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Palestine (region)
This article is about the geographical area known as Palestine. For other uses, see Palestine (disambiguation).
Palestine (from Παλαιστινη; Palaestina; formerly also פלשתינה Palestina; فلسطين Filasṭīn, Falasṭīn, Filisṭīn) is one of several names for the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River and various adjoining lands.
Different geographic definitions of Palestine have been used over the millennia, and these definitions themselves are politically contentious. In recent times, the broadest definition of Palestine has been that adopted by the British Mandate of Palestine, which includes present-day Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The narrowest definition used in contemporary politics embraces only the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Other English names for this region include: Canaan, Land of Israel, and Holy Land.
Boundaries and nameThe name and the borders of what is currently called Palestine have varied throughout history.
Ancient Egyptian texts called the entire Levantine coastal area along the Mediterranean Sea between modern Egypt and Turkey R-t-n-u (conventionally Retjenu). Retjenu was subdivided into three regions and the southern region, Djahy, shared approximately the same boundaries as Canaan, or modern-day Israel and the Palestinian territories.
During the Iron Age, the Kingdom of Israel of the United Monarchy may have reigned from Jerusalem over an area approximating modern-day Israel and the Palestinian territories, extending farther westward and northward to cover much (but not all) of the greater Land of Israel, although archaeological evidence for this period is very rare and disputed.[1][2]
The Philistines had cities and occupied parts of the coast, and the term 'Palestine' derives from the word Philistine,[3]. That area was known in Greek sources from the mid 5th century BCE as Palestine. When the Romans finally defeated the Jews of Judea and sought to wipe out all reference to the Jewish claim to the land, the Greek term was reintroduced. The ethnic affiliation of the Philistines is not yet clarified. Philistine names as preserved on inscriptions appear to 'contradict the notion that they were Greek-speakers'[4]. Yet some scholars now argue that they were a non-Semitic group, originating from Southern Greece, and closely related to early Mycenaean civilization.[5] Inhabiting a smaller area on the southern coast called Philistia, whose borders approximate the modern Gaza Strip, Philistia comprised a confederation of five city states: Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod on the coast and Ekron, and Gath inland.[6]
Egyptian texts of the temple at Medinet Habu, record a people called the P-r-s-t (conventionally Peleset), one of the Sea Peoples who invaded Egypt in Ramesses III's reign. This is considered very likely to be a reference to the Philistines. The Hebrew name Peleshet (פלשת Pəléshseth), usually translated as Philistia in English, is used in the Bible to denote their southern coastal region.
The Assyrian emperor Sargon II called the region the Palashtu in his Annals. By the time of Assyrian rule in 722 BCE, the Philistines had become "part and parcel of the local population,"[7] [8] and prospered under Assyrian rule during the seventh century despite occasional rebellions against their overlords.[8] In 604 BCE, when Chaldean troops commanded by the Babylonian empire carried off significant numbers of the population into slavery, the distinctly Philistine character of the coastal cities ceased to exist,[7][9] and the history of the Philistine people effectively ended.[8]
In the 5th century BCE, Herodotus wrote in Greek of a "district of Syria, called Palaistinêi" (whence Palaestina, whence Palestine)[10][11][12]. The boundaries of the area he referred to were not explicitly stated; but Josephus used the name Παλαιστινη only for the smaller coastal area, Philistia.[13] Ptolemy also used the term. In Latin, Pliny mentions a region of Syria that was "formerly called Palaestina" among the areas of the Eastern Mediterranean.[14]
During the Roman period, the Iudaea Province (including Samaria) covered most of Israel and the Palestinian territories. But following the Bar Kokhba rebellion in the 2nd century, as part of a dual program of cooptation and forced migration, the Romans tried to erase the Jewish connection to the land of Judea, renaming it Syria Palaestina (Syria Palaestina) (including Judea) and Samaria.[15]
During the Byzantine Period, this entire region (including Syria Palestine, Samaria, and Galilee) was renamed Palaestina and then subdivided into Diocese I and II. The Byzantines also renamed an area of land including the Negev, Sinai, and the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula as Palaestina Salutoris, sometimes called Palaestina III. Since the Byzantine Period, the Byzantine borders of Palaestina (I and II) have served as a name for the geographic area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
Holy texts
The Hebrew Bible calls the region Canaan (כּנען) when referring to the pre-Israelite period and thereafter Israel (Yisrael). The name "Land of the Hebrews" (ארץ העברים, Eretz Ha-Ivrim) is also found, as well as several poetical names: "land flowing with milk and honey", "land that [God] swore to your fathers to assign to you", "Holy Land", "Land of the Lord", and the "Promised Land".
The Land of Canaan is given a precise description in (Numbers 34:1) as including all of Lebanon, as well (Joshua 13:5). The wide area appears to have been the home of several small nations such as the Canaanites, Hebrews, Hittites, Amorrhites, Pherezites, Hevites and Jebusites.
According to Hebrew tradition, the land of Canaan is part of the land given to the descendants of Abraham, which extends from the Nile to the Euphrates River (Genesis 15:18). This land is said to include an area called Aram Naharaim, which includes Ur Kasdim in modern Turkey, where Abraham's father was born.
In Exodus 13:17, "And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt."
The events of the Four Gospels of the Christian Bible take place entirely in the Holy Land.
In the Qur'an, the term الأرض المقدسة ("Holy Land", Al-Ard Al-Muqaddasah) [16] is mentioned at least seven times, once when Moses proclaims to the Children of Israel: "O my people! Enter the holy land which Allah hath assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin." ()
- Main articles: History of Israel, History of Palestine
Paleolithic and Neolithic periods (1000000 - 5000 BCE)Human remains found at El-'Ubeidiya, 2 miles (3 km) south of Lake Tiberias date back as early as 500,000 BCE.[17][18] The discovery of the "Palestine Man" in the Zuttiyeh Cave in Wadi Al-Amud near Safad in 1925 provided some clues to human development in the area.[17][20][21]
In the caves of Shuqba in Ramallah and Wadi Khareitun in Bethlehem, stone, wood and animal bone tools were found and attributed to the Natufian culture (c. 12800 - 10300 BCE). Other remains from this era have been found at Tel Abu Hureura, Ein Mallaha, Beidha and Jericho.<ref name= "Shahinp3" />[22]
Between 10000 and 5000 BCE, agricultural communities were established. Evidence of such settlements were found at Tell es-Sultan, Jericho and include mud-brick rounded and square dwellings, pottery shards, and fragments of woven fabrics.[23][24][25]
Chalcolithic period (4500 - 3000 BCE) and Bronze Age (3000 - 1200 BCE)Dead Sea-Bir es-Saba-Gaza-Sinai route, a culture originating in Syria, marked by the use of copper and stone tools, brought new migrant groups to the region contributing to an increasingly urban fabric.<ref name= "Shahinp4" />[26][27]
By the early Bronze Age (3000 - 2200 BCE) independent Canaanite city-states situated in plains and coastal regions and surrounded by mud-brick defensive walls were established and most of these cities relied on nearby agricultural hamlets for their food needs.<ref name= "Shahinp4" />[28]
Archaeological finds from the early Canaanite era have been found at Tel Megiddo, Jericho, Tel al-Far'a (Gaza), Bisan, and Ai (Deir Dibwan/Ramallah District), Tel an Nasbe (al-Bireh) and Jib (Jerusalem).
The Canaanite city-states held trade and diplomatic relations with Egypt and Syria. Parts of the Canaanite urban civilization were destroyed around 2300 BCE, though there is no consensus as to why. Incursions by nomads from the east of the Jordan River who settled in the hills followed soon thereafter.[23][29]
In the Middle Bronze Age (2200 - 1500 BCE), Canaan was influenced by the surrounding civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, and Syria. Diverse commercial ties and an agriculturally based economy led to the development of new pottery forms, the cultivation of grapes, and the extensive use of bronze.<ref name= "Shahinp4" />[30] Burial customs from this time seemed to be influenced by a belief in the afterlife.<ref name= "Shahinp4" />[31]
Political, commercial and military events during the Late Bronze Age period (1450 - 1350 BCE) were recorded by ambassadors and Canaanite proxy rulers for Egypt in 379 cuneiform tablets known as the Amarna Letters.[32]
By c. 1190 BCE, the Philistines arrived and mingled with the local population, losing their separate identity over several generations. [7][34]
Iron Age (1200 - 330 BCE)Pottery remains found in Ashkelon, Ashdod, Gat, Ekron and Gaza decorated with stylized birds provided the first archaeological evidence for Philistine settlement in the region. The Philistines are credited with introducing iron weapons and chariots to the local population.[35]
Developments in Palestine between 1250 and 900 BCE have been the focus of debate between those who accept the Old Testament version on the conquest of Canaan by the Israelite tribes, and those who reject it.[36] Niels Peter Lemche, of the Copenhagen School of Biblical Studies, submits that the picture of ancient Israel "is contrary to any image of ancient Palestinian society that can be established on the basis of ancient sources from Palestine or referring to Palestine and that there is no way this image in the Bible can be reconciled with the historical past of the region."[37]
Others point to David's Palace,[38][39][40] the sacrificial site at Shechem[41] and the Merneptah Stele,[42][43][44] and Mesha Stele[45][46][47] among others, as providing archaeological evidence of a nation that bears a remarkable resemblance to the Biblical Israel and an Israelite/Jewish society that exercised political control over the region during this period.
Hebrew Bible period[[Image:Levant 830.svg|thumb|Map of the southern Levant, c.830s BCE. Kingdom of Judah Kingdom of Israel Philistine city-states Phoenician states Kingdom of Ammon Kingdom of Edom Kingdom of Aram-Damascus Aramean tribes Arubu tribes Nabatu tribes Assyrian Empire Kingdom of Moab ]]
- ''
- See also: Archaeology of Israel
- ''
- See also: History of ancient Israel and Judah
Though there is a debate over whether the Hebrews arrived to Canaan from Egypt, or emerged from among the local population existent there at the time, these events are generally dated to between the 13th and 12th centuries BCE.[36]
According to Biblical tradition, the United Kingdom of Israel was established by the Hebrew tribes with Saul as its first king in 1020 BCE. [49] In 1000 BCE, Jerusalem was made the capital of King David's kingdom and it is believed that the First Temple was constructed in this period by King Solomon.[49] By 930 BCE, the united kingdom split to form the northern Kingdom of Israel, and the southern Kingdom of Judah.[49]
Archaeological evidence indicates that the late 13th, the 12th and the early 11th centuries BCE witnessed the foundation of perhaps hundreds of insignificant, unprotected village settlements, many in the mountains of Palestine. [49] From around the 11th century BCE, there was a reduction in the number of villages, though this was counterbalanced by the rise of certain settlements to the status of fortified townships.[49]
There was an at least partial Egyptian withdrawal from Palestine in this period, though it is likely that Bet Shean was an Egyptian garrison as late as the beginning of the 10th century BCE.[49] The socio-political system was characterized by local patrons fighting other local patrons, lasting until around the mid-9th century BCE when some local chieftains were able to create large political structures that exceeded the boundaries of those present in the Late Bronze Age.[37]
Between 722 and 720 BCE, the northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrian Empire and the Hebrew tribes - thereafter known as the (Lost Tribes) - were exiled. [49] In 586 BCE, Judah was conquered by the Babylonians and Jerusalem and the First Temple destroyed. [49] Most of the surviving Hebrews, and much of the other local population, were deported to Babylonia. <ref name="Shahinp6" />[50]
Persian rule (538 BCE)After the Persian Empire was established, Jews were allowed to return to what their holy books had termed the Land of Israel, and having been granted some autonomy by the Persian administration, it was during this period that the Second Temple in Jerusalem was built.<ref name="Shahinp6" />[51] Sebastia, near Nablus, was the northernmost province of the Persian administration in Palestine, and its southern borders were drawn at Hebron.<ref name="Shahinp6" />[52] Some of the local population served as soldiers and lay people in the Persian administration, while others continued to agriculture. In 400 BCE, the Nabataeans made inroads into southern Palestine and built a separate civilization in the Negev that lasted until 160 BCE.<ref name="Shahinp6" />[53]
Classical antiquity
Hellenistic rule (333 BCE)Persian Empire fell to Greek forces of the Macedonian general Alexander the Great.[54][55] After his death, with the absence of heirs, his conquests were divided amongst his generals, while the region of the Jews ("Judah" or Judea as it became known) was first part of the Ptolemaic dynasty and then part of the Seleucid Empire.[56]
The landscape during this period was markedly changed by extensive growth and development that included urban planning and the establishment of well-built fortified cities.[56][52] Hellenistic pottery was produced that absorbed Philistine traditions. Trade and commerce flourished, particularly in the most Hellenized areas, such as Ascalon, Jaffa, [57] Jerusalem,[58] Gaza,[59] and ancient Nablus (Tell Balatah)[60] [56]
The Jewish population in Judea was allowed limited autonomy in religion and administration.[61] In the second century BCE fascination in Jerusalem for Greek culture resulted in a movement to break down the separation of Jew and Gentile and some people even tried to disguise the marks of their circumcision.[62] Disputes between the leaders of the reform movement, Jason and Menelaus, eventually led to civil war and the intervention of Antiochus IV Epiphanes.[62] Subsequent persecution of the Jews led to the Maccabean Revolt under the leadership of the Hasmoneans, and the construction of a native Jewish kingship under the Hasmonean Dynasty .[62] After approximately a century of independence disputes between the Hasmonean rivals Aristobulus and Hyrcanus led to control of the kingdom by the Roman army of Pompey. The territory then became first a Roman client kingdom under Hyrcanus and then a Roman Province administered by the governor of Syria.[63]
Roman rule (63 BCE)Herod the Edomite as king.[56][64] Urban planning under the Romans was characterized by cities designed around the Forum - the central intersection of two main streets - the Cardo, running north-south and the Decumanus running east-west.[65] Cities were connected by an extensive road network developed for economic and military purposes. Among the most notable archaeological remnants from this era are Herodium (Tel al-Fureidis) to the south of Bethlehem[66] and Caesarea.[56][67]
Around the time that Jesus is believed to have been born, Roman Palestine was in a state of disarray and direct Roman rule was re-established.[56][68] The early Christians were oppressed and while most inhabitants became Romanized, others, particularly Jews, found Roman rule to be unbearable.[56][56]
As a result of the First Jewish-Roman War (66-73), Titus sacked Jerusalem destroying the Second Temple, leaving only supporting walls, including the Western Wall. In 135, following the fall of a Jewish revolt led by Bar Kokhba in 132–135, the Roman emperor Hadrian expelled most Jews from Judea on the pain of death, leaving large Jewish populations in Samaria and the Galilee.<ref name = "Lehmann" /> Tiberias became the headquarters of exiled Jewish patriarchs. The Romans changed the name of Judea to Syria Palaestina;<ref name = "Lehmann" />
The Emperor Hadrian (132 CE) renamed Jerusalem "Aelia Capitolina" and built temples there to honor Jupiter. Christianity was practiced in secret and the Hellenization of Palestine continued under Septimius Severus (193 - 211 CE).[56] New pagan cities were founded in Judea at Eleutheropolis (Beit Jibrin), Diopolis (Lydd), and Nicopolis (Emmaus).[56][52]
Byzantine (Eastern Roman Empire) rule (330-640 CE)Constantine's conversion to Christianity around 330 CE made Christianity the official religion of Palaestina. [69][70] After his mother Empress Helena identified the spot she believed to be where Christ was crucified, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was built in Jerusalem.[70] The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the Ascension in Jerusalem were also built during Constantine's reign.[70]
Palestine thus became a center for pilgrims and ascetic life for men and women from all over the world.[70][52] Many monasteries were built including the Saint George Monastery in Wadi al-Qelt, Deir Qarantal and Deir Hijle near Jericho, and Deir Mar Saba and Deir Theodosius east of Bethlehem.[70]
In 352 CE, a Jewish revolt against Byzantine rule in Tiberias and other parts of the Galilee was brutally suppressed.
In approximately 390 CE, Palaestina was further organised into three units: Palaestina Prima, Secunda, and Tertia (First, Second, and Third Palestine).[70][71] Palaestina Prima consisted of Judea, Samaria, the coast, and Peraea with the governor residing in Caesarea. Palaestina Secunda consisted of the Galilee, the lower Jezreel Valley, the regions east of Galilee, and the western part of the former Decapolis with the seat of government at Scythopolis. Palaestina Tertia included the Negev, southern Jordan — once part of Arabia — and most of Sinai with Petra as the usual residence of the governor. Palestina Tertia was also known as Palaestina Salutaris. [70][72]
In 536 CE, Justinian I promoted the governor at Caesarea to proconsul (anthypatos), giving him authority over the two remaining consulars. Justinian believed that the elevation of the governor was appropriate because he was responsible for "the province in which our Lord Jesus Christ... appeared on earth".[73] This was also the principal factor explaining why Palestine prospered under the Christian Empire. The cities of Palestine, such as Caesarea Maritima, Jerusalem, Scythopolis, Neapolis, and Gaza reached their peak population in the late Roman period and produced notable Christian scholars in the disciplines of rhetoric, historiography, Eusebian ecclesiastical history, classicizing history and hagiography.[73]
Byzantine administration of Palestine was temporarily suspended during the Persian occupation of 614–28, and then permanently after the Muslims arrived in 634 CE, defeating the empire's forces decisively at the Battle of Yarmouk in 636 CE. Jerusalem capitulated in 638 CE and Caesarea between 640 CE and 642 CE.[73]
Arab Caliphate rule (638 - 1099 CE)In 638 CE, Caliph Omar Ibn al-Khattab and Safforonius, the Byzantine governor of Jerusalem, signed Al-Uhda al-'Omariyya (The Umariyya Covenant), an agreement that stipulated the rights and obligations of all non-Muslims in Palestine.[69] Jews were permitted to return to Palestine for the first time since the 500-year ban enacted by the Romans and maintained by Byzantine rulers.[75][52]
Omar Ibn al-Khattab was the first conqueror of Jerusalem to enter the city on foot, and when visiting the site that now houses the Haram al-Sharif, he declared it a sacred place of prayer.[76][77] Cities that accepted the new rulers, as recorded in registrars from the time, were: Jerusalem, Nablus, Jenin, Acre, Tiberias, Bisan, Caesarea, Lajjun, Lydd, Jaffa, Imwas, Beit Jibrin, Gaza, Rafah, Hebron, Yubna, Haifa, Safad and Askalan.<ref name="Shahinp10" />
Umayyad rule (661 - 750 CE)Under Umayyad rule, the Byzantine province of Palaestina Prima became the administrative and military sub-province (jund) of Filastin - the Arabic name for Palestine from that point forward. [78] It formed part of the larger province of ash-Sham (Arabic for Greater Syria).[79] Jund Filastin (Arabic جند فلسطين, literally "the army of Palestine") was a region extending from the Sinai to the plain of Acre. Major towns included Rafah, Caesarea, Gaza, Jaffa, Nablus and Jericho.[80] Jund al-Urdunn (literally "the army of Jordan") was a region to the north and east of Filastin which included the cities of Acre, Bisan and Tiberias.[80]
In 691, Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ordered that the Dome of the Rock be built on the site where the Islamic prophet Muhammad is believed by Muslims to have begun his nocturnal journey to heaven, on the Temple Mount. About a decade afterward, Caliph Al-Walid I had the Al-Aqsa Mosque built.[81]
It was under Umayyad rule that Christians and Jews were granted the official title of "Peoples of the Book" to underline the common monotheistic roots they shared with Islam.<ref name="Shahinp10" />[82]
Abbasid rule (750 - 969 CE)The Baghdad-based Abbasid Caliphs renovated and visited the holy shrines and sanctuaries in Jerusalem[83] and continued to build up Ramle.<ref name="Shahinp10" />[84] Coastal areas were fortified and developed and port cities like Acre, Haifa, Caesarea, Arsuf, Jaffa and [[Ashkelon received monies from the state treasury.[85]
A trade fair took place in Jerusalem every year on September 15 where merchants from Pisa, Genoa, Venice and Marseilles converged to acquire spices, soaps, silks, olive oil, sugar and glassware in exchange for European products.<ref name="Shahinp11" /> European Christian pilgrims visited and made generous donations to Christian holy places in Jerusalem and Bethlehem.<ref name="Shahinp11" /> Harun al-Rashid (786 - 809) established the Christian Pilgrims' Inn in Jerusalem, fulfilling Umar's pledge to Bishop Sophronious to allow freedom of religion and access to Jerusalem for Christian pilgrims.[86]
Fatimid rule (969 - 1099 CE)From their base in Tunisia, the Fatimids, who claimed to be descendants of Muhammad through his daughter Fatima, conquered Palestine by way of Egypt in 969 CE.<ref name="Shahinp11" />[87] Jerusalem, Nablus, and Askalan were expanded and renovated under their rule.<ref name="Shahinp11" />
After the 10th century, the division into Junds began to break down. In 1071, the Isfahan-based Seljuk Turks captured Jerusalem only to hand it back in 1098.<ref name="Shahinp11" />
- See also the Mideastweb map of "Palestine Under the Caliphs", showing Jund boundaries (external link).
Crusader rule (1099 - 1187 CE)
- See also: Crusade
- See also: Kingdom of Jerusalem
Under the European rule, fortifications, castles, towers and fortified villages were built, rebuilt and renovated across Palestine largely in rural areas.[87][88] A notable urban remnant of the Crusader architecture of this era is found in Acre's old city.[87][89]
In July 1187, the Cairo-based Kurdish General Saladin commanded his troops to victory in the Battle of Hattin.[90][91] Saladin went on to take Jerusalem. An agreement granting special status to the Crusaders allowed them to continue to stay in Palestine and In 1229, Frederick II negotiated a 10-year treaty that placed Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem once again under Crusader rule.[90]
In 1270, Sultan Baibars expelled the Crusaders from most of the country, though they maintained a base at Acre until 1291.[90] Thereafter, any remaining Europeans either went home or merged with the local population.[90]
Mamluk rule (1270 - 1516 CE)Palestine formed a part of the Damascus Wilayah (district) under the rule of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and was divided into three smaller Sanjaks (subdivisions) with capitals in Jerusalem, Gaza, and Safad.[91] Celebrated by Arab and Muslim writers of the time as the "blessed land of the Prophets and Islam's revered leaders,"[91] Muslim sanctuaries were "rediscovered" and received many pilgrims.[92]
While the first half of the Mamluk era (1270 - 1382) saw the construction of many schools, lodgings for travellers (khans) and the renovation of mosques neglected or destroyed during the Crusader period,[92] the second half (1382 - 1517) was a period of decline as the Mamluks were engaged in battles with the Mongols in areas outside Palestine.[91][93]
In 1486, hostilities broke out between the Mamluks and the Ottoman Turks in a battle for control over western Asia. The Mamluk armies were eventually defeated by the forces of the Ottoman Sultan, Selim I, and lost control of Palestine after the 1516 battle of Marj Dabiq .[91][94]
Ottoman rule (1516 - 1917 CE)Ottoman conquest, the name "Palestine" disappeared as the official name of an administrative unit, as the Turks often called their (sub)provinces after the capital. Since its 1516 incorporation in the Ottoman Empire, it was part of the vilayet (province) of Damascus-Syria until 1660, next of the vilayet of Saida (Sidon), briefly interrupted by the 7 March 1799 - July 1799 French occupation of Jaffa, Haifa, and Caesarea. On 10 May 1832 it was one of the Turkish provinces annexed by Muhammad Ali's shortly imperialistic Egypt (nominally still Ottoman), but in November 1840 direct Ottoman rule was restored.
Still the old name remained in popular and semi-official use. Many examples of its usage in the 16th and 17th centuries have survived.[95] During the 19th century, the "Ottoman Government employed the term Arz-i Filistin (the 'Land of Palestine') in official correspondence, meaning for all intents and purposes the area to the west of the River Jordan which became 'Palestine' under the British in 1922".[96] Amongst the educated Arab public, Filastin was a common concept, referring either to the whole of Palestine or to the Jerusalem sanjaq alone[97] or just to the area around Ramle.[98]
Ottoman rule over the region lasted until the Great War (World War I) when the Ottomans sided with Germany and the Central Powers. During World War I, the Ottomans were driven from much of the area by the United Kingdom during the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.
The 20th century
In European usage up to World War I, "Palestine" was used informally for a region that extended in the north-south direction typically from Raphia (south-east of Gaza) to the Litani River (now in Lebanon). The western boundary was the sea, and the eastern boundary was the poorly-defined place where the Syrian desert began. In various European sources, the eastern boundary was placed anywhere from the Jordan River to slightly east of Amman. The Negev Desert was not included.[99]
Under the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, it was envisioned that most of Palestine, when freed from Ottoman control, would become an international zone not under direct French or British colonial control. Shortly thereafter, British foreign minister Arthur Balfour issued the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which laid plans for a Jewish homeland to be established in Palestine eventually.
The British-led Egyptian Expeditionary Force, commanded by Edmund Allenby, captured Jerusalem on 9 December, 1917 and occupied the whole of the Levant following the defeat of Turkish forces in Palestine at the Battle of Megiddo in September 1918 and the capitulation of Turkey on 31 October.[100]
British Mandate (1920–1948)
Formal use of the English word "Palestine" returned with the British Mandate, which enacted English, Hebrew and Arabic as its three official languages. Palestine was now the formal name of the entity in English and Arabic whilst Palestina (Eretz Yisrael) ((פלשתינה (א"י) was the formal name in Hebrew.
In April 1920 the Allied Supreme Council (the USA, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan) met at Sanremo and formal decisions were taken on the allocation of mandate territories. The United Kingdom accepted a mandate for Palestine, but the boundaries of the mandate and the conditions under which it was to be held were not decided. The Zionist Organization's representative at Sanremo, Chaim Weizmann, subsequently reported to his colleagues in London:
- "There are still important details outstanding, such as the actual terms of the mandate and the question of the boundaries in Palestine. There is the delimitation of the boundary between French Syria and Palestine, which will constitute the northern frontier and the eastern line of demarcation, adjoining Arab Syria. The latter is not likely to be fixed until the Emir Feisal attends the Peace Conference, probably in Paris."[101]
In July 1920, the French drove Faisal bin Husayn from Damascus ending his already negligible control over the region of Transjordan, where local chiefs traditionally resisted any central authority. The sheikhs, who had earlier pledged their loyalty to the Sharif of Mecca, asked the British to undertake the region's administration. Herbert Samuel asked for the extension of the Palestine government's authority to Transjordan, but at meetings in Cairo and Jerusalem between Winston Churchill and Emir Abdullah in March 1921 it was agreed that Abdullah would administer the territory (initially for six months only) on behalf of the Palestine administration. In the summer of 1921 Transjordan was included within the Mandate, but excluded from the provisions for a Jewish National Home.[102] On 24 July, 1922 the League of Nations approved the terms of the British Mandate over Palestine and Transjordan. On 16 September the League formally approved a memorandum from Lord Balfour confirming the exemption of Transjordan from the clauses of the mandate concerning the creation of a Jewish national home and from the mandate's responsibility to facilitate Jewish immigration and land settlement.[103] With Transjordan coming under the administration of the British Mandate, the mandate's collective territory became constituted of 23% Palestine and 77% Transjordan. Transjordan was a very sparsely populated region (specially in comparison with Palestine proper) due to its relatively limited resources and largely desert environment.
The award of the mandates was delayed as a result of the United States' suspicions regarding Britain's colonial ambitions and similar reservations held by Italy about France's intentions. France in turn refused to reach a settlement over Palestine until its own mandate in Syria became final. According to Louis,
- Together with the American protests against the issuance of mandates these triangular quarrels between the Italians, French, and British explain why the A mandates did not come into force until nearly four years after the signing of the Peace Treaty.... The British documents clearly reveal that Balfour's patient and skillful diplomacy contributed greatly to the final issuance of the A mandates for Syria and Palestine on September 29, 1923.[104]
Even before the Mandate came into legal effect in 1923 (), British terminology sometimes used '"Palestine" for the part west of the Jordan River and "Trans-Jordan" (or Transjordania) for the part east of the Jordan River.[105][106]
In the years following World War II, Britain's position in Palestine gradually worsened. This was caused by a combination of factors, including:
- Rapid deterioration due to the incessant attacks by Irgun and Lehi on British officials, armed forces, and strategic installations. This caused severe damage to British morale and prestige, as well as increasing opposition to the mandate in Britain itself, public opinion demanding to "bring the boys home".[107]
- World public opinion turned against Britain as a result of the British policy of preventing Holocaust survivors from reaching Palestine, sending them instead to Cyprus internment camps, or even back to Germany, as in the case of Exodus 1947.
- The costs of maintaining an army of over 100,000 men in Palestine weighed heavily on a British economy suffering from post-war depression, and was another cause for British public opinion to demand an end to the Mandate.
- US Congress was delaying a loan necessary to prevent British bankruptcy. The delays were in response to the British refusal to fulfill a promise given to Truman that 100,000 Holocaust survivors would be allowed to migrate to Palestine.
UN partition
On 29 November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly, with a two-thirds majority international vote, passed the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine (United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181), a plan to resolve the Arab-Jewish conflict by partitioning the territory into separate Jewish and Arab states, with the Greater Jerusalem area (encompassing Bethlehem) coming under international control. Jewish leaders (including the Jewish Agency), accepted the plan, while Palestinian Arab leaders rejected it and refused to negotiate. Neighboring Arab and Muslim states also rejected the partition plan. The Arab community reacted violently after the Arab Higher Committee declared a strike and burned many buildings and shops. As armed skirmishes between Arab and Jewish paramilitary forces in Palestine continued, the British mandate ended on May 15, 1948, the establishment of the State of Israel having been proclaimed the day before (see Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel). The neighboring Arab states and armies (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Transjordan, Holy War Army, Arab Liberation Army, and local Arabs) immediately attacked Israel following its declaration of independence, and the 1948 Arab-Israeli War ensued. Consequently, the partition plan was never implemented.
Current statusFollowing the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and neighboring Arab states eliminated Palestine as a distinct territory. With the establishment of Israel, the remaining lands were divided amongst Egypt, Syria and Jordan.
In addition to the UN-partitioned area it was allotted, Israel captured 26% of the Mandate territory west of the Jordan river. Jordan captured and annexed about 21% of the Mandate territory, known today as the West Bank. Jerusalem was divided, with Jordan taking the eastern parts, including the Old City, and Israel taking the western parts. The Gaza Strip was captured by Egypt.
For a description of the massive population movements, Arab and Jewish, at the time of the 1948 war and over the following decades, see Palestinian exodus and Jewish exodus from Arab lands.
From the 1960s onward, the term "Palestine" was regularly used in political contexts. Various declarations, such as the 15 November 1988 proclamation of a State of Palestine by the PLO referred to a country called Palestine, defining its borders based on the U.N. Resolution 242 and 383 and the principle of land for peace. The Green Line was the 1967 border established by many UN resolutions including those mentioned above.
In the course of the Six Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan and Gaza from Egypt.
According to the CIA World Factbook,[108] of the ten million people living between Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea, about five million (49%) identify as Palestinian, Arab, Bedouin and/or Druze. One million of those are citizens of Israel. The other four million are residents of the West Bank and Gaza, which are under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority.
In the West Bank, 360,000 Israeli settlers live in a hundred scattered settlements with connecting corridors. The 2.5 million West Bank Palestinians live in four blocs centered in Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus, and Jericho. In 2005, all the Israeli settlers were evacuated from the Gaza Strip in keeping with Ariel Sharon's plan for unilateral disengagement, and control over the area was transferred to the Palestinian Authority.
Early demographicsEstimating the population of Palestine in antiquity relies on 2 methods - censuses and writings made at the times, and the scientific method based on excavations and statistical methods that consider the number of settlements at the particular age, area of each settlement, density factor for each settelment.
According to Joseph Jacobs, writing in the Jewish Encyclopedia[109] (1901-1906), the Pentateuch contains a number of statements as to the number of Jews that left Egypt, the descendants of the seventy sons and grandsons of Jacob who took up their residence in that country. Altogether, including Levites, there were 611,730 males over twenty years of age, and therefore capable of bearing arms; this would imply a population of about 3,154,000. The Census of David is said to have recorded 1,300,000 males over twenty years of age, which would imply a population of over 5,000,000. The number of exiles who returned from Babylon is given at 42,360. Tacitus declares that Jerusalem at its fall contained 600,000 persons; Josephus, that there were as many as 1,100,000. According to Israeli archeologist Magen Broshi, "... the population of Palestine in antiquity did not exceed a million persons. It can also be shown, moreover, that this was more or less the size of the population in the peak period--the late Byzantine period, around A.D. 600"[110] Similarly, a study by Yigal Shiloh of The Hebrew University suggests that the population of Palestine in the Iron Age could have never exceeded a million. He writes: "... the population of the country in the Roman-Byzantine period greatly exceeded that in the Iron Age...If we accept Broshi's population estimates, which appear to be confirmed by the results of recent research, it follows that the estimates for the population during the Iron Age must be set at a lower figure."[111]
Shmuel Katz writes: [112]
"When Jewish independence came to an end in the year 70, the population numbered, at a conservative estimate, some 5 million people. (By Josephus' figures, there were nearer 7 million.) Even sixty years after the destruction of the Temple, at the outbreak of the revolt led by Bar Kochba in 132, when large numbers had fled or been deported, the Jewish population of the country must have numbered at least 3 million, according to Dio Cassius' figures. Sixteen centuries later, when the practical possibility of the return to Zion appeared on the horizon, Palestine was a denuded, derelict, and depopulated country. The writings of travellers who visited Palestine in the late eighteenth and throughout the nineteenth century are filled with descriptions of its emptiness, its desolation. In 1738, Thomas Shaw wrote of the absence of people to fill - Palestine's fertile soil. In 1785, Constantine Francois Volney described the "rained" and "desolate" country. He had not seen the worst. Pilgrims and travellers continued to report in heartrending terms on its condition. Almost sixty years later, Alexander Keith, recalling Volney's description, wrote: "In his day the land had not fully reached its last degree of desolation and depopulation."[113]The table below represents estimates of the first century population of Palestine (as adapted from Byatt, 1973).
Authority Jews Total population1 Condor, C R[114] - 6 million Juster, J[115] 5 million >5 million Mazar, Benjamin[116] - >4 million Klausner, Joseph[117] 3 million 3.5 million Grant, Michael[118] 3 million not given Baron, Salo W[119] 2-2.5 million 2.5-3 million Socin, A[120] - 2.5-3 million Lowdermilk, W C[121] - 3 million Avi-Yonah, M[122] - 2.8 million Glueck, N[123] - 2.5 million Beloch, K J[124] 2 million not given Grant, F C[125] - 1.5-2.5 million Byatt, A[126] - 2.265 million Daniel-Rops, H[127] 1.5 million 2 million Derwacter, F M[128] 1 million 1.5 million Pfeiffer, R H[129] 1 million not given Harnack, A[130] 500,000 not given Jeremias, J[131] 500,000-600,000 not given McCown, C C[132] <500,000 <1 million
Demographics in the late Ottoman and British Mandate periodsIn the middle of the first century of the Ottoman rule, i.e. 1550 A.D., Bernard Lewis in a study of Ottoman registers of the early Ottoman Rule of Palestine reports[133]
From the mass of detail in the registers, it is possible to extract something like a general picture of the economic life of the country in that period. Out of a total population of about 300,000 souls, between a fifth and a quarter lived in the six towns of Jerusalem, Gaza, Safed, Nablus, Ramle, and Hebron. The remainder consisted mainly of peasants, living in villages of varying size, and engaged in agriculture. Their main food-crops were wheat and barley in that order, supplemented by leguminous pulses, olives, fruit, and vegetables. In and around most of the towns there was a considerable number of vineyards, orchards, and vegetable gardens.
By Volney's estimates in 1785, there were no more than 200,000 people in the country.[134]
In his paper 'Demography in Israel/Palestine: Trends, Prospects and Policy Implications'[135] Sergio DellaPergola, drawing on the work of Bachi (1975), provides rough estimates of the population of Palestine west of the River Jordan by religion groups from the first century onwards summarised in the table below.
Year Jews Christians Muslims Total1 First half 1st century C.E. Majority - - ~2,500² 5th century Minority Majority - >1st century End 12th century Minority Minority Majority >225 14th cent. before Black Death Minority Minority Majority 225 14th cent. after Black Death Minority Minority Majority 150 1533-1539 5 6 145 157 1690-1691 2 11 219 232 1800 7 22 246 275 1890 43 57 432 532 1914 94 70 525 689 1922 84 71 589 752 1931 175 89 760 1,033 1947 630 143 1,181 1,970
2. There is no consensus on the population of Palestine in the first century of the Christian Era; estimates range from under 1 million to 6 million.
According to Alexander Scholch, the population of Palestine in 1850 had about 350,000 inhabitants, 30% of whom lived in 13 towns; roughly 85% were Muslims, 11% were Christians and 4% Jews[136]
Qazas Number of
Towns and
Number of Households Muslims Christians Jews Total 1 Jerusalem Jerusalem 1 1,025 738 630 2,393 Countryside 116 6,118 1,202 - 7,320 2 Hebron Hebron 1 2,800 - 200 3,000 Countryside 52 2,820 - - 2,820 3 Gaza Gaza 1 2,690 65 - 2,755 Countryside 55 6,417 - - 6,417 3 Jaffa Jaffa 3 865 266 - 1,131 Ludd . 700 207 - 907 Ramla . 675 250 - 925 Countryside 61 3,439 - - 3,439 4 Nablus Nablus 1 1,356 108 14 1,478 Countryside 176 13,022 202 - 13,224 5 Jinin Jinin 1 656 16 - 672 Countryside 39 2,120 17 - 2,137 6 Ajlun Countryside 97 1,599 137 - 1,736 7 Salt Salt 1 500 250 - 750 Countryside 12 685 - - 685 8 Akka Gaza 1 547 210 6 763 Countryside 34 1,768 1,021 - 2,789 9 Haifa Haifa 1 224 228 8 460 Countryside 41 2,011 161 - 2,171 10 Nazareth Nazareth 1 275 1,073 - 1,348 Countryside 38 1,606 544 - 2,150 11 Tiberias Tiberias 1 159 66 400 625 Countryside 7 507 - - 507 12 Safad Safad 1 1,295 3 1,197 2,495 Countryside 38 1,117 616 - 1,733
Figures from Ben-Arieh, in Scholch 1985, p. 388.
According to Ottoman statistics studied by Justin McCarthy,[137] the population of Palestine in the early 19th century was 350,000, in 1860 it was 411,000 and in 1900 about 600,000 of which 94% were Arabs. In 1914 Palestine had a population of 657,000 Muslim Arabs, 81,000 Christian Arabs, and 59,000 Jews.[138]
According to Howard Sachar, the Arab population of Palestine was about 260,000 in 1882. This number had doubled by 1914 and reached 600,000 by 1920 and 840,000 by 1931. Thus, between 1922 and 1946 the Arab population of Palestine increased by 118 percent, the highest rate of population growth among all Arab lands except Egypt.[139] McCarthy estimates the non-Jewish population of Palestine at 452,789 in 1882, 737,389 in 1914, 725,507 in 1922, 880,746 in 1931 and 1,339,763 in 1946.[140]
Traveller's impressions of Nineteenth Century PalestineAlphonse de Lamartine visited Palestine in 1835, "Outside the gates of Jerusalem we saw indeed no living object, heard no living sound, we found the same void, the same silence ... as we should have expected before the entombed gates of Pompeii or Herculaneam a complete eternal silence reigns in the town, on the highways, in the country ... the tomb of a whole people.[141]
The satirist Mark Twain wrote a humorous account of his visit to Palestine in 1867 and wrote in chapters 46,49,52 and 56 of Innocents Abroad: "Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes. Over it broods the spell of a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies. Palestine is desolate and unlovely -- Palestine is no more of this workday world. It is sacred to poetry and tradition, it is dreamland."(Chapter 56)[142] "There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country".(Chapter 52)[143]"A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action. We reached Tabor safely. We never saw a human being on the whole route".(Chapter 49) [144] "There is not a solitary village throughout its whole extent – not for thirty miles in either direction. ...One may ride ten miles hereabouts and not see ten human beings." ...these unpeopled deserts, these rusty mounds of barrenness..."(Chapter 46) [145]
Kathleen Christison, an American author who spent sixteen years as an analyst for the CIA, was critical of attempts to use Twain's humorous writing as a literal description of Palestine at that time. She writes that "Twain's descriptions are high in Israeli government press handouts that present a case for Israel's redemption of a land that had previously been empty and barren. His gross characterizations of the land and the people in the time before mass Jewish immigration are also often used by U.S. propagandists for Israel."[146] For example she noted that Twain described the Samaritans of Nablus at length without mentioning the much larger Arab population at all.[147] The Arab population of Nablus at the time was about 20,000.[148]
During the nineteenth century, many residents and visitors attempted to estimate the population without recourse to official data, and came up with a large number of different values. Estimates that are reasonably reliable are only available for the final third of the century, from which period Ottoman population and taxation registers have been preserved.[149]
After a visit to Palestine in 1891, Ahad Ha'am wrote:
From abroad, we are accustomed to believe that Eretz Israel is presently almost totally desolate, an uncultivated desert, and that anyone wishing to buy land there can come and buy all he wants. But in truth it is not so. In the entire land, it is hard to find tillable land that is not already tilled; only sandy fields or stony hills, suitable at best for planting trees or vines and, even that after considerable work and expense in clearing and preparing them- only these remain unworked. ... Many of our people who came to buy land have been in Eretz Israel for months, and have toured its length and width, without finding what they seek.[150]
However, there are travellers of that period who wrote about a fertile and green Palestine. Lawrence Oliphant, who visited Palestine in 1887, wrote that Palestine's Valley of Esdraelon was "a huge green lake of waving wheat, with its village-crowned mounds rising from it like islands; and it presents one of the most striking pictures of luxuriant fertility which it is possible to conceive."[151]
According to Paul Masson, a French economic historian, "wheat shipments from the Palestinian port of Acre had helped to save southern France from famine on numerous occasions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries."[152]
Walter C. Lowdermilk, Assistant Chief of the United States Soil Conservation Service has compared Palestine favorably to California:
The similarity of Southern California and Palestine is so close in climate, topography, soils and vegetation that the present condition of similarly placed areas in California is a reliable index of the early condition of the land of Palestine. Vegetation varied from desert scrub on lower slopes of the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea, to luxuriant forests of Cedars of Lebanon on the flanks of Mount Hermon, similar to the desert vegetation from Coachella Valley below sea level in Southern California to pine and fir forests on lower slopes of Mt. Baldy (10,000 feet) in the San Gabriel Range. Rainfall favours Palestine, for Jaffa gets more rain 2 1.5 inches) per annum than Los Angeles (15.2 inches), and the Mt. Hermon mountain land mass gets up to 70 inches of rain while Mt. Baldy only 50 inches. Other comparisons are striking. The region of the Jordan River, including Palestine and Trans-Jordan and the maritime slopes, is quite similar to California, but has an added advantage of its limestone country rock. The climates are alike, the natural vegetation, the physiographic features, except for the great limestone springs in Palestine. Similar crops may be grown. Differences are that soils of Palestine were uniformly better, that uplands have been badly eroded from misuse, and that slopes of Palestine favoured tree crops and were terraced where surface rock was ready at hand..".[153]
Official reportsIn 1920, the League of Nations' Interim Report on the Civil Administration of Palestine stated that there were 700,000 people living in Palestine:
Of these 235,000 live in the larger towns, 465,000 in the smaller towns and villages. Four-fifths of the whole population are Moslems. A small proportion of these are Bedouin Arabs; the remainder, although they speak Arabic and are termed Arabs, are largely of mixed race. Some 77,000 of the population are Christians, in large majority belonging to the Orthodox Church, and speaking Arabic. The minority are members of the Latin or of the Uniate Greek Catholic Church, or--a small number--are Protestants.By 1948, the population had risen to 1,900,000, of whom 68% were Arabs, and 32% were Jews (UNSCOP report, including bedouin).
The Jewish element of the population numbers 76,000. Almost all have entered Palestine during the last 40 years. Prior to 1850 there were in the country only a handful of Jews. In the following 30 years a few hundreds came to Palestine. Most of them were animated by religious motives; they came to pray and to die in the Holy Land, and to be buried in its soil. After the persecutions in Russia forty years ago, the movement of the Jews to Palestine assumed larger proportions.[154]
Genetic analyses of regional populationsJewish and Samaritan populations and various Palestinian populations overlap genetically because they share some of the same Neolithic ancestors.
Geneticists generally agree there was mixing in Middle East populations in prehistoric times. Nebel et al. (2000) doing Y-chromosome haplotype analysis for patrilineal ancestry of Jews and Palestinian Muslims "revealed a common gene pool for a large portion of Y chromosomes, suggesting a relatively recent common ancestry". The two modal haplotypes that comprise the Palestinian Arab clade were very infrequent among Jews, "reflecting divergence and/or admixture from other populations". Nebel et al. regard their findings in good agreement with historical evidence that suggest that "Part, or perhaps the majority, of the Muslim Arabs in this country descended from local inhabitants, mainly Christians and Jews, who had converted after the Islamic conquest in the seventh century AD... These local inhabitants, in turn, were descendants of the core population that had lived in the area for several centuries, some even since prehistoric times.[155]
A subsequent study aimed at determining the genetic relationship among three Jewish communities (Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Kurdish) by the same group described two Y-chromosomal haplotype groups, Eu9 and Eu10, that represent a major part of Middle East ancestry. Eu9 appears to originate from the northern Fertile Crescent, while Eu10 appears to come from the southern part of it. Jewish and Muslim Kurdish populations have high-frequency of Eu9 but generally lack Eu10, which is prevalent in Palestinian Muslims. The study proposes that
...the Y chromosomes in Palestinian Arabs and Bedouin represent, to a large extent, early lineages derived from the Neolithic inhabitants of the area and additional lineages from more-recent population movements. The early lineages are part of the common chromosome pool shared with Jews. According to our working model, the more-recent migrations were mostly from the Arabian Peninsula, as is seen in the Arab-specific Eu 10 chromosomes that include the modal haplotypes observed in Palestinians and Bedouin... The study demonstrates that the Y chromosome pool of Jews is an integral part of the genetic landscape of the region and, in particular, that Jews exhibit a high degree of genetic affinity to populations living in the north of the Fertile Crescent.[156]
The question of late Arab immigration to PalestineWhether there was significant Arab immigration into Palestine after the beginning of Jewish settlement there in the late 19th century has been a matter of some controversy.
Howard Sachar estimates the number of Arabs who immigrated to Palestine between 1922 and 1946 at 100,000.[157] He argues that
The influx could be traced in some measure to the orderly government provided by the British; but far more, certainly, to the economic opportunities provided by Jewish settlement. The rise of the Yishuv benefited Arab life indirectly, by disproportionate Jewish contributions to the government revenue, and thereby to increase the mandatory expenditures on the Arab sector; and directly, by opening new markets for Arab produce and (until the civil war of 1936) new employment opportunities for the Arab labor. It was significant, for example, that the movement of Arabs within Palestine itself was largely to regions of Jewish concentration. Thus, Arab population increase during the 1930s was 87 percent in Haifa, 61 percent in Jaffa, 37 percent in Jerusalem. A similar growth was registered in Arab towns located near Jewish agricultural villages. The 25 percent rise in of Arab participation in industry could be traced exclusively to the needs of the large Jewish immigration.[158]
According to Martin Gilbert, 50,000 Arabs immigrated to Palestine from the neighboring lands between 1919 and 1939 "attracted by the improving agricultural conditions and growing job opportunities, most of them created by the Jews".[159]
American economist Gottheil argues that there likely was significant Arab immigration:
There is every reason to believe that consequential immigration of Arabs into and within Palestine occurred during the Ottoman and British mandatory periods. Among the most compelling arguments in support of such immigration is the universally acknowledged and practiced linkage between regional economic disparities and migratory impulses. The precise magnitude of Arab immigration into and within Palestine is, as Bachi noted, unknown. Lack of completeness in Ottoman registration lists and British Mandatory censuses, and the immeasurable illegal, unreported, and undetected immigration during both periods make any estimate a bold venture into creative analysis. In most cases, those venturing into the realm of Palestinian demography—or other demographic analyses based on very crude data—acknowledge its limitations and the tentativeness of the conclusions that may be drawn.[160]As McCarthy explains, "... evidence for Muslim immigration into Palestine is minimal. Because no Ottoman records of that immigration have yet been discovered, one is thrown back on demographic analysis to evaluate Muslim migration."[161] On the other hand,[162] Roberto Bachi has concluded that there was a small but significant unrecorded Muslim immigration into Palestine estimated at around 900 people per year or approximately 13,500 in total between 1931 and 1945.[163] McCarthy argues that there is no significant Arab immigration into mandatory Palestine:
From analyses of rates of increase of the Muslim population of the three Palestinian sanjaks, one can say with certainty that Muslim immigration after the 1870s was small. Had there been a large group of Muslim immigrants their numbers would have caused an unusual increase in the population and this would have appeared in the calculated rate of increase from one registration list to another... Such an increase would have been easily noticed; it was not there.[164]
The argument that Arab immigration somehow made up a large part of the Palestinian Arab population is thus statistically untenable. The vast majority of the Palestinian Arabs resident in 1947 were the sons and daughters of Arabs who were living in Palestine before modern Jewish immigration began. There is no reason to believe that they were not the sons and daughters of Arabs who had been in Palestine for many centuries.[165]McCarthy also concludes that there was no significant internal migration to Jewish areas attributable to better economic conditions:
Some areas of Palestine did experience greater population growth than others, but the explanation for this is simple. Radical economic change was occurring all over the Mediterranean Basin at the time. Improved transportation, greater mercantile activity, and greater industry had increased the chances for employment in cities, especially coastal cities... Differential population increase was occurring all over the Eastern Mediterranean, not just in Palestine... The increase in Muslim population had little or nothing to do with Jewish immigration. In fact the province that experienced the greatest Jewish population growth (by .035 annually), Jerusalem Sanjak, was the province with the lowest rate of growth of Muslim population (.009).[166]Gad Gilbar has also concluded that the prosperity of the Palestine in the 45-50 years before World War I was a result of the modernization and growth of the economy owing to its integration with the world economy and especially with the economies of Europe. Although the reasons for growth were exogenous to Palestine the bearers were not waves of Jewish immigration, foreign intervention nor Ottoman reforms but "primarily local Arab Muslims and Christians."[167]
Demographer Uziel Schmelz, in his analysis of Ottoman registration data for 1905 populations of Jerusalem and Hebron kazas, found that most Ottoman citizens living in these areas, comprising about one quarter of the population of Palestine, were living at the place where they were born. Specifically, of Muslims, 93.1% were born in their current locality of residence, 5.2% were born elsewhere in Palestine, and 1.6% were born outside Palestine. Of Christians, 93.4% were born in their current locality, 3.0% were born elsewhere in Palestine, and 3.6% were born outside Palestine. Of Jews (excluding the large fraction who were not Ottoman citizens), 59.0% were born in their current locality, 1.9% were born elsewhere in Palestine, and 39.0% were born outside Palestine.[168]
Yehoshua Porath believes that the notion of "large-scale immigration of Arabs from the neighboring countries" is a myth "proposed by Zionist writers". He writes:
As all the research by historian Fares Abdul Rahim and geographers of modern Palestine shows, the Arab population began to grow again in the middle of the nineteenth century. That growth resulted from a new factor: the demographic revolution. Until the 1850s there was no "natural" increase of the population, but this began to change when modern medical treatment was introduced and modern hospitals were established, both by the Ottoman authorities and by the foreign Christian missionaries. The number of births remained steady but infant mortality decreased. This was the main reason for Arab population growth. ... No one would doubt that some migrant workers came to Palestine from Syria and Trans-Jordan and remained there. But one has to add to this that there were migrations in the opposite direction as well. For example, a tradition developed in Hebron to go to study and work in Cairo, with the result that a permanent community of Hebronites had been living in Cairo since the fifteenth century. Trans-Jordan exported unskilled casual labor to Palestine; but before 1948 its civil service attracted a good many educated Palestinian Arabs who did not find work in Palestine itself. Demographically speaking, however, neither movement of population was significant in comparison to the decisive factor of natural increase.[169]Daniel Pipes responds to Porath by saying that the argument that "substantial immigration of Arabs to Palestine took place during the first half of the twentieth century is supported by an array of demographic statistics and contemporary accounts, the bulk of which have not been questioned by anyone, including Professor Porath."[170]
Current demographics
- See also: Demographics of Israel
According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, as of May 2006, of Israel's 7 million people, 77% were Jews, 18.5% Arabs, and 4.3% "others".[171] Among Jews, 68% were Sabras (Israeli-born), mostly second- or third-generation Israelis, and the rest are olim — 22% from Europe and the Americas, and 10% from Asia and Africa, including the Arab countries.[172]
According to Palestinian evaluations, The West Bank is inhabited by approximately 2.4 million Palestinians and the Gaza Strip by another 1.4 million. According to a study presented at The Sixth Herzliya Conference on The Balance of Israel's National Security[173] there are 1.4 million Palestinians in the West Bank. This study was criticised by demographer Sergio DellaPergola, who estimated 3.33 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip combined at the end of 2005.[174]
According to these Israeli and Palestinian estimates, the population in Israel and the Palestinian Territories stands at 9.8-10.8 million.
Jordan has a population of around 6,000,000 (2007 estimate).[175][176] Palestinians constitute approximately half of this number.[177]
See also
- Arab-Israeli conflict
- Greater Israel
- Greater Syria
- History of Palestine
- State of Israel
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- Land of Israel covers roughly the same region, with a different focus
- British Mandate of Palestine
- Names of the Levant
- Palestinian people
- State of Palestine
External links
- The Hope Simpson Report (London, 1930) http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/e3ed8720f8707c9385256d19004f057c!OpenDocument
- Palestine Royal Commission Report (the Peel Report) (London, 1937) http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/peel1.html
- Report to the Council of the League of Nations (1928) http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/3d14c9e5cdaa296d85256cbf005aa3eb/a212ce7d6edb27c6052565d4005af973!OpenDocument
- Report to the Council of the League of Nations (1929) http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/38bed104db074b49052565e70054eb22!OpenDocument
- Report to the Council of the League of Nations (1934) http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/3d14c9e5cdaa296d85256cbf005aa3eb/a212ce7d6edb27c6052565d4005af973!OpenDocument
- Report to the Council of the League of Nations (1935) http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/3d14c9e5cdaa296d85256cbf005aa3eb/b672dc87b2d50447052565d4005173df!OpenDocument
- www.mideastweb.org - A website with a wealth of statistics regarding population in Palestine
- Coins and Banknotes of Palestine under the British Mandate
- WorldStatesmen- Maps, flags, chronology, see Israel and Palestinian National Authority
- hWeb - Israel-Palestine in Maps
- Palestine Fact Sheet from the Common Language Project
- 1911 Encyclopedia description of Palestine
- Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine
- History of the Palestine Problem, UN website
- Sykes-Picot Agreement, 1916
- 1947 UN Partition Plan
- 1949 Armisitice Lines
- Israel After 1949 Armistice Agreements
- Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine
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32. ^ William H. Propp "Amarna Letters" The Oxford Companion to the Bible. Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan, eds. Oxford University Press Inc. 1993. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.
33. ^ Shahin (2005), page 6
34. ^ Carl S. Ehrlich "Philistines" The Oxford Guide to People and Places of the Bible. Ed. Bruce M. Metzger and Michael D. Coogan. Oxford University Press, 2001. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.
35. ^ Philistine. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved August 12, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online
36. ^ Gyémánt, Ladislau (2003). "Historiographic Views on the Settlement of the Jewish Tribes in Canaan" 1/2003.
37. ^ Niels Peter Lemche. On the Problems of Reconstructing Pre-Hellenistic Israelite (Palestinian) History. Journal of Hebrew Scriptures. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
38. ^ A magazine story of the site's discovery is available here: Eilat Mazar: Uncovering King David's Palace
39. ^ Erlanger, Steven. "King David's Palace Is Found, Archaeologist Says", The New York Times, 2005-08-05. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
40. ^ A San Diego Union Tribune article on the discovery: [1]
41. ^ Matthew Sturgis, It aint necessarily so, ISBN 0-7472-4510-X
42. ^ Carol A. Redmount, 'Bitter Lives: Israel in and out of Egypt' in The Oxford History of the Biblical Word, ed: Michael D. Coogan, (Oxford University Press: 1999)
43. ^ Stager, Lawrence E., "Forging an Identity: The Emergence of Ancient Israel" in Michael Coogan ed. The Oxford History of the Biblical World, Oxford University Press, 2001. p.92
44. ^ M. G. Hasel, "Israel in the Merneptah Stela", BASOR 296, 1994, pp.54 & 56, n.12.
45. ^ Baruch Margalit, "Studies in NWSemitic Inscriptions", Ugarit-Forschungen 26, p. 275
46. ^ Time, December 18, 1995.
47. ^ For a full but technical discussion, see Lawrence J. Mykytiuk, _Identifying Biblical Persons in Northwest Semitic Inscriptions of 1200–539 B.C.E._, Academia Biblica series, no. 12 (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2004), pp. 265-277.
48. ^ Gyémánt, Ladislau (2003). "Historiographic Views on the Settlement of the Jewish Tribes in Canaan" 1/2003.
49. ^ Facts about Israel:History. Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affaits. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
50. ^ "Babylon" A Dictionary of the Bible. W. R. F. Browning. Oxford University Press, 1997. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.
51. ^ Diana Edelman (November 2005). Redating the Building of the Second Temple.
52. ^ Palestine. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved August 12, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
53. ^ Avdat: A Nabatean City in the Negev. Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
54. ^ Shahin (2005), page 7
55. ^ Hellenistic Greece:Alexander the Great. Washington State University (1996). Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
56. ^ Pastor, 1997, p. 41.
57. ^ Palestine. Britannica. Retrieved on 2007-08-14.
58. ^ Julie Galambush (2006). The Reluctant Parting: How the New Testament's Jewish Writers Created a Christian Book. HarperCollins.ca. Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
59. ^ Dick Doughty (September-October 1994). Gaza:Contested Crossroads. SaudiAramcoWorld. Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
60. ^ Tell Balatah (Shechem or Ancient Nablus). World Monuments Watch:100 Most Endangered Sites 2006. Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
61. ^ Hayes & Mandell, 1998, p. 41.
62. ^ Johnston, 2004, p. 186.
63. ^ Chancey, 2005, p. 44.
64. ^ Herod. Concise Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
65. ^ Introducing Young People to the Protection of Heritage Sites and Historic Cities. UNESCO (2003). Retrieved on 2007-08-14.
66. ^ HERODIUM (Jebel Fureidis) Jordan/Israel. The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
67. ^ publisher=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
68. ^ Judaea-Palestine. UNRV History: Roman Empire. Retrieved on 2007-08-14.
69. ^ Shahin (2005), page 8
70. ^ Shaye I.D. Cohen. Legitimization Under Constantine. PBS. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
71. ^ Thomas A. Idniopulos (1998). Weathered by Miracles: A History of Palestine From Bonaparte and Muhammad Ali to Ben-Gurion and the Mufti. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
72. ^ Roman Arabia. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
73. ^ Kenneth G. Holum "Palestine" The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Ed. Alexander P. Kazhdan. Oxford University Press 1991.
74. ^ Shahin (2005), page 8
75. ^ Shahin (2005), page 10
77. ^ The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West, and the Future of the Holy City By Dore Gold, pg. 97
78. ^ Walid Khalidi (1984). Before Their Diaspora. Institute for Palestine Studies, Washington DC.
79. ^ Haim Gerber (Fall 2003). ""Zionism, Orientalism, and the Palestinians"" Vol. 33, No. 1: 23-41.
80. ^ James Parkes. Palestine Under the Caliphs. MidEastWeb. Retrieved on 2007-08-20.
81. ^ Rizwi Faizer (1998). The Shape of the Holy: Early Islamic Jerusalem. Rizwi's Bibliography for Medieval Islam. Retrieved on 2007-07-14.
82. ^ Ahl al-Kitab. (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved August 12, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online
83. ^ Ghada Hashem Talhami (February 2000). "The Modern History of Islamic Jerusalem: Academic Myths and Propaganda" Volume VII, No. 2. Retrieved on 2007=08-20.
84. ^ Yaacov Lev (2007). "The Ethics and Practice of Islamic Medieval Charity" 5, Issue 2: 603 - 618.
85. ^ Shahin (2005), page 11
86. ^ M. Cherif Bassiouni (2004). Islamic Civilization: An Overview. Middle East Institute: The George Camp Keiser Library. Retrieved on 2007-08-14.
87. ^ Egypt: The Fatimid Period 969 - 1771. Arab Net (2002). Retrieved on 2007-08-14.
88. ^ David Nicolle (July 2005). Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1192 - 1302. Osprey. ISBN 9781841768274.
89. ^ Projects:The Old City of Akko (Acre). Israeli Antiquities Authority. Retrieved on 2007-08-14.
90. ^ Kenneth Setton, ed. A History of the Crusades, vol. I. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1958
91. ^ Shahin (2005), page 12.
92. ^ Walid Khalidi (1984). Before Their Diaspora. Institute for Palestine Studies, Washington DC.
93. ^ Islam and Islamic History in Arabia and The Middle East: The Mongols and the Mamluks. Islamicity. Retrieved on 2007-08-14.
94. ^ Chase, 2003, pp. 104-105.
95. ^ Gerber, 1998.
96. ^ Mandel, 1976, p. xx.
97. ^ Porath, 1974, pp. 8-9.
98. ^ Haim Gerber (1998) referring to fatwas by two Hanafite Syrian jurists.
99. ^ [Biger]
100. ^ Hughes, 1999, p. 17; p. 97.
101. ^ 'Zionist Aspirations: Dr Weizmann on the Future of Palestine', The Times, Saturday, 8 May, 1920; p. 15.
102. ^ Gelber, 1997, pp. 6-15.
103. ^ Sicker, 1999, p. 164.
104. ^ Louis, 1969, p. 90.
105. ^ Ingrams, 1972
106. ^ Mandate for Palestine - Interim report of the Mandatory to the LoN/Balfour Declaration text (English). League of Nations (1921-07-30). Retrieved on 2007-03-08.
107. ^ Colonel Archer-Cust, Chief Secretary of the British Government in Palestine, said in a lecture to the Royal Empire Society that "The hanging of the two British Sergeants [an Irgun retaliation to British executions] did more than anything to get us out [of Palestine]". (The United Empire Journal, November-December 1949, taken from The Revolt, by Menachem Begin)
108. ^ Population data calculated from three pages of the online CIA World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gz.html
109. ^ Statistics, accessed 21 May, 2007.
110. ^ Magen Broshi, The Population of Western Palestine in the Roman-Byzantine Period, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 236, p.7, 1979.
111. ^ Yigal Shiloh, The Population of Iron Age Palestine in the Light of a Sample Analysis of Urban Plans, Areas, and Population Density, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 239, p.33, 1980.
112. ^ Katz, p.113-115 (Hebrew)
113. ^ Tomas Shaw, Travels and Observations Relating to Several Parts of Barbary and the Levant (London, 1767), p. 331ff.; Constantine Francois Volney, Travels Through Syria and Egypt in the Years 1783, 1784 and 1785 (London, 1787); Alexander Keith, The Land of Israel (Edinburgh, 1944), P. 465.
114. ^ Hastings Bible Dictionary, Vol. 3, 646.
115. ^ Les Juifs dans l'empire romain (1914), 1, 209f.
116. ^ Referred to by W C Lowdermilk, Palestine, Land of Promise,(1944), p. 47.
117. ^ From Jesus to Paul (1944), 33.
118. ^ Herod the Great (1971), 165.
119. ^ A Social and Religious History of the Jews, 2nd ed. (1952), Vol. 1, 168, 370-2.
120. ^ Encyc. Biblica column 3550.
121. ^ Referred to by W C Lowdermilk, Palestine, Land of Promise (1944), 47.
122. ^ The Holy Land (1966), 220, 221.
123. ^ Letter of 16 December 1941 reported by Lowdermilk, ibid, 47.
124. ^ Die Bevolkerung der griechischromischen Welt (1886), 242-9.
125. ^ Economic Background of the Gospels (1926), 83.
126. ^ Byatt, 1973.
127. ^ Daily Life in Palestine at the Time of Christ (1962), 43.
128. ^ Preparing the Way for Paul (1930), 115.
129. ^ History of New Testament Times (1949), 189.
130. ^ Mission und Ausbreitung des Christentums (1915), 1, 10.
131. ^ Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus (1969), 205.
132. ^ The Density of Population in Ancient Palestine, Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol 66 (1947), 425-36.
133. ^ Bernard Lewis, Studies in the Ottoman Archives--I, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 16, NO. 3, pp. 469-501, 1954
134. ^ Katz, 115 citing C.F.C Conte de Volney: Travels through Syria & Egypt in the years 1783, 1784, 1785 (London, 1798). Vol II p. 219
135. ^ DellaPergola, 2001, p. 5.
136. ^ Scholch, 1985, p. 503.
137. ^ McCarthy, 1990, p.26.
138. ^ McCarthy, 1990.
139. ^ Sachar, p. 167.
140. ^ McCarthy, 1990, pp. 37-38.
141. ^ Katz, 114 citing Alphonse de Lamartine, Recollections of the East, Vol. I (London, 1845), pp. 268, 308.
142. ^ Chapter 56.
143. ^ Chapter 52.
144. ^ Chapter 49.
145. ^ Chapter 46.
146. ^ K. Christison, Perceptions of Palestine: Their Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy, Univ. of California Press, 1999; p16.
147. ^ K. Christison, Perceptions of Palestine: Their Influence on U.S. Middle East Policy, Univ. of California Press, 1999; p20.
148. ^ B. B. Doumani, The political economy of population counts in Ottoman Palestine: Nablus, Circa 1950, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol 26 (1994) 1-17.
149. ^ J. McCarthy, The population of Ottoman Syria and Iraq, 1878-1914, Asian and African Studies, vol. 15 (1981) 3-44. K. H. Karpat, Ottoman population 1830-1914 (Univ. Wisconsin Press, 1985).
150. ^ Alan Dowty, Much Ado about Little: Ahad Ha'am's "Truth from Eretz Yisrael", Zionism, and the Arabs, Israel Studies, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Fall 2000) 154-181.
151. ^ Abu-Lughod, 1971, p. 126.
152. ^ Marwan R. Beheiry, "The Agricultural Exports of Southern Palestine, 1885-1 9 14", Journal of Palestine Studies, volume 10, No. 4, 198 1, p. 67.
153. ^ Palestine's Economic Future: A Review of Progress and Prospects (London: Percy Lund Humphries and Co., Ltd., 1946), pp. 19-23.
154. ^ Interim Report on the Civil Administration of Palestine
155. ^ Journal Abstract: Almut Nebel, Dvora Filon, Deborah A. Weiss, Michael Weale, Marina Faerman, Ariella Oppenheim, Mark G. Thomas. 2000 "High-resolution Y chromosome haplotypes of Israeli and Palestinian Arabs reveal geographic substructure and substantial overlap with haplotypes of Jews". Human Genetics 107(6): 630-641.
156. ^ Journal Article: Almut Nebel, Dvora Filon, Bernd Brinkmann, Partha P. Majumder, Marina Faerman, Ariella Oppenheim. 2001. "The Y Chromosome Pool of Jews as Part of the Genetic Landscape of the Middle East". American Journal of Human Genetics 69(5): 1095–1112.
157. ^ Sachar, p. 167.
158. ^ Sachar, pp. 167–168
159. ^ Gilbert, 2005, p. 16.
160. ^ Gottheil, 2003.
161. ^ McCarthy, 1990, p. 16.
162. ^ McCarthy, 1990, p. 33.
163. ^ McCarthy, 1990, p. 33.
164. ^ McCarthy, 1990, p. 16.
165. ^ McCarthy, 1990, p. 38.
166. ^ McCarthy, 1990, pp. 16-17.
167. ^ Gilbar, 1986, p. 188.
168. ^ Schmelz, 1990, pp. 15-67.
169. ^ Porath, Y. (1986). Mrs. Peters's Palestine. New York Review of Books. 16 January, 32 (21 & 22).
170. ^ Mrs. Peters's Palestine: An Exchange, The New York Review of Books, Volume 33, Number 5, March 27, 1986.
171. ^ Central Bureau of Statistics, Government of Israel. Population, by religion and population group (PDF). Retrieved on 2006-04-08.
172. ^ Central Bureau of Statistics, Government of Israel. Jews and others, by origin, continent of birth and period of immigration (PDF). Retrieved on 2006-04-08.
173. ^ Bennett Zimmerman & Roberta Seid (January 23, 2006). Arab Population in the West Bank & Gaza: The Million Person Gap. American-Israel Demographic Research Group. Retrieved on 2006-09-27.
174. ^ Sergio DellaPergola (Winter 2007, No. 27). Letter to the Editor. Azure. Retrieved on 2007-01-11.
175. ^ Jordan: Facts & Figures, accessed 22 May, 2007.
176. ^ [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/jo.html CIA World Factbook], accessed 22 May, 2007.
177. ^ Assessment for Palestinians in Jordan, Minorities at Risk, accessed 22 May, 2007.
- Abu-Lughod, Ibrahim (1971). (Ed)., The Transformation of Palestine. Illinois: Northwestern Press.
- Avneri, Arieh (1984), The Claim of Dispossession, Tel Aviv: Hidekel Press
- Bachi, Roberto (1974), The Population of Israel, Jerusalem: Institute of Contemporary Jewry, Hebrew University
- Belfer-Cohen, Anna and Bar-Yosef, Ofer (2000). Early Sedentism in the Near East. A Bumpy Ride to Village Life. In Ian Kuijt (Ed.). Life in Neolithic Farming Communities: Social Organization, Identity, and Differentiation. Springer. ISBN 0306461226
- Biger, Gideon (1981). Where was Palestine? Pre-World War I perception, AREA (Journal of the Institute of British Geographers) Vol 13, No. 2, pp. 153-160.
- Broshi, Magen (1979). The Population of Western Palestine in the Roman-Byzantine Period, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 236, p.7, 1979.
- Byatt, Anthony (1973). Josephus and population numbers in first century Palestine. Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 105, pp.51-60.
- Chancey, Mark A. (2005). Greco-Roman Culture and the Galilee of Jesus. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521846471
- Chase, Kenneth (2003). Firearms: A Global History to 1700. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521822742
- Doumani, Beshara (1995). Rediscovering Palestine: Merchants and Peasants in Jabal Nablus 1700-1900. UC Press. ISBN 0-520-20370-4
- Ember, Melvin & Peregrine, Peter N. (2002). Encyclopedia of Prehistory. Springer. ISBN 0306462621
- Farsoun, Samih K. and Naseer Aruri (2006), Palestine and the Palestinians, Westview Press, 2nd edition, ISBN 0-8133-4336-4
- Gelber, Yoav (1997). Jewish-Transjordanian Relations 1921-48: Alliance of Bars Sinister. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-4675-X
- Gerber, Haim (1998). "Palestine" and other territorial concepts in the 17th century, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol 30, pp. 563-572.
- Gilbar, Gar G. (ed.), Ottoman Palestine: 1800-1914. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 90-04-07785-5
- Gilbar, Gar G. (1986). The Growing Economic Involvement of Palestine With the West, 1865-1914. In David Kushner (Ed.). Palestine in the Late Ottoman Period: Political, Social and Economic Transformation. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 9004077928
- Gilbert, Martin (2005). The Routledge Atlas of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Routledge. ISBN 0415359007
- Gottheil, Fred M. (2003) The Smoking Gun: Arab Immigration into Palestine, 1922-1931, Middle East Quarterly, X(1).
- Hansen, Mogens Herman (Ed.) (2000). A Comparative Study of Thirty City-state Cultures: An Investigation. Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. ISBN 8778761778
- Harris, David Russell (1996). The Origins and Spread of Agriculture and Pastoralism in Eurasia. Routledge. ISBN 1857285379
- Hayes, John H. and Mandell, Sara R. (1998). The Jewish People in Classical Antiquity: From Alexander to Bar Kochba. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0664257275
- Hughes, Mark (1999). Allenby and British Strategy in the Middle East, 1917-1919. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-4920-1
- Ingrams, Doreen (1972). Palestine Papers 1917-1922. London: John Murray. ISBN 0-8076-0648-0
- Khalidi, Rashid (1997). Palestinian Identity. The Construction of Modern National Consciousness. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-10515-0
- Johnston, Sarah Iles (2004). Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674015177
- Karpat, Kemal H. (2002). Studies on Ottoman Social and Political History. Brill. ISBN 90-04-12101-3
Palestine and Palestinian as the name of a geographical area or an ethnic nation, carries a number of current and historical interpretations:
- Katz, Shmuel (1973) Battleground: Fact and Fantasy in Palestine Shapolsky Pub; ISBN 0-933503-03-2
- Killebrew, Ann E. (2005). Biblical Peoples and Ethnicity: An Archaeological Study of Egyptians, Canaanites, Philistines and Early Israel 1300-1100 B.C.E.. Society of Biblical Literature. ISBN 1589830970
- Kimmerling, Baruch and Migdal, Joel S. (1994). Palestinians: The Making of a People, Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-65223-1
- Köchler, Hans (1981). The Legal Aspects of the Palestine Problem with Special Regard to the Question of Jerusalem. Vienna: Braumüller. ISBN 3-7003-0278-9
- Le Strange, Guy (1965). Palestine under the Moslems (Originally published in 1890; reprinted by Khayats) ISBN 0-404-56288-4
- Loftus, J. P. (1948), Features of the demography of Palestine, Population Studies, Vol 2
- Louis, Wm. Roger (1969). The United Kingdom and the Beginning of the Mandates System, 1919-1922. International Organization, 23(1), pp. 73-96.
- McCarthy, Justin (1990). The Population of Palestine. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-07110-8.
- Mandel, Neville J. (1976). The Arabs and Zionism Before World War I. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-02466-4
- Maniscalco, Fabio. (2005). Protection, conservation and valorisation of Palestinian Cultural Patrimony Massa Publisher. ISBN 88-87835-62-4.
- Metzer, Jacob (1988). The Divided Economy of Mandatory Palestine. Cambridge University Press.
- Mills, Watson E. (1990). Mercer Dictionary of the Bible. Mercer University Press. ISBN 0865543739
- Pastor, Jack (1997). Land and Economy in Ancient Palestine. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415159601
- Porath, Yehoshua (1974). The Emergence of the Palestinian-Arab National Movement, 1918-1929. London: Frank Cass. ISBN 0-7146-2939-1
- Rogan, Eugene L. (2002). Frontiers of the State in the Late Ottoman Empire: Transjordan, 1850-1921. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-89223-6.
- Rosen, Steven A. (1997). Lithics After the Stone Age: A Handbook of Stone Tools from the Levant. Rowman Altamira. ISBN 0761991247
- Sachar, Howard M. (2006). A Histoiry of Israel: From the Rise of Zionism to Our Time, 2nd ed., revised and updated. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0679765638
- Schlor, Joachim (1999). Tel Aviv: From Dream to City. Reaktion Books. ISBN 1-86189-033-8
- Scholch, Alexander (1985) "The Demographic Development of Palestine 1850-1882", International Journal of Middle East Studies, XII, 4, November 1985, pp. 485-505
- Shahin, Mariam (2005). Palestine: A Guide, Interlink Books. ISBN 1-56656-557-X
- Schmelz, Uziel O. (1990) Population characteristics of Jerusalem and Hebron regions according to Ottoman Census of 1905. In Gar G. Gilbar, ed., Ottoman Palestine: 1800-1914.Leiden: Brill.
- Shiloh, Yigal (1980). The Population of Iron Age Palestine in the Light of a Sample Analysis of Urban Plans, Areas, and Population Density, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 239, p.33, 1980.
- Sicker, Martin (1999). Reshaping Palestine: From Muhammad Ali to the British Mandate, 1831-1922. Praeger/Greenwood. ISBN 0-275-96639-9
- Stearns, Peter N. Citation from The Encyclopedia of World History Sixth Edition, Peter N. Stearns (general editor), 2001 The Houghton Mifflin Company, at Bartleby.com.
- Twain, Mark (1867). Innocents Abroad. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-243708-5
- UNSCOP Report to the General Assembly
- Westermann, Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte. ISBN 3-07-509520-6
..... Click the link for more information.Mediterranean is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. It covers an approximate area of 2.
..... Click the link for more information.River Jordan (Hebrew: נהר הירדן, nehar hayarden,
Arabic: نهر الأردنnahr al-urdun)
..... Click the link for more information.The term Palestine and the related term Palestinian have several overlapping (and occasionally contradictory) definitions.
Origin of the term
- See also: Palestine – Boundaries and name
..... Click the link for more information.The British Mandate for Palestine, sometimes referred to as the Mandate of Palestine, was a League of Nations Mandate created after the First World War when the Ottoman Empire was split by the Treaty of Sèvres.
..... Click the link for more information.Anthem
عاش المليك
The Royal Anthem of Jordan
("As-salam al-malaki al-urdoni") 1
Long live the King
..... Click the link for more information.Anthem
The Hope
(and largest city) Jerusalem
Official languages Hebrew, Arabic
Demonym Israeli
..... Click the link for more information.Palestinian territories is one of a number of designations for those portions of the British Mandate of Palestine captured and administered by Jordan and by Egypt in the late 1940's, and later by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War.
..... Click the link for more information.The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية,
..... Click the link for more information.GDP (PPP) estimate
- Total $770 million (160th1)
- Per capita 600 $ (167th1)
Currency Israeli new sheqel (de facto) (
Time zone (UTC+2)
..... Click the link for more information.Palestinian territories is one of a number of designations for those portions of the British Mandate of Palestine captured and administered by Jordan and by Egypt in the late 1940's, and later by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War.
..... Click the link for more information.The West Bank (Arabic: الضفة الغربية,
..... Click the link for more information.GDP (PPP) estimate
- Total $770 million (160th1)
- Per capita 600 $ (167th1)
Currency Israeli new sheqel (de facto) (
Time zone (UTC+2)
..... Click the link for more information.
- Canaanites redirects here. For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement).
- See also: Phoenicians
..... Click the link for more information.The Land of Israel (Hebrew: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, Masoretic: 'Ẹreṣ Yiśrāēl, Hebrew Academy: Éreẓ Yisrael, Yiddish:
..... Click the link for more information.The expression The Holy Land (Hebrew: ארץ הקודש, Standard
..... Click the link for more information.Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or .
..... Click the link for more information.The Levant (IPA: /lə'vænt/) is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern
..... Click the link for more information.Retjenu (rṯnw; Reṯenu, Retenu), was an Ancient Egyptian name for Canaan and Syria. It covered the region from the Negev Desert north to the Orontes River. The borders of Retjenu shifted with time, but it generally consisted of three regions.
..... Click the link for more information.Djahy was the Egyptian designation for southern Retenu.[1] It ran from approximately Ashkelon to Lebanon and inland as far as Galilee.[2]
References1. ^ Gardiner, Alan.
..... Click the link for more information.Palestinian territories is one of a number of designations for those portions of the British Mandate of Palestine captured and administered by Jordan and by Egypt in the late 1940's, and later by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War.
..... Click the link for more information.Iron Age was the stage in the development of any people in which tools and weapons whose main ingredient was iron were prominent. The adoption of this material coincided with other changes in some past societies often including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs
..... Click the link for more information.Kingdom of Israel (Hebrew: ממלכת יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard
..... Click the link for more information.The introduction to this article may be too long. Please help improve the introduction by moving some material from it into the body of the article according to the suggestions at Wikipedia's .
..... Click the link for more information.Jerusalem (Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם , Yerushaláyim; Arabic:
..... Click the link for more information.Philistines (Hebrew פְּלְשְׁתִּים, plishtim) (see "other uses" below) were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan before the time of the arrival of the Israelites, their territory
..... Click the link for more information.Philistines (Hebrew פְּלְשְׁתִּים, plishtim) (see "other uses" below) were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan before the time of the arrival of the Israelites, their territory
..... Click the link for more information.Roman or Romans may refer to:
- A thing or person of or from the city of Rome.
- History
- Ancient Rome (9th century BC – 5th century AD)
- Roman Kingdom (753 BC to 509 BC)
- Roman Republic (509 BC to 44 BC)
..... Click the link for more information.Judea or Judæa (Hebrew: יהודה, Standard Yəhuda Tiberian Yəhûḏāh, "praised, celebrated"; Greek: Ιουδαία; Latin: Iudaea
..... Click the link for more information.Philistines (Hebrew פְּלְשְׁתִּים, plishtim) (see "other uses" below) were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan before the time of the arrival of the Israelites, their territory
..... Click the link for more information.
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This weekend, police charged a 15-year-old male with the Nov. 11 attack on a 29-year-old man outside a pizza parlor in Fox Chase, police said.
NYPD investigates whether Knockout attacks are 'real phenomenon'
With an increasing number of people coming forward professing to be victims of the so-called Knockout Game, the New York […]
Two teens charged in Lower Merion 'Knockout Game' assault
The "Knockout Game" assault happened Oct. 29 at Twin Oaks Drive and Rock Glen Drive in the township's Wynnewood section.
Concern mounting over possible 'knockout' attacks in Brooklyn
Some officials are concerned a spate of attacks in Crown Heights may be related to a "street game" called "Knockout," that has done serious harm in other cities.
VIDEO: 'Knockout' game continues to target unsuspecting bystanders
The game, mostly played in New York and New Jersey, has sparked national outrage for its cold-hearted brutality and complete disregard for human decency.

subset: commoncrawl


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Jul 25, 2013 | 07:07 PM
| Frank Haflich
Precision Castparts,
fastener capacity,
Mark Donegan,
LISI Aerospace
LOS ANGELES Precision Castparts Corp. (PCC) might be on the hunt for a producer of aerospace fastener stock.
Mark Donegan, chairman and chief executive officer of Portland, Ore.-based PCC, told securities analysts in a conference call that there are "two or three more assets we would like to get our hands on" in the fastener industry. He noted specifically that PCC doesnt have in-house capacity to produce fastener stock to feed its manufacturing operations but would like to gain that capability.....
LOS ANGELES Precision Castparts Corp. (PCC) might be on the hunt for a producer of aerospace fastener stock.
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--Mark Bula, Big River Steel


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Today Kapas future on NCDEX (National commodity derivative exchange) and MCX (Multi commodity exchange) cotton future are trading on positive mode. Currently Indian Industry expected improves medium cotton demand from domestic industries.
Shankar kapas on NCDEX are exhibiting positive mode, kapas lower demand followed by higher supply and production estimates.
NCDEX Shankar kapas future on trading prices 6.5 Rs up with 850.5 Rs on Wednesday Feb contract, kapas overall support levels 830 Rs and good resistance levels 860 Rs.
The Cotton Association of India according the data, cotton output in the country is expected to around 355 lakh bales in 2012-13.
Natural gas on Multi commodity exchange negative mode, Natural gas Jan contract 1.60 Rs down on trading prices 187.30 Rs.
MCX Natural gas future on trading prices 1.5 Rs down at 1881 Rs on Wednesday Feb contract.