law , which declared Jerusalem to be the "complete and united" capital of Israel. However, United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 declared this action to be "null and void", and that it "must be rescinded forthwith". The international community does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem and considers it an occupied territory. UN Security Council Resolution 478 also called upon countries which held their diplomatic delegations to Israel in Jerusalem, to move them outside
12126-660: The areas of Judea and Samaria in belligerent occupation, since 1967. The court also held that the normative provisions of public international law regarding belligerent occupation are applicable. The Regulations Concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land, The Hague of 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War 1949 were both cited. About 500,000 Israeli settlers live in
12267-464: The areas slated for evacuation has not changed." Human Rights Watch also contested that this ended the occupation. The United Nations , Human Rights Watch and many other international bodies and NGOs continues to consider Israel to be the occupying power of the Gaza Strip as Israel controls the Gaza Strip's airspace and territorial waters as well as the movement of people or goods in or out of Gaza by air or sea. The United Nations Office for
12408-538: The authority to approve one of the stages, changing the system operating for the last 27 years. In its first six months, construction of 13,000 housing units in settlements, almost triple the number advanced in the whole of 2022. Jerusalem has created additional issues in relation to the question of whether or not it is occupied territory. The 1947 UN Partition Plan had contemplated that all of Jerusalem would be an international city within an international area that included Bethlehem for at least ten years, after which
12549-595: The border region known as the South Lebanon Security Belt , initially in coordination with the self-proclaimed Free Lebanon State , which executed a limited authority over portions of southern Lebanon until 1984, and later with the South Lebanon security belt administration and its South Lebanon Army (transformed from Free Lebanon Army), until the year 2000. Israel's stated purpose for the Security Belt
12690-433: The border with Egypt. With Egypt agreeing to patrol its side of the border, it was hoped that the objective would be achieved. However, Israel maintained its control over the crossings in and out of Gaza. The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza was monitored by the Israeli army through special surveillance cameras. Official documents such as passports, I.D. cards, export and import papers, and many others had to be approved by
12831-645: The central zone of the Strip was the Maronite town Marjayoun , which was the capital of the security belt. Residents remaining in the security zone had many contacts with Israel, many of whom have worked there and received various services from Israel. Before the Israeli election in May 1999 , the Prime Minister of Israel , Ehud Barak , promised that within a year all Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon. When negotiation efforts failed between Israel and Syria—the goal of
12972-469: The city. Most nations with embassies in Jerusalem complied, and relocated their embassies to Tel Aviv or other Israeli cities prior to the adoption of Resolution 478. Following the withdrawals of Costa Rica and El Salvador in August 2006, no country maintained its embassy in Jerusalem until 2018, although Bolivia and Paraguay once had theirs in nearby Mevaseret Zion . The United States Congress passed
13113-417: The civilian population, which took place in 1982, was done forcefully in some instances, such as the evacuation of Yamit. The settlements were demolished, as it was feared that settlers might try to return to their homes after the evacuation. Since 1982, the Sinai Peninsula has not been regarded as occupied territory. The Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon took place after Israel invaded Lebanon during
13254-584: The confrontations. After the 1920 Nebi Musa riots , the San Remo conference and the failure of Faisal to establish the Kingdom of Greater Syria , a distinctive form of Palestinian Arab nationalism took root between April and July 1920. With the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the French conquest of Syria , coupled with the British conquest and administration of Palestine, the formerly pan-Syrianist mayor of Jerusalem , Musa Qasim Pasha al-Husayni , said "Now, after
13395-451: The distinctiveness of Palestinian history ..." and "[a]lthough proud of their Arab heritage and ancestry, the Palestinians considered themselves to be descended not only from Arab conquerors of the seventh century but also from indigenous peoples who had lived in the country since time immemorial, including the ancient Hebrews and the Canaanites before them." Zachary J. Foster argued in
13536-432: The early 20th century strong opposition to Zionism and evidence of a burgeoning nationalistic Palestinian identity is found in the content of Arabic-language newspapers in Palestine, such as Al-Karmil (est. 1908) and Filasteen (est. 1911). Filasteen initially focused its critique of Zionism around the failure of the Ottoman administration to control Jewish immigration and the large influx of foreigners, later exploring
13677-444: The efforts of some extreme advocates of Palestinian nationalism to "anachronistically" read back into history a nationalist consciousness that is in fact "relatively modern". Khalidi argues that the modern national identity of Palestinians has its roots in nationalist discourses that emerged among the peoples of the Ottoman empire in the late 19th century that sharpened following the demarcation of modern nation-state boundaries in
13818-681: The emigration of Jews, and the conversion of pagans, Jews and Samaritans, contributed to a Christian majority forming in Late Roman and Byzantine Palestine . In the 7th century, the Arab Rashiduns conquered the Levant ; they were later succeeded by other Arab Muslim dynasties, including the Umayyads , Abbasids and the Fatimids . Over the following several centuries, the population of Palestine drastically decreased, from an estimated 1 million during
13959-608: The first Israeli–Palestinian interim peace agreement, were signed in 1993. The process was envisioned to last five years, ending in June 1999, when the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the Jericho area began. The expiration of this term without the recognition by Israel of the Palestinian State and without the effective termination of the occupation was followed by the Second Intifada in 2000. The second intifada
14100-556: The following years, especially under the nationalistic orientation of the leadership of Yasser Arafat . Mainstream secular Palestinian nationalism was grouped together under the umbrella of the PLO whose constituent organizations include Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine , among other groups who at that time believed that political violence was the only way to "liberate" Palestine. These groups gave voice to
14241-515: The history of Palestine – encompassing the Biblical , Roman , Byzantine , Umayyad , Abbasid , Fatimid , Crusader , Ayyubid , Mamluk and Ottoman periods – form part of the identity of the modern-day Palestinian people, as they have come to understand it over the last century. Noting that Palestinian identity has never been an exclusive one, with "Arabism, religion, and local loyalties" playing an important role, Khalidi cautions against
14382-415: The impact of Zionist land-purchases on Palestinian peasants ( Arabic : فلاحين , fellahin ), expressing growing concern over land dispossession and its implications for the society at large. Historian Rashid Khalidi 's 1997 book Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness is considered a "foundational text" on the subject. He notes that the archaeological strata that denote
14523-445: The interwar period in response to Zionist immigration and settlement." Gelvin argues that this fact does not make the Palestinian identity any less legitimate: "The fact that Palestinian nationalism developed later than Zionism and indeed in response to it does not in any way diminish the legitimacy of Palestinian nationalism or make it less valid than Zionism. All nationalisms arise in opposition to some 'other.' Why else would there be
14664-650: The jurisdiction of the All-Palestine Government until in 1959 it was merged into the United Arab Republic , de facto becoming under direct Egyptian military governorship. Between 1967 and 1993, the Gaza Strip was under Israeli military administration. In March 1979, Egypt renounced all claims to the Gaza Strip in the Egypt–Israel peace treaty . Since the Israel–Palestine Liberation Organization letters of recognition of 1993,
14805-512: The land as punishment for the Bar Kokhba revolt . Jacobson suggested the change to be rationalized by the fact that the new province was far larger. The name was thenceforth inscribed on coins, and beginning in the fifth century, mentioned in rabbinic texts . The Arabic word Filastin has been used to refer to the region since the time of the earliest medieval Arab geographers . It appears to have been used as an Arabic adjectival noun in
14946-568: The land in which the Palestinians have lived during the modern era. Palestine was administered by the Ottoman Empire until World War I, and then overseen by the British Mandatory authorities. Israel was established in parts of Palestine in 1948, and in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , the West Bank was ruled by Jordan , and the Gaza Strip by Egypt , with both countries continuing to administer these areas until Israel occupied them in
15087-494: The largest Palestinian diaspora concentration (around half a million) outside of the Arab world . The Greek toponym Palaistínē (Παλαιστίνη), which is the origin of the Arabic Filasṭīn (فلسطين), first occurs in the work of the 5th century BCE Greek historian Herodotus , where it denotes generally the coastal land from Phoenicia down to Egypt . Herodotus also employs the term as an ethnonym , as when he speaks of
15228-554: The law's presidential waiver, citing national security interests. On 14 May 2018, the U.S. opened its embassy in Jerusalem. East Jerusalem residents are increasingly becoming integrated into Israeli society, in terms of education, citizenship, national service and in other aspects. Recent surveys show that, if given the option of having East Jerusalem transferred today from Israeli rule to the Palestinian National Authority , most East Jerusalem Palestinians would oppose
15369-617: The loss of traditional privileges, while the peasants were well aware that conscription was little more than a death sentence. Starting in May 1834 the rebels took many cities, among them Jerusalem , Hebron and Nablus and Ibrahim Pasha's army was deployed, defeating the last rebels on 4 August in Hebron. Benny Morris argues that the Arabs in Palestine nevertheless remained part of a larger national pan-Arab or, alternatively, pan-Islamist movement. Walid Khalidi argues otherwise, writing that Palestinians in Ottoman times were "[a]cutely aware of
15510-482: The meantime, pan-Arabism has waned as an aspect of Palestinian identity. The Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank triggered a second Palestinian exodus and fractured Palestinian political and militant groups, prompting them to give up residual hopes in pan-Arabism. They rallied increasingly around the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which had been formed in Cairo in 1964. The group grew in popularity in
15651-562: The name Syria Palestina continued to be used by historians and geographers to refer to the area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River , as in the writings of Philo , Josephus and Pliny the Elder . During the early 2nd century CE, Syria Palaestina became the official administrative name in a move viewed by scholars as an attempt by emperor Hadrian to disassociate Jews from
15792-598: The need to specify who you are? And all nationalisms are defined by what they oppose." David Seddon writes that "[t]he creation of Palestinian identity in its contemporary sense was formed essentially during the 1960s, with the creation of the Palestine Liberation Organization." He adds, however, that "the existence of a population with a recognizably similar name ('the Philistines') in Biblical times suggests
15933-445: The negotiations was to bring a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon as well, due to Syrian occupation of Lebanon until 2005—Barak led the withdrawal of the IDF to the Israeli border on 24 May 2000. No soldiers were killed or wounded during the redeployment to the internationally recognized border of Blue Line . Israel occupied parts of Lebanon again during the 2006 Lebanon War until
16074-530: The newly declared Israeli state were occupied by Egypt or annexed by Jordan. At the Jericho Conference on 1 December 1948, 2,000 Palestinian delegates supported a resolution calling for "the unification of Palestine and Transjordan as a step toward full Arab unity". During what Khalidi terms the "lost years" that followed, Palestinians lacked a center of gravity, divided as they were between these countries and others such as Syria, Lebanon, and elsewhere. In
16215-455: The occupied territories. Since the Israel–Palestine Liberation Organization letters of recognition of 1993, most of the Palestinian population and cities came under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority , and only partial Israeli military control, although Israel has frequently redeployed its troops and reinstated full military administration in various parts of the two territories. On July 31, 1988, Jordan renounced its claims to
16356-410: The people of the occupied territories. UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk called Israel's occupation "an affront to international law". The Supreme Court of Israel has ruled that Israel is holding the West Bank under "belligerent occupation" . However, successive Israeli governments have preferred the term "disputed territories" in the case of the West Bank, and Israel likewise maintains that
16497-569: The plan, all Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip (and four in the West Bank) and the joint Israeli-Palestinian Erez Industrial Zone were dismantled with the removal of all 9,000 Israeli settlers (most of them in the Gush Katif settlement area in the Strip's southwest) and military bases. Some settlers resisted the order, and were forcibly removed by the IDF. On 12 September 2005 the Israeli cabinet formally declared an end to Israeli military occupation of
16638-403: The population of Palestine, just before the third wave of Jewish immigration and the setting up of British Mandatory Palestine after World War I . Opposition to Jewish immigration spurred the consolidation of a unified national identity , though Palestinian society was still fragmented by regional, class, religious, and family differences. The history of the Palestinian national identity
16779-498: The promotion of the Arabic language and culture, for the defense of Islamic values and for an independent Syria and Palestine. In Damascus , al-Nadi al-Arabi , dominated by the Husayni family, defended the same values. Article 22 of The Covenant of the League of Nations conferred an international legal status upon the territories and people which had ceased to be under the sovereignty of
16920-584: The property rights of Palestinian residents." In February 2023, the new Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu approved the legalization of nine illegal settler outposts in the West Bank. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich took charge of most of the Civil Administration , obtaining broad authority over civilian issues in the West Bank. In June 2023, Israel shortened the procedure of approving settlement construction and gave Finance Minister Smotrich
17061-541: The proposal. According to Middle East expert David Pollock, in the hypothesis that a final agreement was reached between Israel and the Palestinians with the establishment of a two-state solution , 48% of East Jerusalem Arabs would prefer being citizens of Israel, while 42% of them would prefer the State of Palestine . 9% would prefer Jordanian citizenship. In May 2021, clashes occurred between Palestinians and Israeli police over further anticipated Palestinian evictions in
17202-472: The purpose of selecting a Palestinian Arab representative for the Paris Peace Conference , adopted the following resolution: "We consider Palestine as part of Arab Syria, as it has never been separated from it at any time. We are connected with it by national, religious, linguistic , natural, economic and geographical bonds." An independent Palestinian state has not exercised full sovereignty over
17343-489: The recent events in Damascus , we have to effect a complete change in our plans here. Southern Syria no longer exists. We must defend Palestine". Conflict between Palestinian nationalists and various types of pan-Arabists continued during the British Mandate, but the latter became increasingly marginalized. Two prominent leaders of the Palestinian nationalists were Mohammad Amin al-Husayni , Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, appointed by
17484-442: The region since as early as the 7th century. In modern times, the first person to self-describe Palestine's Arabs as "Palestinians" was Khalil Beidas in 1898, followed by Salim Quba'in and Najib Nassar in 1902. After the 1908 Young Turk Revolution , which eased press censorship laws in the Ottoman Empire, dozens of newspapers and periodicals were founded in Palestine, and the term "Palestinian" expanded in usage. Among those were
17625-472: The request of a Palestinian delegation, and although the annexation was recognized by only two countries, it was not condemned by the UNSC. The British did not recognize the territory as sovereign to Jordan. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War . On June 27, Israel extended its laws, jurisdiction, and administration to East Jerusalem and several nearby towns and villages, and incorporated
17766-586: The requirements of the laws of war." In a 2009 interview on Democracy Now Christopher Gunness, spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) contends that Israel is an occupying power. However, Meagan Buren, senior adviser to the Israel Project , a pro-Israel media group, contests that characterization. In 2007, after Hamas defeated Fatah in
17907-512: The residents would be allowed to conduct a referendum and the issue could be re-examined by the Trusteeship Council. However, after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , Jordan captured East Jerusalem and the Old City , and Israel captured and annexed the western part of Jerusalem . Jordan bilaterally annexed East Jerusalem along with the rest of the West Bank in 1950 as a temporary trustee at
18048-478: The resolution, calling it "shameful". In a speech to the Knesset , Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Yigal Allon outlined the government's view that: "No one can expect us to recognize the terrorist organization called the PLO as representing the Palestinians—because it does not. No one can expect us to negotiate with the heads of terror-gangs, who through their ideology and actions, endeavor to liquidate
18189-974: The term "Palestinian Talmud", which is an alternative name of the Jerusalem Talmud , used mainly in academic sources. Following the 1948 establishment of Israel , the use and application of the terms "Palestine" and "Palestinian" by and to Palestinian Jews largely dropped from use. For example, the English-language newspaper The Palestine Post , founded by Jews in 1932, changed its name in 1950 to The Jerusalem Post . The term Arab Jews can include Jews with Palestinian heritage and Israeli citizenship, although some Arab Jews prefer to be called Mizrahi Jews . Non-Jewish Arab citizens of Israel with Palestinian heritage identify themselves as Arabs or Palestinians. These non-Jewish Arab Israelis thus include those that are Palestinian by heritage but Israeli by citizenship. The Palestinian National Charter , as amended by
18330-658: The terms. At the end of December 2008 Israeli forces began Operation Cast Lead, launching the Gaza War that left an estimated 1,166–1,417 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead. In January 2012, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary General stated that under resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly, the UN still regards Gaza to be a part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. On 7 October 2023, Hamas launched
18471-592: The territory. Israel has expressly avoided using the term " annexation " to describe the change of status. However, the UN Security Council has rejected the de facto annexation in UNSC Resolution 497 , which declared it as "null and void and without international legal effect", and consequently continuing to regard the Golan Heights as Israeli-occupied territory. The measure has also been criticized by other countries, either as illegal or as not being helpful to
18612-426: The world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the territory of former Mandatory Palestine , now encompassing Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip . In Israel proper, Palestinians constitute almost 21 percent of the population as part of its Arab citizens . Many are Palestinian refugees or internally displaced Palestinians , including over 1.4 million in
18753-485: The wrongfulness of the construction of the wall". However, Israel government derived its justification for constructing this barrier with Prime Minister Ehud Barak stating that it is "essential to the Palestinian nation in order to foster its national identity and independence without being dependent on the State of Israel". The Israeli Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, stated that Israel has been holding
18894-515: Was aided by the immigration of Egyptians (during the reigns of Muhammad Ali and Ibrahim Pasha ) and Algerians (following Abdelkader El Djezaïri 's revolt) in the first half of the 19th century, and the subsequent immigration of Algerians, Bosnians , and Circassians during the second half of the century. Many Palestinian villagers claim ancestral ties to Arab tribes from the Arabian Peninsula that settled in Palestine during or after
19035-456: Was inhabited by the Canaanites , Semitic -speaking peoples who practiced the Canaanite religion . Most Palestinians share a strong genetic link to the ancient Canaanites. Israelites later emerged as an outgrowth of southern Canaanite civilization, with Jews and Israelite Samaritans eventually forming the majority of the population in Palestine during classical antiquity , However,
19176-487: Was made, they were unsuccessful. In 2004, there were 34 settlements in the Golan Heights, populated by around 18,000 people. Today, an estimated 20,000 Israeli settlers and 20,000 Syrians live in the territory. All inhabitants are entitled to Israeli citizenship , which would entitle them to an Israeli driver's license and enable them to travel freely in Israel. The non-Jewish residents, who are mostly Druze , have nearly all declined to take Israeli citizenship. In
19317-572: Was more violent than the first. The International Court of Justice observed that since the government of Israel had decided to recognize the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people, their existence was no longer an issue. The court noted that the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip of 28 September 1995 also referred a number of times to the Palestinian people and its "legitimate rights". According to Thomas Giegerich , with respect to
19458-564: Was only after the Crusades that the Christians lost their majority, and that the process of mass Islamization took place much later, perhaps during the Mamluk period . For several centuries during the Ottoman period the population in Palestine declined and fluctuated between 150,000 and 250,000 inhabitants, and it was only in the 19th century that a rapid population growth began to occur. This growth
19599-462: Was returned to Egypt in stages beginning in 1979 as part of the Egypt–Israel peace treaty . As required by the treaty, Israel evacuated Israeli military installations and civilian settlements prior to the establishment of "normal and friendly relations" between it and Egypt. Israel dismantled eighteen settlements, two air force bases, a naval base, and other installations by 1982, including the only oil resources under Israeli control. The evacuation of
19740-534: Was the first popular uprising against the Israeli occupation of 1967. Followed by the PLO's 1988 proclamation of a State of Palestine , these developments served to further reinforce the Palestinian national identity. After the Gulf War in 1991, Kuwaiti authorities forcibly pressured nearly 200,000 Palestinians to leave Kuwait . The policy which partly led to this exodus was a response to the alignment of PLO leader Yasser Arafat with Saddam Hussein . The Oslo Accords ,
19881-656: Was to create a space separating its northern border towns from terrorists residing in Lebanon. During the stay in the security belt, the IDF held many positions and supported the SLA. The SLA took over daily life in the security zone, initially as the official force of the Free Lebanon State and later as an allied militia. Notably, the South Lebanon Army controlled the prison in Khiam. In addition, United Nations (UN) forces and
#926073