The Early History of Palestine (Before World War I)
Some of the earliest known civilizations sprang up in the Middle. The land area of Palestine was the site of ancient human habitation even before Biblical times. On this page, we will cover many of the “origin” questions about the situation in Palestine before the modern era. Here is an index of the topics on this page:
- Where did the name Palestine come from?
- What was the extent of Palestine in Biblical times?
- What is the evidence for the antiquity of Israel?
- Who were the original inhabitants of Palestine?
- When did the Jews come to Palestine?
- What do the names Judea and Samaria refer to?
- What is the Arab history in Palestine?
- When did Islam come to Palestine?
- What was the history of Palestine between Biblical times and the modern era?
- What is the significance of Jerusalem to Jews and Muslims?
- What is Zionism and who are the Zionists?
- What is Aliyah?
- Who, besides Jews, supported the Zionist’s ideas?
- Who were the inhabitants of Palestine before the Zionists?
- What about Christians in Palestine?
- How did the Zionists acquire land in Palestine?
- What was the impact of the Zionists on Palestine?
For more information about the geography and population facts of Palestine, see the Geography and Population Basics topic page.
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The short and terse comments in favor of Palestinian (philistine) peoples are both abusive and unfounded with nothing but abrupt denial of fact to support their wishes. Fact one – There is no such thing as a Arab philistine or Palestinian as the ignorant would insist. The original settler on the coast called philistines was Greek of origin. For those not too ignorant to read history it is fact as shown by supporters of Israel in this thread. I see nothing to support those who deny the Israelis their land except they would wish the rest of the world believe their word only as fact. Good luck with that as most of the world believe written history and believe in Israelis right to homeland. Thank god history was recorded by literate persons with intelligence. Every person who refutes the Israelis right to home land is calling recorded history by both Arab and Jew a lie.
can u explain the argument between Israel and Palestine please!!!!
Mike has it correct. In addition, the nomadic Jewish tribes wandered into the area several thousand years ago. The area was known as Canaan (and sometimes is still called that). Due to some religious differences the land was split into a northern and southern Jewish fief with Judah to the south and Israel to the north. These were further subdivided amongst the twelve tribes. The borders and names changed many times over the centuries. Arabs and Jews lived together in this land, but once the Jews settled it was never ‘Arab’ land from that time on.
The hateful spew here (and elsewhere) is the direct result of sixty years of lies taught to generation after generation of young Arabs by the clowns who thought they were just going to massacre the Jews back in 1948. Instead, they got their heads handed to them by the Jews and ever since they’ve stewed in the juices of their hatred.
Guys like Kanan48 need to do at least a little research. Try going to http://www.palestinefacts.org to learn about the actual modern history of the British Mandate of Plaestine, a home for the Jews mandated by the League of Nations. Or not.
The torah states that the jews are forbidden a state until the messiah returns.. So you see israel contradicts the jewish religion..so if israel is real judism must be fake..however the majority of real religious jews know and believe that the land belongs to Palestine..there have been a number out protest in new york in which jews rally for palestine… I believe america needs to cal out on all the politicians that are receiving money from israel in order for israel to kill, another contradictory to the jewish religion.. 1 is real and 1 is fake.. Free the palestinians, they have been facing the worst time ever in history, and yet they still live with the love of God… free Palestine
William, don’t say it, show it. Where does the torah say Jews are forbidden a state until the return of the Messiah. Since time immortal man has fought amongst himself. Mostly over religion. Your statement just tells me all religion is fake. In the bible, god commanded men to fight for what is right. In all religions. So why is a religion fake to fight for survival. Sounds like you said something without mouth in gear. Now lets look at who occupies the holy land now and all who surround and oppose. Why is it that these so called righteous Arabs in your book could not prevail against so few Jews. The Jews prevailed against so many because god was on their side. So if you ask which religion is fake, all would have to say the Muslim religion. Lets look at wars in the last decades. Balkan war, Iraq twice, Afghanistan, and lets look at terrorism, almost all committed by Muslims fighting, sounds like a fake religion to me with Muslims with no god on their side loosing all wars. fake religion confirmed to all. If we` are silly enough to take any notice of your reconstruction of facts to try to save the Muslim religion and Palestinian (philistine) personage. Who by the way, were Greek in origin and christian.
I’ve studied the history of the Middle East for some time and find the details here quite accurate. It’s quite distressing to encounter vitriolic comments such as some of those above which dismiss the truth as “Zionist”. I could name many history books which confirm the veracity of this site but I will not since they too would no doubt be dismissed as lies, which gives a good indicator of who is brainwashed. By the way, “Palestinian Arab” is a contradiction in terms: Palestinians are descended from the migrant “Sea People” of Southern Europe, Arabs are descended from the “Desert People” from east of the Jordan River and west of the Red Sea. Neither originate from the area known historically as “Israel”, or since 1917 as “Palestine”. The word “Palestine” is actually a verb, not a noun, meaning itinerant or wandering, and in modern English the expression “Palestinian” means “immigrant”. Please note, my interest in this matter is purely historical, I have no interest in politics or religion, only in accuracy.
PLEASE GET IT STRAIGHT !! There was no Palestine before Yassa Arafat. Name a single leader of Palestine before Yassa. Palestinian is a new word created for some people who decided to live in an area close to the Jews a few years back. There are no such people as Palestinians in history. READ THE HISTORY BOOKS. The immigrants who moved to the area live off the Jews. If the state of Israel was to disband, the Palestinians would also dissapear. If the truth be known I would guess them to be immigrants from Syria. Yes Palestine is now officially recognised as a state by many, but it is a new state thanks to the Jews who at anytime could kick them out, and tell them to find another patch of dirt to live, and it may be legal to do so !!
What history books, brainwashed Zionist? Do you mean the “holy books”?!!! keep your pathetic history, this land called Palestine for almost 2000 years, until apartheid Israel was established in 1948, and Palestine used to be part of greater Syria, and it is up to its native Arabs to call themselves as Palestinians or Syrians, see Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916 between Britain and France to colonize and to divide Syria after the Ottoman defeat, and one year latter was Balfour Declaration, to European Jews Palestine as a “homeland”, and both France and Britain had no business there except stealing the region recourse and controlling it through installing racist apartheid among the divided Arabs, as the European colonizers and criminals did in Africa.
The Zionist racist Jabotinsky, a Russian colonial settler and an icon for many racists and right winger Zionists can explain well the Zionist colonization and their ethnic cleansing crimes to ignorant Zionist, like yourself, he wrote in 1925:
“Zionist colonization, even the most restricted, must either be terminated or carried out in defiance of the will of the native population. This colonization can, therefore, continue and develop under the protection of a force independent of the local population –an iron wall which the native population cannot break through. This is, in to, our policy towards the Arabs. To formulate it any other way would be hypocrisy.” (Expulsion Of The Palestinians, p. 28)
And he wrote in an essay, titled “The Iron Law”:
“If you wish to colonize a land in which people are already living, you must provide a garrison for the land, or find a benefactor who will maintain the garrison on your behalf. … Zionism is a colonizing adventure and, therefore, it stands or falls on the question of armed forces.” (Expulsion Of The Palestinians, p. 45)
Like all Zionists, Jabotinsky advocated not just a Jewish majority in Palestine, but also the use of force to “transfer” them out of their homes, farms and business. Ze’ev Jabotinsky stated in a letter to one of his Revisionist colleagues in the United States dated November 1939:”There is no choice: the Arabs must make room for the Jews of “Eretz Israel”. If it was possible to transfer the Baltic peoples, it is also possible to move the Palestinian Arabs.” (Expulsion Of The Palestinians, p. 29)
BTW Arabs have their own Christians, and Jews these are the natives so don’t mix between them and your buddies, the colonial settlers thieves from Russia and Europe, who seek “their god promised land” based on myths and legends and to steal the Palestinian lands and expel its natives and forbidding them them to return their homes and properties.
Educate yourself about the Arab natives and their culutre, which your colonial settlers stole alongside the land, the Arabs are related and the descendents of Canaanites, Amorites, Aramaeans, Assyrians, Akkadians. And there are many Palestinian cities, like Jericho, are at least 6000 years before Judaism or the idea of one god, which is an Egyptian idea, were invented. So Palestine doesn’t belong to one specific religious group, and for sure it doesn’t belong to colonial settlers from Russia and Moldavia like the racist Lieberman!
How can you say that? The Jews pretty much took over the whole area after they decided no other place would suit them for a homeland besides Palestine.
There were Palestinians in Palestine long before the invasion of the Zionist. The Palestinians had their own villages, farms and ranches. This saying of a land without people for a people without land is a lie and was used to justify the Israelis displacement and takeover of all of Palestine. I suggest that Barry Vard find out what he is talking about before writing such misguided pieces.
Who the hell is yassa? You don’t even know the name of the Palestinian leader, jet you claim that you know so much about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Clearly you have a bias view on the subject.
you could turn that around and ask who was the leader of Israel before 1948. The area was governed by the British Empire after the victory on WW1. Prior to the British Empire it was governed by the Ottoman Empire.
Look at the color of the complexions of the Palestinian people and the complexion of the Jewish population. If the Jews claim that to be their lineage you would think that they would be darker. I’m a pasty white Irishman but I’m just saying. The Palestinian people look more like they come from that part of the world than the Jews.
What happened to the Palestinian people is absolutely disgraceful. Unfortunetly my country, the USA, is guilty as the UN.
The land of palastinians belongs to them since oldest history ,not belongs to Israelise their permanent habitat is in an europe.Ask Germans for more details,the jews were spread away on afraid of Adoult Hitler(the nuclear of jews).