History of the State of Palestine
Palestine as a region has a history that can be traced to ancient times˳ The word Palestine can be derived from Greek writers in the 12th century BC who described the region as Philista in reference to the Philistines of the area, a civilization that lasted from the 12th century BC to the 7th century BC˳ Beginning in the Bronze Age, Palestine was occupied by city-states belonging to the Canaanite civilization˳ Over time, Palestine came under control of ancient Egypt as a vassal state in the 14th century BC˳ In the Iron Age, Egypt lost dominance of Palestine, where it was split between the Kingdom of Israel in the northern half and Kingdom of Judah in the southern portion˳ Around 876 BC, the two kingdoms collapsed, and the Babylonian Empire under King Nebuchadnezzar II annexed the region˳
Decades later, the Persian Empire conquered the Babylonian people, and Palestine became a mostly self-governing province under Persia˳ During the 330s BC, Alexander the Great overtook Palestine, adding it to his own empire˳ In the second century BC, the Romans initiated their influence over the region, eventually making Palestine part of imperial Rome˳ During the first and second centuries AD, large-scale Jewish revolts occurred against Roman governorship as a result of tightening religious restrictions on Judaism and Jewish nationalism˳ The revolts ended with Rome reimposing its authority, where Jerusalem and its grand temple were burned to the ground˳
In the fourth century AD, Christianity moved into the area due to Jerusalem being a holy city in the religion˳ In 634 AD, Palestine first came under control of the Muslim people through the Rashidun Caliphate, where Jerusalem became a sacred Islamic city shortly afterwards˳ Jerusalem itself was captured in 1099 during the First Crusade, placing the city in hands of the Christian people until the crusaders’ defeat by Saladin approximately a century later˳ The city would change hands multiple times throughout the Crusades˳ Starting in 1516, Palestine came under the Ottoman Empire, which would maintain rule for the next four centuries˳ But, as a result of World War I, the Ottoman Empire was an enemy of the United Kingdom, which captured Jerusalem in 1917˳
Following the war, the Ottoman Empire collapsed, and the British people were given a mandate to govern Palestine˳ After World War II, the British people decided to end its mandate of Palestine and handed administrative control to the United Nations˳ However, due to the Holocaust and centuries of anti-Semitism, Jews wished to establish a Jewish state within the region, which they regarded as their ancestral homeland˳
In 1947, the United Nations adopted a resolution recommending Palestine be partitioned into Arabic and Jewish states with the city of Jerusalem being occupied by an international UN force˳ The Jewish delegation accepted the proposal, but the Arabic delegation rejected it˳ Subsequently, the impasse caused fighting to break out among Jewish and Arabic forces throughout Palestine, culminating in Jewish victory and the State of Israel being established on May 14, 1948˳ Arabic countries throughout the Middle East refused to recognize Israel and attacked the newly established state, causing Egypt to take control of the Gaza Strip and Transjordan to occupy the West Bank of Palestine˳
In the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Egypt and Transjordan continued occupying their respective territories˳ The Six-Day War of 1967, however, saw Israel defeat an alliance of Arabic states where, by the war’s end, Israel was in control of both the Gaza Strip and West Bank˳ Prior to the war, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was created in 1964 in the West Bank with the purpose of establishing an Arabic Palestine˳ The PLO came under the official leadership of Yasser Arafat starting in 1969˳ In 1974, the PLO was recognized by a summit of Arabic states as representing the Palestinian people˳ In 1979, Egypt refuted its claim over the Gaza Strip, and in 1988, Jordan ended its own claim over the West Bank˳
In November of that same year, the PLO declared the State of Palestine, being recognized internationally by numerous states˳ Nonetheless, the territorial boundaries of Palestine were in dispute, with many arguing for all of Palestine and others contending the Gaza Strip and West Bank constituted Palestine˳ After the Oslo Accords of 1993, Israel recognized Palestine, and a two-state solution was accepted by the parties involved, where portions of the Gaza Strip and West Bank would be administered by the Palestinian National Authority˳
After the 2006 Palestinian election, the militant group Hamas emerged as the dominant political party in the Gaza Strip, causing a deterioration in relations with Israel and a break in ties with the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank˳ Sporadic conflict between Israel and Hamas would continue for the next decade, with Egypt leading peace negotiations in 2019˳ Nonetheless, the truce broke down in 2021 when Hamas fired rockets into Israel after Palestinian families were evicted from their homes in Jerusalem˳ Currently, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is in effect˳
People of Palestine
Palestine currently has a population of approximately 5,255,000 people, according to 2022 estimates˳ Culturally speaking, Palestine shares cultural beliefs similar to other Arabic countries, including Arabic being the official language˳ The Bedouin people, a historically nomadic people, make up the largest Arabic minority ethnic group living in Palestine, totaling 40,000 members˳
