1.
State of Palestine
–
The State of Palestine claims the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as the designated capital. Most of the areas claimed by the State of Palestine have been occupied by Israel since 1967 in the aftermath of the Six-Day War and its independence was declared on 15 November 1988 by the Palestine Liberation Organization in Algiers as a government-in-exile. Since the British Mandate, the term Palestine has been associated with the area that currently covers the State of Israel, the West Bank. In 1947, the UN adopted a plan for a two-state solution in the remaining territory of the mandate. The plan was accepted by the Jewish leadership but rejected by the Arab leaders, on the eve of final British withdrawal, the Jewish Agency for Israel declared the establishment of the State of Israel according to the proposed UN plan. During the war, Israel gained additional territories that were designated to be part of the Arab state under the UN plan, Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip and Transjordan occupied the West Bank. Egypt initially supported the creation of an All-Palestine Government, but disbanded it in 1959, Transjordan never recognized it and instead decided to incorporate the West Bank with its own territory to form Jordan. The annexation was ratified in 1950 but was rejected by the international community, the Six-Day War in 1967, when Egypt, Jordan, and Syria fought against Israel, ended with Israel being in occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, besides other territories. In 1964, when the West Bank was controlled by Jordan, the Palestinian National Charter of the PLO defines the boundaries of Palestine as the whole remaining territory of the mandate, including Israel. Following the Six-Day War, the PLO moved to Jordan, the October 1974 Arab League summit designated the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and reaffirmed their right to establish an independent state of urgency. In November 1974, the PLO was recognized as competent on all matters concerning the question of Palestine by the UN General Assembly granting them observer status as an entity at the UN. In spite of this decision, the PLO did not participate at the UN in its capacity of the State of Palestines government, in 1979, through the Camp David Accords, Egypt signaled an end to any claim of its own over the Gaza Strip. In July 1988, Jordan ceded its claims to the West Bank—with the exception of guardianship over Haram al-Sharif—to the PLO, in November 1988, the PLO legislature, while in exile, declared the establishment of the State of Palestine. In the month following, it was recognised by many states, including Egypt. In the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, the State of Palestine is described as being established on the Palestinian territory, the UN membership application submitted by the State of Palestine also specified that it is based on the 1967 borders. During the negotiations of the Oslo Accords, the PLO recognised Israels right to exist, after Israel took control of the West Bank from Jordan and Gaza Strip from Egypt, it began to establish Israeli settlements there. These were organised into Judea and Samaria district and Hof Aza Regional Council in the Southern District, in 1980, Israel decided to freeze elections for these councils and to establish instead Village Leagues, whose officials were under Israeli influence. Later this model became ineffective for both Israel and the Palestinians, and the Village Leagues began to break up, with the last being the Hebron League, dissolved in February 1988
State of Palestine
–
The destroyed
Palestinian Legislative Council building in Gaza City,
Gaza–Israel conflict, September 2009
State of Palestine
–
Flag
State of Palestine
–
Palestinian children in
Jenin, a city on the West Bank
2.
British Mandate for Palestine
–
The Mandate of Palestine was superseded with UN Charter, Chapter XII, Article 80 UN Trusteeship Agreement, UNGA181 of November 29,1947. The Palestine Mandate was administrated by the United Kingdom from September 29,1922 to November 29,1947, Government of the State of Israel was proclaimed over parts of this territory on 14 May,1948. The approximate northern border with the French Mandate was agreed upon in the Paulet–Newcombe Agreement of 23 December 1920, Transjordan had been a no mans land following the July 1920 Battle of Maysalun. The Trans-Jordan Memorandum provided the detail to support Article 25 of the Mandate and it also established a separate Administration of Trans-Jordan for the application of the Mandate, under the general supervision of Great Britain. Transjordan became largely autonomous under British tutelage according to an agreement of February 20,1928, the League of Nations welcomed the end of the mandate in Transjordan on 18 April 1946. The conquest of Palestine became part of British strategies aimed at establishing a bridge between the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf. This would enable rapid deployment of troops to the Gulf, then the line of defence for British interests in India. A land bridge was also an alternative to the Suez Canal, the committee considered various scenarios and provided guidelines for negotiations with France, Italy, and Russia regarding the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The Committee recommended in favour of the creation of a decentralised, at the same time, the British and French also opened overseas fronts with the Gallipoli and Mesopotamian campaigns. In Gallipoli, the Turks successfully repelled the British, French and Australian, from 1915, Zionist leader and anglophile Zeev Jabotinsky was pressing the British to agree to the formation of a Zionist volunteer corps that would serve under the aegis of the British army. The British eventually agreed to set up the Zion Mule Corps, after Lloyd George was made prime minister during the war, the British waged the Sinai and Palestine Campaign under General Allenby. This time the British agreed to a Jewish Legion, which participated in the invasion, russian Jews regarded the German army as a liberator and the creation of the Legion was designed to encourage them to participate in the war on Britains side. At the same time, British intelligence officer T. E. Lawrence was encouraging an Arab Revolt led by the Sharif of Mecca. The British defeated Ottoman Turkish forces in 1917 and occupied Ottoman Syria, the land remained under British military administration for the remainder of the war, and beyond. The Ottoman Empire capitulated on 30 October 1918, and on 23 November 1918, the Middle East was divided into three OETAs. Occupied Enemy Territory Administration South extended from the Egyptian border of Sinai into Palestine and Lebanon as far north as Acre and Nablus, a temporary British military governor Major General Sir Arthur Wigram Money would administer this sector. In October 1919, British forces in Syria and the last British soldiers stationed east of the Jordan were withdrawn and the region came under exclusive control of Faisal bin Hussein from Damascus. In 1916, Britain and France concluded the Sykes–Picot Agreement, which proposed to divide the Middle East between them into spheres of influence, with Palestine as an international enclave, the British made two potentially conflicting promises regarding the territory it was expecting to acquire
British Mandate for Palestine
–
Map presented by TE Lawrence to the Eastern Committee of the War Cabinet in November 1918
British Mandate for Palestine
–
British Command Paper 1785, December 1922, containing the Mandate for Palestine and the Transjordan memorandum
British Mandate for Palestine
–
British memorandum on Palestine ahead of the Paris Peace Conference
British Mandate for Palestine
–
British Cabinet map showing boundaries of the proposed mandates in early 1921, including those areas not yet delimited
3.
Flag of the British Mandate for Palestine
–
The only Palestine-specific flag not restricted to official government use was the Palestine ensign, which was flown by ships registered in the British Mandate territory from 1927 to 1948. The flag had a limited use on land and was not embraced by either the Arabs or the Jews of the Palestine mandate territory. It was based on the British Red Ensign instead of the Blue Ensign since it was intended for use only at sea by non-government ships, Palestinian Arabs sometimes flew their own flags, often variations of the Flag of the Arab Revolt. In 1929, a discussion was held for a Palestinian national flag, various different flags were proposed, they were mainly based off the Flag of the Arab Revolt but also included the use of crosses with crescents and the color orange. During the 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine a group was photographed with a similar to the current Palestinian flag but with a crescent. However, the Yishuv constituted only one of the main ethnic communities - the other such community. Still, the French dictionary Le Petit Larousse Illustré contained a flag section which, from 1924 to 1939, showed the flag of Palestine as a yellow Star of David on a Blue. It is unknown on which basis Le Petit Larousse Illustré chose this flag as representing Palestine, while what would become after 1948 the Flag of Israel also includes the Star of David and a Blue and White background, these elements are arranged in a completely different way. The National Geographic caption read, The Emanuel, flying a Palestine flag, anchors at Southampton and this Jewish trading vessel was the first to fly her countrys new banner. Palestine, under British mandate, has a badge, but its Jewish population has created this flag of their own — Solomons seal on a field of blue and white. Tragically, a few months after this appeared in the National Geographic. In later Zionist and Israeli shipping enterprises, such as the Zim Company, a similar flag was also used by Hakoah Vienna - a Jewish, Zionist-oriented soccer and athletics club active in the Austrian capital. Public Seal of Mandatory Palestine Flag of Israel Palestinian Flag Flag of Jordan
Flag of the British Mandate for Palestine
–
Union Jack
4.
Glossary of vexillology
–
Flag terminology is the nomenclature, or system of terms, used in vexillology, the study of flags, to describe precisely the parts, patterns, and other attributes of flags and their display. Badge A coat of arms or simple heraldic symbol, canton Any quarter of a flag, but commonly means the upper hoist quarter, such as the field of stars in the flag of the United States or the Union Jack in the Australian Flag. Charge A figure or symbol appearing in the field of a flag, emblem A device often used as a charge on a flag. It may be heraldic in origin or modern, for example the maple leaf on the Canadian Flag, field The background of a flag, the color behind the charges. Fimbriation A narrow edging or border, often in white or gold, for example the white and gold lines of the South African Flag. Fly The half or edge of a flag farthest away from the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the horizontal length of a flag. Hoist The half or edge of a flag nearest to the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the vertical width of a flag. Length The span of a flag along the side at right angles to the flagpole, width The span of a flag down the side parallel to the flagpole. Flags often inherit traits seen in traditional European heraldry designs and as a result patterns often share names, banderole or bannerol A small flag or streamer carried on the lance of a knight, or a long narrow flag flying from the mast-head of a ship. Banner Generically, a synonym for a flag of any kind, in heraldry, a flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms, but usually in a square or rectangular shape, also known as a banner of arms. Burgee A distinguishing flag of a recreational boating organisation, Civil ensign, merchant flag or merchant ensign A version of the national flag flown by civil ships to denote nationality. Civil flag A version of the flag flown by civilians on non-government installations or craft. Colour or color The flag of a military unit, courtesy flag or courtesy ensign A flag flown by a visiting ship in foreign waters as a token of respect. Ensign The flag of a ship or military unit, may also be used generically as a synonym for a flag of any kind. Fanion A small flag used by the French military, gonfalon, gonfanon or gonfalone A type of heraldic flag suspended from a crossbar. Guidon A small flag borne by a military unit, in Scots heraldry, a smaller version of the Standard. Pennon or pennant A flag larger at the hoist than at the fly, pipe banner A decorative flag for the Scottish Highland bagpipes. Prayer flag A type of flag found strung along mountain ridges and peaks in the Himalayas, rank flag or distinguishing flag The flag flown by a superior naval officer on his flagship or headquarters
Glossary of vexillology
–
Contents
5.
State flag
–
There are two separate meanings for the term of state flag in vexillology, the flag of the government of a sovereign state and the flag of an individual subnational state. A state flag is a variant of a national flag specifically designated and restricted by law or custom to use by a government or its agencies. For this reason they are referred to as government flags. Scandinavian countries also use swallowtailed state flags, to differentiate them from civil flags. In addition, some countries have state ensigns, separate flags for use by government ships such as guard vessels. For example, government ships in the United Kingdom fly the blue ensign, state flags should not be confused with the national flag as used by military organisations, these are referred to as war flags and naval ensigns. To avoid confusion with the first meaning of the term, however, such a flag would be more referred to as the flag of the state of X. For this usage, see also, Flags of the Australian states and territories Flags of Brazilian states Flags of the U. S. states Flags of German states Znamierowski, the world encyclopedia of flags, The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns
State flag
–
The
Flag of Massachusetts on display in the
Financial District of
Boston.
6.
State ensign
–
Ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern of the ship, the naval ensign, used on warships, may be different from the civil ensign or the yacht ensign. Large versions of naval ensigns called battle ensigns are used when a warship goes into battle, the ensign differs from the jack which is flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel. In its widest sense, an ensign is just a flag or other standard, the European military rank of ensign, once responsible for bearing a units standard derives from it. In contrast, the Arab rank of ensign, liwa, derives from the command of a unit or units with an ensign, not the carrier of such a units ensign, and is a general officer. In Arab armies, ensign is a title equivalent to a Western brigade. In nautical use, the ensign is flown on a ship or boat to indicate its appartenance, while this includes its nationality, it may well indicate more information rather than being the national flag itself. This is particularly common for commonwealth and European countries, ensigns are usually at the stern flagstaff when in port, and may be shifted to a gaff or mast amidships when the ship is under way, becoming known as a steaming ensign. Vexillologists distinguish three varieties of a national flag used as an ensign, A civil ensign is worn by merchant. In some countries the yacht ensign, used on boats or ships instead of merchant vessels. A state ensign or government ensign is worn by government vessels, a naval ensign is used by a countrys navy. Such ensigns are strictly regulated and indicate if the vessel is a warship, a merchant ship, several Commonwealth countries national flags had their origin in the ensigns of their original colonising power, the United Kingdom. Most notable of these flags are those of Australia, New Zealand. It is also likely that the original design from which the flag of the United States developed was strongly influenced by the British Red Ensign or the flag of the East India Company. With the creation of independent air forces and the growth in aviation in the first half of the 20th century. These may be divided into air force ensigns and civil air ensigns, in heraldry, an ensign is the ornament or sign, such as the crown, coronet, or mitre, borne above the charge or arms. Distinguishing mark Maritime flag Znamierowski, Alfred, the world encyclopedia of flags, The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns
State ensign
–
National civil ensign of New Zealand flown from the stern of
Hikitia
State ensign
State ensign
7.
Tricolour (flag)
–
A tricolour or tricolor is a type of flag or banner design with a triband design which originated in the 16th century as a symbol of republicanism, liberty or indeed revolution. One of the most famous tricolour, known as Le Tricolore, is the flag of France adopted in the French Revolution. The green-white-red tricolour remained a symbol of republicanism throughout the 19th century and was adopted as national flag by a number of following the Revolutions of 1848. It was also adopted by the Kingdom of Sardinia and this flag was a symbol of opposition against the German Kleinstaaterei and the desire for German Unification. It was at first illegal in the German Confederation, but was adopted as the flag at the Frankfurt Parliament of 1848/9. The flag of Belgium was introduced in a context, in 1831. The first national flag of the New World inspired by this symbolism was the flag of Mexico, the Pan-Arab colors adopted in Arab nationalism 1916 are a comparable concept, even though they combine four, not three, colours. The Indian independence movement in 1931 also adopted a tricolour in the symbolism of national unification and republican self-rule. In 1999, a red, green, and blue tricolour was proposed as the Flag of Mars, the design symbolizes liberty, and also the terraforming of Mars by humanity from a red planet to a green one, and eventually an Earth-like blue one. List of countries by style of national flags Fin flash on military aircraft, sometimes in a tricolor form Triband
Tricolour (flag)
–
The White flag of the
monarchy transformed into the Tricolore as a result of the
July Revolution, painting by
Léon Cogniet (1830).
Tricolour (flag)
–
Indian tricolour, Tiranga with the
Emblem of India (above the flag) and
Ashoka Chakra (centre of the flag).
Tricolour (flag)
–
Dutch tricolour, the oldest tricolour still in use
Tricolour (flag)
–
Italian tricolour, the "Tricolore"
8.
Hoist (flag)
–
Flag terminology is the nomenclature, or system of terms, used in vexillology, the study of flags, to describe precisely the parts, patterns, and other attributes of flags and their display. Badge A coat of arms or simple heraldic symbol, canton Any quarter of a flag, but commonly means the upper hoist quarter, such as the field of stars in the flag of the United States or the Union Jack in the Australian Flag. Charge A figure or symbol appearing in the field of a flag, emblem A device often used as a charge on a flag. It may be heraldic in origin or modern, for example the maple leaf on the Canadian Flag, field The background of a flag, the color behind the charges. Fimbriation A narrow edging or border, often in white or gold, for example the white and gold lines of the South African Flag. Fly The half or edge of a flag farthest away from the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the horizontal length of a flag. Hoist The half or edge of a flag nearest to the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the vertical width of a flag. Length The span of a flag along the side at right angles to the flagpole, width The span of a flag down the side parallel to the flagpole. Flags often inherit traits seen in traditional European heraldry designs and as a result patterns often share names, banderole or bannerol A small flag or streamer carried on the lance of a knight, or a long narrow flag flying from the mast-head of a ship. Banner Generically, a synonym for a flag of any kind, in heraldry, a flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms, but usually in a square or rectangular shape, also known as a banner of arms. Burgee A distinguishing flag of a recreational boating organisation, Civil ensign, merchant flag or merchant ensign A version of the national flag flown by civil ships to denote nationality. Civil flag A version of the flag flown by civilians on non-government installations or craft. Colour or color The flag of a military unit, courtesy flag or courtesy ensign A flag flown by a visiting ship in foreign waters as a token of respect. Ensign The flag of a ship or military unit, may also be used generically as a synonym for a flag of any kind. Fanion A small flag used by the French military, gonfalon, gonfanon or gonfalone A type of heraldic flag suspended from a crossbar. Guidon A small flag borne by a military unit, in Scots heraldry, a smaller version of the Standard. Pennon or pennant A flag larger at the hoist than at the fly, pipe banner A decorative flag for the Scottish Highland bagpipes. Prayer flag A type of flag found strung along mountain ridges and peaks in the Himalayas, rank flag or distinguishing flag The flag flown by a superior naval officer on his flagship or headquarters
Hoist (flag)
–
Contents
9.
Palestinians
–
Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one half of the worlds Palestinian population continues to reside in historic Palestine, the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Israel. Of the Palestinian population who live abroad, known as the Palestinian diaspora, the history of a distinct Palestinian national identity is a disputed issue amongst scholars. Palestinian was used to refer to the nationalist concept of a Palestinian people by Palestinian Arabs in a limited way until World War I, Modern Palestinian identity now encompasses the heritage of all ages from biblical times up to the Ottoman period. Founded in 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization is an organization for groups that represent the Palestinian people before the international community. Since 1978, the United Nations has observed an annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, herodotus also employs the term as an ethnonym, as when he speaks of the Syrians of Palestine or Palestinian-Syrians, an ethnically amorphous group he distinguishes from the Phoenicians. Herodotus makes no distinction between the Jews and other inhabitants of Palestine, the Greek word reflects an ancient Eastern Mediterranean-Near Eastern word which was used either as a toponym or ethnonym. In Ancient Egyptian Peleset/Purusati has been conjectured to refer to the Sea Peoples, among Semitic languages, Akkadian Palaštu is used of Philistia and its 4 city states. Biblical Hebrews cognate word Plištim, is usually translated Philistines, the Arabic word Filastin has been used to refer to the region since the time of the earliest medieval Arab geographers. It appears to have used as an Arabic adjectival noun in the region since as early as the 7th century CE. The Arabic newspaper Falasteen, published in Jaffa by Issa and Yusef al-Issa, the first Zionist bank, the Jewish Colonial Trust, was founded at the Second Zionist Congress and incorporated in London in 1899. The JCT was intended to be the instrument of the Zionist Organization. On 27 February 1902, a subsidiary of this Trust called the Anglo-Palestine Company was established in London with the assistance of Zalman David Levontin and this Company was to become the future Bank Leumi. Following the 1948 establishment of Israel, the use and application of the terms Palestine and Palestinian by, for example, the English-language newspaper The Palestine Post, founded by Jews in 1932, changed its name in 1950 to The Jerusalem Post. Jews in Israel and the West Bank today generally identify as Israelis, Arab citizens of Israel identify themselves as Israeli and/or Palestinian and/or Arab. Anyone born, after that date, of a Palestinian father – whether in Palestine or outside it – is also a Palestinian. Thus, the Jews of Palestine were/are also included, although limited only to the Jews who had resided in Palestine until the beginning of the Zionist invasion. The Charter also states that Palestine with the boundaries it had during the British Mandate, is a territorial unit. The although the timing and causes behind the emergence of a distinctively Palestinian national consciousness among the Arabs of Palestine are matters of scholarly disagreement
Palestinians
Palestinians
–
A depiction of Syria and Palestine from CE 650 to 1500
Palestinians
–
UN stamp to commemorate the Palestinian struggle.
Palestinians
–
Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, leader of the
Army of the Holy War in 1948.
10.
Flag of Palestine
–
The Palestinian flag is based on the Flag of the Arab Revolt, and is used to represent the State of Palestine and the Palestinian people. The flag is a tricolor of three horizontal stripes overlaid by a red triangle issuing from the hoist. Prior to being the flag of the Palestinian people, it was the flag of the short lived Arab Federation of Iraq, the flag of the Arab Revolt had the same graphic form, but the colours were arranged differently. The flag used by the Arab Palestinian nationalists in the first half of the 20th century is the flag of the 1916 Arab Revolt, the origins of the flag are the subject of dispute and mythology. Yet another version is that the flag was designed by Sir Mark Sykes of the British Foreign Office, whatever the correct story, the flag was used by Sharif Hussein by 1917 at the latest and quickly became regarded as the flag of the Arab national movement in the Mashriq. On October 18,1948, the flag of the Arab Revolt was adopted, a modified version has been used in Palestine at least since the late 1930s and was officially adopted as the flag of the Palestinian people by the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1964. On November 15,1988 the PLO adopted the flag as the flag of the State of Palestine, on the ground the flag became widely used since the Oslo Agreements, with the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1993. Today the flag is flown widely by Palestinians and their supporters, in 1967, immediately following the Six Day War, the State of Israel banned the Palestinian flag in the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank. A1980 law forbidding artwork of political significance banned artwork composed of its four colours, since the signing of the Oslo Peace Accords in 1993, the ban has been abolished
Flag of Palestine
–
Palestinian flag over the Alhambra Cinema,
Jaffa, 1937
Flag of Palestine
–
Palestine
11.
Definitions of Palestinian
–
This article describes several definitions of Palestinian. A Palestinian can mean a person who is born in the area known prior to 1948 as Palestine, or a former citizen of the Mandatory Palestine. The local newspaper, founded in 1932 by Gershon Agron, was called The Palestine Post, in 1950, its name was changed to The Jerusalem Post. In 1923, Pinhas Rutenberg founded the Palestine Electric Company, Ltd, there was a Jewish Palestine Symphony Orchestra, and in World War II, the British assembled a Jewish Brigade, to fight the Axis powers, that was known as the Palestine regiment. Since the establishment of Israel, its citizens are called Israelis, the term Palestinian has sometimes been used to refer to a person whose ancestors are originally from the territory corresponding to Mandatory Palestine. UNRWA defines the Palestinian refugees as those whose normal place of residence between June 1946 and May 1948 was in the land that is now Israel, but they went outside during the 1948 war. UNRWA, however, provides aid to Palestinian refugees defined as such, UNRWA does define Palestinian refugees to include descendants of refugees. Most of the worlds Palestinian population is concentrated in Israel, the West Bank, however, some of this definition is not accepted. The Samaritans of the West Bank are usually referred to as Palestinian, the term Palestinian used to refer to Jews in Europe who were regarded as an alien presence, usually as reference to their ancestral origins in the Levant. For example, Immanuel Kant referred to European Jews as the Palestinians living among us and this usage may be intended to imply that other residents of Palestine, particularly Palestinian Jews, are not Palestinians
Definitions of Palestinian
12.
Palestine (region)
–
Palestine is a geographic region in Western Asia between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. It is sometimes considered to include adjoining territories, the name was used by Ancient Greek writers, and was later used for the Roman province Syria Palaestina, the Byzantine Palaestina Prima, and the Islamic provincial district of Jund Filastin. The region comprises most of the claimed for the biblical regions known as the Land of Israel. Historically, it has known as the southern portion of wider regional designations such as Canaan, Syria, ash-Sham. The boundaries of the region have changed throughout history, today, the region comprises the State of Israel and the Palestinian territories in which the State of Palestine was declared. Modern archaeology has identified 12 ancient inscriptions from Egyptian and Assyrian records recording likely cognates of Hebrew Pelesheth, the term Peleset is found in five inscriptions referring to a neighboring people or land starting from c.1150 BCE during the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. Neither the Egyptian nor the Assyrian sources provided clear regional boundaries for the term, approximately a century later, Aristotle used a similar definition for the region in Meteorology, in which he included the Dead Sea. The term is accepted to be a translation of the Biblical name Peleshet. The term is used in the Septuagint, who used a transliteration Land of Phylistieim different from the contemporary Greek place name Palaistínē. Following the Muslim conquest, place names that were in use by the Byzantine administration generally continued to be used in Arabic, Modern archaeologists and historians of the region refer to their field of study as Levantine archaeology. The region was among the earliest in the world to see human habitation, agricultural communities, during the Bronze Age, independent Canaanite city-states were established, and were influenced by the surrounding civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Minoan Crete, and Syria. Between 1550–1400 BCE, the Canaanite cities became vassals to the Egyptian New Kingdom who held power until the 1178 BCE Battle of Djahy during the wider Bronze Age collapse. The region became part of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from c.740 BCE, in 539 BCE, the Babylonian empire was replaced by the Achaemenid Empire. In the 330s BCE, Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great conquered the region and it ultimately fell to the Seleucid Empire between 219–200 BCE. In 116 BCE, a Seleucid civil war resulted in the independence of certain regions including the Hasmonean principality in the Judaean Mountains, from 110 BCE, the Hasmoneans extended their authority over much of Palestine, creating a Judaean–Samaritan–Idumaean–Ituraean–Galilean alliance. The Judaean control over the region resulted in it also becoming known as Judaea. Between 73–63 BCE, the Roman Republic extended its influence into the region in the Third Mithridatic War, conquering Judea in 63 BCE, and splitting the former Hasmonean Kingdom into five districts. The three-year Ministry of Jesus, culminating in his crucifixion, is estimated to have occurred from 28–30 CE, in 70 CE, Titus sacked Jerusalem, resulting in the dispersal of the citys Jews and Christians to Yavne and Pella
Palestine (region)
–
A 1759 map entitled The Holy Land, or Palestine, showing not only the Ancient Kingdoms of Judah and Israel in which the 12 Tribes have been distinguished, but also their placement in different periods as indicated in the Holy Scriptures by Tobias Conrad
Lotter,
Geographer.
Augsburg,
Germany
Palestine (region)
–
Depiction of Biblical Palestine in c. 1020 BCE according to
George Adam Smith 's 1915 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the Holy Land. Smith's book was used as a reference by
Lloyd George during the negotiations for the
British Mandate for Palestine.
Palestine (region)
–
Herod's Temple in Jerusalem functioned as the spiritual center of the various sects of
Second Temple Judaism until it was destroyed in 70 CE. This picture shows the temple as imagined in 1966 in the
Holyland Model of Jerusalem.
Palestine (region)
–
The
Dome of the Rock, the world's first great work of
Islamic architecture, constructed in 691.
13.
Palestinian diaspora
–
The Palestinian diaspora, part of the wider Arab diaspora, are Palestinian people living outside the region of Palestine. The first emigration wave of Arab Christians out of Palestine began in the century as a response to the oppression of Palestinian Christians in Ottoman Palestine. Since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Palestinians have experienced several waves of exile and have spread into different host countries around the world, in addition to the more than 700,000 Palestinian refugees of 1948, hundreds of thousands were also displaced in the 1967 Six-Day War. In fact, after 1967, a number of young Palestinian men were encouraged to migrate to South America, together, these 1948 and 1967 refugees make up the majority of the Palestinian diaspora. Besides those displaced by war, others have emigrated overseas for various such as work opportunity, education. In the decade following the 1967 war, for example, an average of 21,000 Palestinians per year were forced out of Israeli-controlled areas, the pattern of Palestinian flight continued during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the number of Palestinians worldwide at the end of 2003 was 9.6 million, the issue of the Palestinian right of return has been of central importance to Palestinians and more broadly the Arab world since 1948. It is the dream of many in the Palestinian diaspora, and is present most strongly in Palestinian refugee camps. In the largest such camp in Lebanon, Ain al-Hilweh, neighborhoods are named for the Galilee towns and villages from which the refugees came, such as Az-Zeeb, Safsaf. It is estimated more than 6 million Palestinians live in a global diaspora. The countries outside the Palestinian territories with significant Palestinian populations are, Lebanon 402,582 Saudi Arabia 280,245 Egypt 270,245 United States 255,000. 200,000 Mexico 120,000 Qatar 100,000 Germany 80,000 Kuwait 80,000 El Salvador 70,000 Brazil 59,000 Iraq 57,000 Yemen 55,000 Canada 50,975 Australia 45,000 Libya 44,000 Puerto Rico est. 30,000 United Kingdom 20,000 Peru 19,000 Denmark 15,000 Colombia 12,000 Japan est. The majority of the estimated 100,000 Palestinians in the European Union are in the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, outside the EU is Norway and Switzerland. Germanys capital Berlin has one of the largest Palestinian communities outside of the Middle East with about 30, in the United States, this includes a Palestinian community of 800-1,000 in Gallup, New Mexico highly involved in the areas Southwest jewelry industry
Palestinian diaspora
–
Palestinian refugees of the 1948 war.
Palestinian diaspora
14.
Palestinian refugee camps
–
Palestinian refugee camps were established after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War to accommodate the Palestinian refugees who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestinian exodus. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 grants Palestinians the right to return to their homeland if they wish to live at peace with their neighbors, conversely, many Palestinian refugees remain in Palestinian refugee camps, while others have been absorbed into Jordanian society or the Palestinian territories. UNRWA recognizes facilities in 59 designated refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and it also provided relief to displaced persons inside Israel following the 1948 conflict until the Israeli government took over responsibility for them in 1952. For a camp to be recognized by UNRWA, there must be an agreement between the host government and UNRWA governing use of the camp, UNRWA does not itself run any camps, has no police powers or administrative role, but simply provides services to the camp. UNRWA also provides facilities in areas where large numbers of registered Palestine refugees live outside of recognized camps. UNRWAs definition of a refugee also covers the descendants of refugee males, the number of registered Palestine refugees has subsequently grown from 750,000 in 1950 to around 5 million in 2013. This lists the current Palestine refugee camps with current population and year they were established, the Gaza Strip has 8 refugee camps and 1,221,110 registered refugees. Three of these camps are unofficial, a video report from the Balata and Aida camps in the West Bank
Palestinian refugee camps
–
1948 Palestinian exodus
15.
Arab Higher Committee
–
The Arab Higher Committee or the Higher National Committee was the central political organ of the Arab Palestinians in Mandatory Palestine. The Committee was outlawed by the British Mandatory administration in September 1937 after the assassination of a British official, a committee of the same name was reconstituted by the Arab League in 1945, but went to abeyance after it proved ineffective during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. It was sidestepped by Egypt and the Arab League with the formation of the All-Palestine Government in 1948, the first Arab Higher Committee was formed on 25 April 1936, and National Committees were formed in all of the towns and some of the larger villages, during that month. Initially, the Committee included representatives of the rival Nashashibi and al-Husayni clans, the Committee was formed after the 19 April call for a general strike of Arab workers and businesses, which marked the start of the 1936-39 Arab revolt. On 15 May 1936, the Committee endorsed the strike, calling for an end to Jewish immigration. Raghib al-Nashashibi, of the Nashashibi clan and member of the National Defence Party soon withdrew from the Committee, in November 1936, and with the prospects of war in Europe increasing, the British government set up the Peel Royal Commission to investigate the causes of the disturbances. The strike had been called off in October 1936 and the violence abated for about a year while the Peel Commission deliberated. The Commission was impressed by the fact that the Arab national movement, sustained by the Committee, was a far more efficient, all the political parties presented a common front and their leaders sit together on the Arab Higher Committee. Christian as well as Muslim Arabs were represented on it, with no opposition parties, the Commission reported in July 1937 and recommended the partition of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. The Arabs emphatically rejected the principle of awarding any territory to the Jews, the Conference rejected both the partition and establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine. After the rejection of the Peel proposals, the revolt resumed, members of the Nashashibi family began to be targeted, as well as the Jewish community and British administrators. Raghib Nashashibi was forced to flee to Egypt after several attempts on him. On 26 September 1937, the Acting British District Commissioner of Galilee, the next day Britain outlawed the Arab Higher Committee, and began to arrest its members. On 1 October 1937, the National Bloc, the Reform Party, yaqub al-Ghusayn, Al-Khalidi and Ahmed Hilmi Pasha were arrested and then deported. Jamal al-Husayni escaped to Syria, as did Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, Amin al-Husayni managed to escape arrest, but was removed from the presidency of the Supreme Muslim Council. The Committee was banned by the Mandate administration and three members were deported to the Seychelles and the moved into voluntary exile in neighbouring countries. Awni Abd al-Hadi, who was out of the country at the time, was not allowed to return, the National Defence Party, which had withdrawn from the AHC soon after its formation, was not outlawed, and Raghib al-Nashashibi was not pursued by the British. When the Committee was outlawed in September 1937, six of its members were deported, its president Amin al-Husayni managed to escape arrest, three other members were deported to the Seychelles, and other members moved into voluntary exile in neighbouring countries
Arab Higher Committee
–
Members of the Arab Higher Committee, 1936. Front row from left to right:
Raghib al-Nashashibi,
Amin al-Husayni,
Ahmed Hilmi Pasha, Gen. Manager of the Jerusalem Arab Bank, Abdul Latif Bey Es-Salah, chairman of the Arab National Party, Mr. Alfred Roke,
16.
All-Palestine Government
–
The All-Palestine Government was established by the Arab League on 22 September 1948 during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War to govern the Egyptian-controlled enclave in Gaza. It was soon recognized by all Arab League members except Transjordan, though jurisdiction of the Government was declared to cover the whole of the former Mandatory Palestine, its effective jurisdiction was limited to the Gaza Strip. The Prime Minister of the Gaza-seated administration was Ahmed Hilmi Pasha, shortly thereafter the Jericho Conference named King Abdullah I of Transjordan King of Arab Palestine. The Congress called for the union of Arab Palestine and Transjordan, the other Arab League member states opposed Abdullahs plan. The All-Palestine Government is regarded by some as the first attempt to establish an independent Palestinian state and it was under official Egyptian protection, but it had no executive role. The government had political and symbolic implications. Its importance gradually declined, especially after the relocation of its seat of government from Gaza to Cairo following the Israeli invasion in late 1948, though the Gaza Strip remained under Egyptian control through the war the All-Palestine Government remained in exile in Cairo, managing Gazan affairs from outside. Egypt, however, both formally and informally renounced any and all claims to Palestinian territory. At the end of World War I, Great Britain occupied the Ottoman territory of Palestine, the boundaries of the occupied land were not well defined. Britain and France, the main Allied Powers with a long-term interest in the area, Britain sought to legitimize the occupation by obtaining the British Mandate of Palestine from the League of Nations. In the mandated territory, Britain set up two separate administrations - Palestine and Transjordan - with the objective that they would in the course of time become fully independent. There was opposition from the Arab population of Palestine to the set out in the mandate. Various attempts were made to reconcile the Arab community with the growing Jewish population without success, the United Nations proposed the Partition Plan of 1947 which proposed that the Gaza area would become part of a new Arab Palestinian state. The Arab states rejected the United Nations plan, which heralded the start of the 1947–48 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine, some countries continued to dispute its independent status. Israel declared its independence on 14 May 1948, the day before the expiration of the Mandate, on 15 May 1948, the Egyptian army invaded the territory of the former British Mandate from the south, starting the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. An Egyptian Ministerial order dated 1 June 1948 declared that all laws in force during the Mandate would continue to be in force in the Gaza Strip. On 8 July 1948, the Arab League decided to set up a civil administration in Palestine. This plan was opposed by King Abdullah I of Transjordan and received only half-hearted support from the Arab Higher Committee
All-Palestine Government
–
Flag
17.
Palestine Liberation Organization
–
The Palestine Liberation Organization is an organization founded in 1964 with the purpose of the liberation of Palestine through armed struggle, with much of its violence aimed at Israeli civilians. The PLO was considered by the United States and Israel to be a terrorist organization until the Madrid Conference in 1991, at its first summit meeting in Cairo in 1964, the Arab League initiated the creation of an organization representing the Palestinian people. The Palestinian National Council convened in Jerusalem on 28 May 1964, concluding this meeting the PLO was founded on 2 June 1964. Its stated goal was the liberation of Palestine through armed struggle, the ideology of the PLO was formulated in the founding year 1964 in the Palestinian National Covenant. The document is a combative anti-Zionist statement dedicated to the restoration of the Palestinian homeland and it has no reference to religion. In 1968, the Charter was replaced by a revised version. Until 1993, the only promoted option was armed struggle, from the signing of the Oslo Accords, negotiation and diplomacy became the only official policy. In April 1996, a number of articles, which were inconsistent with the Oslo Accords, were wholly or partially nullified. They demanded that Palestinian refugees should be allowed to return to their homes and this article was adapted in 1996 to meet the Oslo Accords. Article 20 states, ″The Balfour Declaration, the Mandate for Palestine, claims of historical or religious ties of Jews with Palestine are incompatible with the facts of history and the true conception of what constitutes statehood. Judaism, being a religion, is not an independent nationality, nor do Jews constitute a single nation with an identity of its own, they are citizens of the states to which they belong″. This article was nullified in 1996, the PLO has always labelled the Palestinian people as Arabs. This was a consequence of the fact that the PLO was an offshoot of the Arab League. It also has an element, as to keep the backing of Arab states. Over the years, the Arab identity remained the stated nature of the Palestinian State and it is a reference to the ″Arab State″ envisioned in the UN Partition Plan. The PLO and its dominating faction Fatah are often contrasted to more religious orientated factions like Hamas, all, however, represent a predominant Muslim population. Practically the whole population of the Territories is Muslim, most of them Sunni, the National Charter has no reference to religion. The draft Constitution, which never materialized, contains the same provisions, at the time, the PLC did not include a single Hamas member
Palestine Liberation Organization
–
Orient House, the former PLO headquarters in Jerusalem
Palestine Liberation Organization
18.
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
–
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary socialist organization founded in 1967 by George Habash. It has consistently been the second-largest of the forming the Palestine Liberation Organization. Currently, the PFLP is boycotting participation in the committee of the PLO. PFLP is described as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, Australia, the relationship between the PFLP and the Islamic Republic of Iran has fluctuated – it strengthened as a result of Hamas moving away from Iran due to differing positions on the Syrian Civil War. Iran rewarded the PFLP for its pro-Assad stance with an increase in financial, the PFLP has generally taken a hard line on Palestinian national aspirations, opposing the more moderate stance of Fatah. It does not recognise the State of Israel and opposes negotiations with the Israeli government, the military wing of the PFLP is called the Abu Ali Mustapha Brigades. The PFLP is well known for pioneering armed aircraft hijackings in the late 1960s, the PFLP grew out of the Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab, or Arab Nationalist Movement, founded in 1953 by George Habash, a Palestinian Christian, from Lydda. In 1948, 19-year-old Habash, a student, went to his home town of Lydda during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War to help his family. While he was there, the Israel Defense Forces attacked the city and they marched for three days without food or water until they reached the Arab armies front lines. Habash finished his education in Lebanon at the American University in Beirut. In an interview with US journalist John K. Cooley, Habash identified the Arab defeat by the Zionists as the society of Israel as against our own backwardness in the Arab world. This called for the rebuilding of Arab society into a twentieth-century society. The ANM was founded in this nationalist spirit, held the Guevara view of the revolutionary human being, Habash told Cooley. A new breed of man had to emerge, among the Arabs as everywhere else and this meant applying everything in human power to the realization of a cause. The ANM formed underground branches in several Arab countries, including Libya, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and it adopted secularism and socialist economic ideas, and pushed for armed struggle. In collaboration with the Palestinian Liberation Army, the ANM established Abtal al-Audah as a group in 1966. After the Six-Day War of June 1967, ANM merged in August with two groups, Youth for Revenge and Ahmed Jibrils Syrian-backed Palestine Liberation Front, to form the PFLP. By early 1968, the PFLP had trained between one and three thousand guerrillas and it had the financial backing of Syria, and was headquartered there, and one of its training camps was based in as-Salt, Jordan
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
–
George Habash — Secretary General of the PFLP at its beginning – he had been influenced by the ideas of
Constantin Zureiq and
Sati' al-Husri, Arab nationalists of the 1940s and 1950s
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
–
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
–
A PFLP patrol in Jordan, 1969
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
–
PFLP
May Day poster
19.
Palestinian National Authority
–
Following elections in 2006 and the subsequent Gaza conflict between the Fatah and Hamas parties, its authority had extended only in areas A and B of the West Bank. Since January 2013, the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority uses the name State of Palestine on official documents, the Palestinian Authority was formed in 1994, pursuant to the Oslo Accords between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the government of Israel, as a five-year interim body. Further negotiations were then meant to place between the two parties regarding its final status. The remainder of the territories, including Israeli settlements, the Jordan Valley region, East Jerusalem was excluded from the Accords. In the Palestinian legislative elections on 25 January 2006, Hamas emerged victorious, however, the national unity Palestinian government effectively collapsed, when a violent conflict between Hamas and Fatah erupted, mainly in the Gaza Strip. The move wasnt recognized by Hamas, thus resulting in two separate administrations – the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and a rival Hamas government in the Gaza Strip. The reconciliation process to unite the Palestinian governments achieved some progress over the years, the PA received financial assistance from the European Union and the United States. All direct aid was suspended on 7 April 2006, as a result of the Hamas victory in parliamentary elections, shortly thereafter, aid payments resumed, but were channeled directly to the offices of Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank. In November 2012, the United Nations voted to recognize Palestine as a non-member UN observer state, the Palestinian Authority was created by the Gaza–Jericho Agreement, pursuant to the 1993 Oslo Accords. The administrative responsibilities accorded to the PA were limited to civil matters and internal security, Palestinians in the diaspora and inside Israel were not eligible to vote in elections for the offices of the Palestinian Authority. General elections were held for its first legislative body, the Palestinian Legislative Council, the expiration of the bodys term was 4 May 1999, but elections were not held because of the prevailing coercive situation. Bush stated that the establishment of a Palestinian state by the end of 2005 was unlikely due to instability and we will give the Palestinian Authority technical help by sending equipment, training people. We will give the Palestinian Authority helicopters and also communication equipment, the Palestinian Authority became responsible for civil administration in some rural areas, as well as security in the major cities of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. This increased the percentage of land in the Gaza Strip nominally governed by the PA from 60 percent to 100 percent, Palestinian legislative elections took place on 25 January 2006. Hamas was victorious and Ismail Haniyeh was nominated as Prime Minister on 16 February 2006, Hamas rejected these demands, which resulted in the Quartet suspension of its foreign assistance program and Israel imposed economic sanctions. In an attempt to resolve the financial and diplomatic impasse, the Hamas-led government together with Fatah Chairman Mahmoud Abbas agreed to form a unity government, as a result, Haniyeh resigned on 15 February 2007 as part of the agreement. The unity government was formed on 18 March 2007 under Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and consisted of members from Hamas, Fatah and other parties. The situation in the Gaza strip however quickly deteriorated into a feud between the Hamas and Fatah, which eventually resulted in the Brothers War
Palestinian National Authority
–
Yitzhak Rabin,
Bill Clinton and
Yasser Arafat at the
Oslo Accords signing ceremony on 13 September 1993.
Palestinian National Authority
–
Map showing areas of Palestinian Authority control or joint control (red) as of 2006.
Palestinian National Authority
–
CIA remote-sensing map of areas governed by the Palestinian Authority, July 2008.
Palestinian National Authority
–
Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), President of the Palestinian Authority since 2005 (disputed since 2009).
20.
Fatah
–
Fataḥ, formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement is a Palestinian nationalist political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization. Fatah is generally considered to have had an involvement in revolutionary struggle in the past and has maintained a number of militant groups. Fatah had been identified with the leadership of its founder Yasser Arafat. Since Arafats departure, factionalism within the ideologically diverse movement has become more apparent, in the 2006 parliamentary election, the party lost its majority in the Palestinian parliament to Hamas. However, the Hamas legislative victory led to a conflict between Fatah and Hamas, with Fatah retaining control of the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank, the full name of the movement is حركة التحرير الوطني الفلسطيني ḥarakat al-taḥrīr al-waṭanī al-Filasṭīnī, meaning the Palestinian National Liberation Movement. From this was crafted the reverse acronym Fatḥ meaning opening, conquering, the word fatḥ or fatah is used in religious discourse to signify the Islamic expansion in the first centuries of Islamic history –as in Fatḥ al-Sham, the conquering of the Levant. Fatah also has significance in that it is the name of the 48th sura of the Quran which, according to major Muslim commentators. (During the peaceful two years after the Hudaybiyyah treaty, many converted to Islam, increasing the strength of the Muslim side and it was the breach of this treaty by the Quraysh that triggered the conquest of Mecca. This Islamic precedent was cited by Yasser Arafat as justification for his signing the Oslo Accords with Israel. The founders included Yasser Arafat, then head of the General Union of Palestinian Students at Cairo University, Salah Khalaf, Khalil al-Wazir, Fatah became the dominant force in Palestinian politics after the Six-Day War in 1967. Fatah joined the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1967 and it was immediately allocated 33 of 105 seats in the PLO Executive Committee. Founder Yasser Arafat became Chairman of the PLO in 1969, after the position was ceded to him by Yahya Hammuda. According to the BBC, Mr Arafat took over as chairman of the committee of the PLO in 1969. The towns name is the Arabic word for dignity, which elevated its symbolism to the Arab people, the operation was in response to attacks against Israel, including rockets strikes from Fatah and other Palestinian militias into the occupied West Bank. Knowledge of the operation was well ahead of time. On the night of 21 March, the IDF attacked Karameh with heavy weaponry, armored vehicles, Fatah held its ground, surprising the Israeli military. As Israels forces intensified their campaign, the Jordanian Army became involved, by the end of the battle, nearly 150 Fatah militants had been killed, as well as twenty Jordanian soldiers and twenty-eight Israeli soldiers. Despite the higher Arab death toll, Fatah considered themselves victorious because of the Israeli armys rapid withdrawal, after their victory in the Battle of Karameh, Fatah and other Palestinian militias began taking control of civil life in Jordan
Fatah
–
Yasser Arafat was the main founder of Fatah and led the movement until his death in 2004.
Fatah
–
Fatah فتح
21.
Hamas
–
Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist organization. It has a service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. Hamass military wing objected to the truce offer, analysts have said that it seems clear that Hamas knows that many of its conditions for the truce could never be met. The attacks on civilians have been condemned as war crimes and crimes against humanity by human rights such as Human Rights Watch. In the January 2006 Palestinian parliamentary elections, Hamas won a plurality in the Palestinian Parliament, Hamas rejected those changes, which led to the Quartet suspending its foreign assistance program and Israel imposing economic sanctions on the Hamas-led administration. In March 2007, a unity government headed by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas was briefly formed. Israel and Egypt then imposed a blockade of the Gaza Strip. In 2011, Hamas and Fatah announced an agreement that provides for creation of a joint caretaker Palestinian government. Progress stalled, until an April 2014 agreement to form a unity government. It is not regarded as a terrorist organization by Iran, Russia, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey, China, an EU court found the EUs earlier designation flawed, but its decision has been appealed by the European Council. It is a point of debate in political and academic circles over whether or not to classify Hamas as a terrorist group, Hamas is an acronym of the Arabic phrase حركة المقاومة الاسلامية or Harakat al-Muqāwama al-Islāmiyya, meaning Islamic Resistance Movement. The Arabic word hamas means courage or zeal, the Hamas covenant interprets its name to mean strength and bravery. Hamas, as its name implies, aims to liberate Palestine from the Israeli occupation by resisting it, Hamas inherited from its predecessor a tripartite structure that consisted in the provision of social services, of religious training and military operations under a Shura Council. Traditionally it had four distinct functions, a social welfare division, a military division for procuring weapons and undertaking operations, a security service. The exact nature of the organization is unclear, secrecy being maintained for fear of Israeli assassinations, formally, Hamas maintains the wings are separate and independent. Matthew Levitt maintains this is a public myth, davis argues that they are both separate and combined for reasons of internal and external political necessity. Communication between the political and military wings of Hamas is difficult, owing to the thoroughness of Israeli intelligence surveillance, after the assassination of Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi the occasional political direction of the militant wing diminished, with field commanders given discretional autonomy on operations. The governing body is the Majlis al-Shura, the principle behind the Council is based on the Quranic concept of consultation and popular assembly, which Hamas leaders argue provides for democracy within an Islamic framework
Hamas
–
Current leader,
Khaled Meshaal
Hamas
Hamas
–
August 2001
Sbarro pizza restaurant bombing in Jerusalem, in which 15 Israeli civilians were killed. Hamas said the attack was in response to Israel's assassination of its officials, including two senior leaders.
Hamas
–
Hamas rally in
Bethlehem
22.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad
–
PIJ has been labelled a terrorist organisation by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel. Iran is a financial supporter of the PIJ. Following the Israeli and Egyptian squeeze on Hamas in early 2014 and its financial backing is believed to also come from Syria. The Islamic Jihad Movement has sent its gratitude to the brothers in Hezbollah, particularly Hassan Nasrallah, for their stance and support, be it financial, military or moral support. The armed wing of PIJ is Al-Quds Brigades, formed in 1981 and its operations have included suicide bombings, attacks on Israeli civilians, as well as the firing of rockets into Israel. PIJ has much in common with Hamas, with fighting against the existence of the State of Israel. Both groups were formed as offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood and receive an amount of funding from Iran. With similar goals, Hamas and PIJ have worked together on a number of projects, based in Egypt, Shaqaqi and Awda were originally members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Their views on the destruction of Israel, however, led them in 1979 to establish Islamic Jihad-Shaqaqi Faction, the Shaqaqi Faction was expelled from Egypt in 1981 following the assassination of Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat by the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Shaqaqi and Awda returned to Gaza where they formally established PIJ, the aim of the organization was the establishment of a sovereign, Islamic Palestinian state within the geographic borders of pre-1948 Mandatory Palestine. Completely rejecting the process, the organization professes that its goals can only be achieved through military means. PIJ began its operations against Israel in 1984. In 1988, its leaders were exiled by Israel to Lebanon, while in Lebanon, the group received training, support and other backing from Hezbollah and its backers in Iran, and developed a close relationship with the organization. In 1990, the headquarters of PIJ moved to the Syrian capital, Damascus, where it continues to be based, with offices in Beirut, Tehran, and Khartoum. PIJ masterminded several suicide bombings in Israel, the first one being the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack in 1989 which resulted in 16 civilian deaths. Shaqaqi was a key player in setting up the Alliance of Palestinian Forces in January 1994, PIJ was and continues to be considered by Israel the most extreme organization in its operational methods and commitment to the destruction of Israel. By 1995 PIJ was, according to Fisk, perhaps the fiercest of all Israels modern-day enemies, Shaqaqi was assassinated in 1995 in Malta, and Ramadan Shalah became secretary-general of the organisation. There was a subsequent crackdown on the PIJ by Israel and the Palestinian National Authority which led to a significant weakening of the organization, on 20 February 2003, University of South Florida computer engineering professor Sami Al-Arian was arrested after being indicted on a terrorism-related charge
Palestinian Islamic Jihad
–
Ramadan Abdullah Mohammad Shallah is wanted by the
FBI for conspiracy to conduct the affairs of the designated international
terrorist organization known as the "
Palestinian Islamic Jihad ".
Palestinian Islamic Jihad
–
Islamic Jihad Movement Logo
23.
Politics of the Palestinian National Authority
–
The president of the State of Palestine is the highest-ranking political position in the Palestinian National Authority. The president is elected by popular elections, the prime minister is appointed by the president and thus not directly elected by the Palestinian Legislative Council or Palestinian voters. Unlike the prime ministers office in other nations, the Palestinian prime minister does not serve as a member of the legislature while in office. Instead, the appointment is made independently by the ruling party, the prime minister is expected to represent the majority party or ruling coalition in the parliament. The Palestinian Legislative Council is the legislature of the Palestinian Authority and it is not to be confused with the Palestine National Council, which remains the national legislature of the Palestinian people as a whole. Parliamentary elections took place on 25 January 2006, initial exit polling indicated that Fatah won the most seats, though without a majority, but the results were different. After the signing of the Oslo Accords, the West bank, area A refers to the area under PA security and civilian control. Area B refers to the area under Palestinian civilian and Israeli security control, area C refers to the area under full Israeli control such as settlements. It was admitted as a member of the Asia group on 2 April 1986. After the 1988 Palestinian Declaration of Independence, the PLOs representation was renamed Palestine, on 7 July 1998, this status was extended to allow participation in General Assembly debates, though not in voting. On Thursday,29 November 2012, In a 138-9 vote UN General Assembly resolution 67/19 passed, the new status equates Palestines with that of the Holy See. The change in status was described by The Independent as de facto recognition of the state of Palestine. The vote was a benchmark for the sovereign State of Palestine and its citizens, it was a diplomatic setback for Israel. It shall permit Palestine to claim rights over its territorial waters. The UN has permitted Palestine to title its representative office to the UN as The Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, the Palestinian Basic Law - A collection of various proposals and amendments to the Basic Law of Palestine
Politics of the Palestinian National Authority
–
State of Palestine
24.
Governance of the Gaza Strip
–
The governance of the Gaza Strip is carried out by the Hamas administration, led by Ismail Haniyeh, from 2007, until 2014 and again from 2016. The Hamas administration is referred to as the Hamas government in Gaza. After the takeover in Gaza by Hamas on 14 June 2007, Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas dismissed the Hamas-led government, both administrations – the Fatah government in Ramallah and the Hamas government in Gaza– regard themselves as the sole legitimate government of the Palestinian National Authority. The international community and Palestine Liberation Organization, however, recognize the Ramallah administration as the legitimate government, since the division between the two parties, there have been conflicts between Hamas and similar factions operating in Gaza, and with Israel, most notably the Gaza War of 2008-2009. Despite the peace plan, Palestinian sources were quoted in January 2012 as saying that the May joint elections would not be possible, a unity government was sworn on 2 June 2014. Conflict between Fatah and Hamas began simmering when Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006, major conflict erupted in Gaza in December 2006, when the Hamas executive authority attempted to replace the Palestinian police as the primary authority in Gaza. On 8 February 2007 Saudi-sponsored negotiations in Mecca produced an agreement on a Palestinian national unity government, the agreement was signed by Mahmoud Abbas on behalf of Fatah and Khaled Mashal on behalf of Hamas. In March 2007, the Palestinian Legislative Council established a national unity government, with 83 representatives voting in favor, Government ministers were sworn in by Mahmoud Abbas, the president on the Palestinian National Authority, at ceremonies held in Gaza and Ramallah. In June that year, Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip from the unity government after forcing out Fatah. On 14 June 2007, Mahmoud Abbas announced the dissolution of the unity government. He dismissed Ismail Haniya as prime minister and appointed Salam Fayyad in his place, Palestinian police chief Kamal el-Sheikh ordered his men in the Gaza Strip not to work or obey Hamas orders. Many Fatah members fled the Gaza Strip to the West Bank, Palestinian legislator Saeb Erekat said the Palestinian National Authority officially has no control in the Gaza Strip. Hamas and Fatah accused each other of a coup détat, neither recognizes the authority of the other government, the United States, EU, and Israel have not recognized the Hamas government, but support Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyads government in the West Bank. Although the US does not officially recognize the Hamas government, it holds it fully and entirely responsible for the Gaza Strip, in 2009, a radical Salafist cleric declared an Islamic Emirate in Gaza, accusing Hamas of failing to implement full Sharia law. Reports in March 2010 suggested that Ahmed Jabari described the security situation in Gaza as deteriorating, nevertheless, the Hamas continued to execute its authority. In April 2011, Hamas conducted another crackdown, this one on a Salafist group reportedly involved in Vittorio Arrigonis murder, Hamas praised the Arab Spring, but its offices in Damascus were directly affected by the Syrian Civil War. The Hamas leader Khaled Mashal eventually relocated to Jordan, and Hamas began to distance itself from the Syrian government in the backdrop of the Syrian civil war, essentially, the Doha deal does not reflect any real reconciliation among the factions of the Hamas Government. On July 2012, reports circulated that the Hamas Government in Gaza Strip was considering declaring the independence of the Gaza Strip with the help of Egypt
Governance of the Gaza Strip
–
State of Palestine
25.
Palestinian Legislative Council
–
The Palestinian Legislative Council was the parliament of the Palestinian inhabitants of the Palestinian territories. It was a body with 132 members, elected from 16 electoral districts of the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank. The PLC was inaugurated for the first time on 7 March 1996, the PLC had limited power and responsibilities, restricted to civil matters and internal security in Area A of the West Bank and in Gaza. With the possible reconciliation of Hamas and Fatah, it would be re-assembled to become the Parliament of the State of Palestine, the Palestinian Legislative Council passed a law in June 2005, increasing the number of members from 88 to 132. It stipulated that half be elected under a system of proportional representation, the last parliamentary elections took place on 25 January 2006. The next election was intended to take place sometime in 2014 but has been delayed because of disagreements between Hamas and Fatah, the emblem used for the Palestinian Legislative Council is referred to as the Eagle of Saladin. Every single detail regarding the elections was led down in Annex II, Oslo II determines that only residents of the Occupied Palestinian Territories may vote or be elected. The power and responsibilities of the PLC are limited to civil matters and internal security and public order, the PLC is excluded from the negotiations process with Israel. The PLC was inaugurated for the first time on 7 March 1996, the Council was predestined to replace the Arafat/Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority, which was established as a temporary organ, pending the inauguration of the Council. The PA, however, never transferred its power, while the PLC is elected by the Palestinians residing in the Palestinian territories, it is not the parliament of the State of Palestine. Accordingly, the Palestinian Authority is not the government of the State of Palestine, on the contrary, PLO is recognized by the United Nations as the Government of the State of Palestine. The PLO has its own parliament, the Palestinian National Council, accordingly, the Executive Committee, formally elected by the PNC, is the official government of the State of Palestine on behalf of the PLO. Pursuant to the PAs 1995 Elections Law No,13, the 132 PLC members would automatically become members of the PNC. This was revoked, however, by the 2005 Elections Law No,9, which does not mention the PNC at all. 2, issued in a decree from President Abbas, re-instated the determination, as this PA legislation was neither enacted by the PLO or the PNC, their legal validity are questioned in a PLO document. While both PLC and PNC are virtually defunct, the functions of both parliaments are performed by the PLOs Central Council and they had to obtain a permit from the Israeli authorities for every single travel, valid for very short periods and sometimes refused. In 2001, the European Parliament noticed in a resolution that The Palestinian Legislative Council is more often than not hindered from attending the sessions Isolation from the outer world, Israel prevents official contacts with the outer world. Even the visit of members of the European Parliament to Gaza were denied, Israeli interference with the composition of the PLC
Palestinian Legislative Council
–
PLC building,
Ramallah
Palestinian Legislative Council
–
Palestinian Legislative Council المجلس التشريعي الفلسطيني Al-Majlis al-Tashrī'iyy al-Filasṭīniyy
Palestinian Legislative Council
–
The destroyed Palestinian Legislative Council building in Gaza City in September 2009.
26.
Palestinian law
–
Palestinian law is the law administered by the Palestinian National Authority within the territory pursuant to the Oslo Accords. It has an unusually unsettled status, as of 2014, due to the legal history of the area, the overlapping jurisdictions. Palestinian law includes many of the regimes and precepts used in Palestinian ruled territory and administered by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. It is also to discuss the domestic and international positions on which set of laws are controlling in Palestinian ruled territory today. Due to the usages of the terms Palestine and Palestinian throughout history. Examples include the discussion of the Talmudic interpretation of laws from Palestine before 70 C. E, such references to ancient Palestinian law do not apply to the Palestinian legal situation since at least 1948. Essentially, says one scholar, the legal system in Palestine consists of layer upon layer of law that almost all remain in effect. The major issue is the, question of whether the state of Palestine will be capable of overseeing a system of rule of law. This debate is important not only in the arena but in the legal arena as well, since a viable state must have a legal system that is functional. To determine how this may be possible, we must look at what laws currently exist in the Palestinian territories, the law applied in different parts of the West Bank and Gaza strip is a combination of the various laws imposed on said areas throughout this century. Instead of each new law superseding the previous law, almost all of these remain in effect in the territories. Therefore, one would have to research multiple legal systems and codes to determine the law in one area and this is quite a confusing situation. The Palestinian legal system can be compared to a salad, with layers of different laws. This situation in the Palestinian Territories is perhaps unprecedented in modern history, the laws that applied come from many jurisdictions through history, Customary Law. Israeli law and even the informal strictures of the intirsial, fadah, and finally, the subject of sovereignty is both controversial and unsettled, neither the PLO nor the PA is recognized as a sovereign state by the United States. The Basic law, established in 2002, is the constitution of a future Palestinian state. According to one report, Palestinians had been requesting that the law be signed into effect since 1997 and it was enacted by the PLC and signed by Yasser Arafat. It was amended on March 19,2003 to allow the creation of the Prime Minister Position in the Palestinian National Authority, the Basic Law is based loosely on Sharia, According to Article 4, Islam is the official religion in Palestine
Palestinian law
27.
West Bank
–
The West Bank shares boundaries to the west, north, and south with Israel, and to the east, across the Jordan River, with Jordan. The West Bank also contains a significant section of the western Dead Sea shore, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has a land area of 5,640 km2 plus a water area of 220 km2, consisting of the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea. As of July 2015 it has an population of 2,785,366 Palestinians, and approximately 371,000 Israeli settlers. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, illegal under international law and this annexation was recognized only by Britain, Iraq and Pakistan. The term was chosen to differentiate the west bank of the River Jordan from the east bank of this river, the neo-Latin name Cisjordan or Cis-Jordan is the usual name for the territory in the Romance languages and Hungarian. The name West Bank, however, has become the standard usage for this entity in English. The analogous Transjordan has historically used to designate the region now roughly comprising the state of Jordan. From 1517 through 1917, the now known as the West Bank was under Ottoman rule as part of the provinces of Syria. At the 1920 San Remo conference, the victorious Allied powers allocated the area to the British Mandate of Palestine, the San Remo Resolution adopted on 25 April 1920 incorporated the Balfour Declaration of 1917. It and Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations were the basic documents upon which the British Mandate for Palestine was constructed. Faced with the determination of Emir Abdullah to unify Arab lands under the Hashemite banner, the West Bank area, was conquered by Jordan during the 1948 war with the new state of Israel. In 1947, it was designated as part of a proposed Arab state by the United Nations partition plan for Palestine. 1949 Armistice Agreements defined the boundary between Israel and Jordan. In 1950, Transjordan annexed the area west of the Jordan River, naming it West Bank or Cisjordan, Jordan ruled over the West Bank from 1948 until 1967. Jordans annexation was never recognized by the international community, with the exception of the United Kingdom. King Abdullah of Jordan had been crowned King of Jerusalem by the Coptic Bishop on 15 November 1948. and granted Palestinian Arabs in the West Bank, in June 1967, the West Bank and East Jerusalem were captured by Israel as a result of the Six-Day War. With the exception of East Jerusalem and the former Israeli-Jordanian no mans land, the Israeli settlements were, on the other hand, administered subsequently as Judea and Samaria Area directly by Israel. Since the 1993 Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority officially controls a geographically non-contiguous territory comprising approx, 11% of the West Bank which remains subject to Israeli incursions
West Bank
–
City of
Salfit, West Bank
West Bank
–
City of
Bethlehem, West Bank
West Bank
–
The Cave of the Patriarchs is one of the most famous holy sites in the region.
West Bank
–
City of
Jericho, West Bank
.svg)
