1.
Palestinians
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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
2.
Flag of Palestine
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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
3.
Definitions of Palestinian
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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
4.
Palestine (region)
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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
5.
History of the Palestinians
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The Palestinian people are an Arabic-speaking people with family origins in the region of Palestine. Since 1964, they have referred to as Palestinians. During the period of the British Mandate, the term Palestinian was also used to describe the Jewish community living in Palestine, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was founded as the Palestine Orchestra, and The Jerusalem Post was founded as The Palestine Post. The Arabic-language newspaper Falastin was founded in 1911 by Palestinian Christians, the Arab population of Palestine traces their history to the Muslim conquest of Palestine in 640 CE. In the Old City of Jerusalem, the Dome of the Rock, under the Ottomans, Palestines Arab population mostly saw themselves as Ottoman subjects. Kimmerling and Migdal consider the revolt in 1834 of the Arabs in Palestine as the first formative event of the Palestinian people, in the 1830s, Palestine was occupied by the Egyptian vassal of the Ottomans, Muhammad Ali and his son Ibrahim Pasha. The revolt was precipitated by popular resistance against heavy demands for conscripts, peasants were well aware that conscription was nothing less than a death sentence. Starting in May 1834, the rebels took many cities, among them Jerusalem, Hebron, in response, Ibrahim Pasha sent in his army, finally defeating the last rebels on 4 August in Hebron. Nevertheless, the Arabs in Palestine remained part of a Pan-Islamist or Pan-Arab national movement, in 1882 the population numbered approximately 320,000 people,25,000 of whom were Jewish. At the beginning of the 20th century, a local and specific Palestinian patriotism emerged, al-Muntada al-Adabi, dominated by the Nashashibi family, militated for the promotion of the Arab language and culture, for the defense of Islamic values and for an independent Syria and Palestine. In Damascus, al-Nadi al-Arabi, dominated by the Husayni family, when Zionism began taking root among Jewish communities in Europe, many Jews emigrated to Palestine and established settlements there. When Palestinian Arabs concerned themselves with Zionists, they assumed the movement would fail. There was a sense of threat. The creation of the British Mandate of Palestine in 1918 and the Balfour Declaration greatly increased Arab fears, the Outline of History, by H. G. Syria, Mesopotamia, were entirely detached from Turkish rule. Palestine was made a state within the British sphere, earmarked as a national home for the Jews. A flood of poor Jewish immigrants poured into the land and was speedily involved in serious conflicts with the Arab population. The Arabs had been consolidated against the Turks and inspired with a conception of national unity through the exertions of a young Oxford scholar, if ever they are united, and struggle into civilization, it will not be under Western auspices. The Palestinian Arabs felt ignored by the terms of the Mandate, as far as the League of Nations and the British were concerned the Palestinian Arabs were not a distinct people
6.
Timeline of the name "Palestine"
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This article presents a list of notable historical references to the name Palestine, and cognates such as Filastin and Palaestina, throughout the history of the region. The term Peleset is found in five inscriptions referring to a people or land starting from c.1150 BC during the Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt. The Assyrians called the same region Palashtu/Palastu or Pilistu, beginning with Adad-nirari III in the Nimrud Slab in c.800 BC through to an Esarhaddon treaty more than a century later, neither the Egyptian nor the Assyrian sources provided clear regional boundaries for the term. In the treatise Meteorology c.340 BC, Aristotle wrote and this is understood by scholars to be a reference to the Dead Sea. Other writers, such as Strabo, referred to the region as Coele-Syria around 10-20 CE, in 135 CE, the Greek Syria Palaestina was used in naming a new Roman province from the merger of Roman Syria and Roman Judaea after the Roman authorities crushed the Bar Kokhba Revolt. During the Byzantine period c.390, the province of Syria Palaestina was reorganized into, Palaestina Prima, Palaestina Secunda. Following the Muslim conquest, place names that were in use by the Byzantine administration generally continued to be used in Arabic, the use of the name Palestine became common in Early Modern English, was used in English and Arabic during the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem. In the 20th century the name was used by the British to refer to Mandatory Palestine, the term was later used in the eponymous State of Palestine. Both incorporated geographic regions from the commonly known as Palestine. C.1150 BC, Medinet Habu, records a people called the P-r-s-t among those who fought with Egypt in Ramesses IIIs reign, C.1150 BC, Papyrus Harris I, I extended all the boundaries of Egypt, I overthrew those who invaded them from their lands. I ordered the army of Assyria to march against Palestine. I received all the tributes which they brought to Assyria, I ordered against the country Damascus. All Phoenicia, Palestine Syria, and Cyprus, were herein contained and this part of Syria, and all the region extending from hence to Egypt, is known by the name of Palestine. The Phoenicians and the Syrians of Palestine themselves confess that they learnt the custom of the Egyptians, now these are the only nations who use circumcision c. They say that this lake is so bitter and salt that no fish live in it and that if you soak clothes in it and shake them it cleans them. This is understood by scholars to be a reference to the Dead Sea c.130 BC, Agatharchides, Near island is a promontory, which stretches towards the Rock of the Nabataeans and Palestine. C.30 BC, Tibullus, Tibullus and Sulpicia, The Poems, there is a portion of those people called Essenes. On Abraham, The country of the Sodomites was a district of the land of Canaan, for example, it is called Coele, Mesopotamia, Judaea, Commagene, and Sophene
7.
Palestinian diaspora
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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
8.
Palestinian refugee camps
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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
9.
Arab Higher Committee
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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
10.
All-Palestine Government
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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
11.
Palestine Liberation Organization
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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
12.
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
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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
13.
Palestinian National Authority
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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
14.
Fatah
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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
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Hamas
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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
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Palestinian Islamic Jihad
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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
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Politics of the Palestinian National Authority
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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
18.
Governance of the Gaza Strip
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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
19.
Palestinian Legislative Council
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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
20.
Palestinian law
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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
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State of Palestine
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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
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West Bank
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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
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Gaza Strip
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Gaza, together with the West Bank, comprise the Palestinian territories claimed by the Palestinians as the State of Palestine. The territories of Gaza and the West Bank are separated from each other by Israeli territory, both fall under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, but Gaza has since June 2007 been governed by Hamas, a Palestinian Islamic organization which came to power in free elections in 2006. It has been placed under an Israeli and U. S. -led international economic, the territory is 41 kilometers long, and from 6 to 12 kilometers wide, with a total area of 365 square kilometers. With around 1.85 million Palestinians on some 362 square kilometers, an extensive Israeli buffer zone within the Strip renders much land off-limits to Gazas Palestinians. Gaza has a population growth rate of 2. 91%, the 13th highest in the world. The population is expected to increase to 2.1 million in 2020, by that time, Gaza may be rendered unliveable, if present trends continue. Due to the Israeli and Egyptian border closures and the Israeli sea and air blockade, Sunni Muslims make up the predominant part of the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. Israel maintains direct control over Gaza and indirect control over life within Gaza, it controls Gazas air and maritime space. It reserves the right to enter Gaza at will with its military, Gaza is dependent on Israel for its water, electricity, telecommunications, and other utilities. When Hamas won the Palestinian legislative election,2006, Fatah refused to join the proposed coalition, when this collapsed under joint Israeli and United States pressure, the Palestinian Authority instituted a non-Hamas government in the West Bank while Hamas formed a government on its own in Gaza. Further economic sanctions were imposed by Israel and the European Quartet against Hamas, a brief civil war between the two groups had broken out in Gaza when, apparently under a U. S. -backed plan, Fatah contested Hamas’s administration. Hamas emerged the victor and expelled Fatah-allied officials and members of the PAs security apparatus from the Strip, since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been de facto governed by Hamas, which claims to represent the Palestinian National Authority and the Palestinian people. Israel maintains direct control over Gaza and indirect control over life within Gaza, it controls Gazas air and maritime space. It reserves the right to enter Gaza at will with its military, Gaza is dependent on Israel for its water, electricity, telecommunications, and other utilities. The Gaza Strip acquired its current northern and eastern boundaries at the cessation of fighting in the 1948 war, article V of the Agreement declared that the demarcation line was not to be an international border. At first the Gaza Strip was officially administered by the All-Palestine Government, All-Palestine in the Gaza Strip was managed under the military authority of Egypt, functioning as a puppet state, until it officially merged into the United Arab Republic and dissolved in 1959. From the time of the dissolution of the All-Palestine Government until 1967, Israel captured the Gaza Strip from Egypt in the Six-Day War in 1967. In 2005, Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip under their unilateral disengagement plan, in July 2007, after winning the 2006 Palestinian legislative election, Hamas became the elected government
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East Jerusalem
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East Jerusalem or Eastern Jerusalem is the sector of Jerusalem that was not part of Israeli-held West Jerusalem at the end of the 1948–1949 Arab–Israeli War. Despite its name, East Jerusalem includes neighborhoods to the north, east and south of the Old City and this arrangement was formalized in the Rhodes Agreement in March 1949. A week after David Ben-Gurion presented his partys assertion that Jewish Jerusalem is an organic, inseparable part of the State of Israel in December 1949 and these decisions were confirmed respectively in the Knesset in January 1950 and the Jordanian Parliament in April 1950. On being captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War, East Jerusalem, with expanded borders, in the Palestine Liberation Organization s Palestinian Declaration of Independence of 1988, Jerusalem is stated to be the capital of the State of Palestine. East Jerusalem has been occupied by Israel since 1967 and was annexed by Israel in 1980. On 27–28 June 1967, East Jerusalem was integrated into Jerusalem by extension of its borders and was placed under the law. In a unanimous General Assembly resolution, the UN declared the measures trying to change the status of the city invalid, following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Jerusalem was divided into two parts. The western portion, populated primarily by Jews, came under Israeli rule, while the eastern portion, populated mainly by Muslim and Christian Palestinians, following the 1967 Six-Day War, the eastern part of Jerusalem came under Israeli rule, along with the entire West Bank. Shortly after the Israeli takeover, East Jerusalem was annexed to West Jerusalem, in November 1967, United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 was passed, calling for Israel to withdraw from territories occupied in the recent conflict in exchange for peace treaties. This declaration was determined to be null and void by United Nations Security Council Resolution 478, East Jerusalem is a term heavy with political implications. Israelis call the Arab populated part of the city East Jerusalem because of its location in the part of the single larger Jerusalem city unit. The term East Jerusalem is ambiguous and may be used to refer to either of the following, Jerusalem was to be an international city under the 1947 UN Partition Plan. It was not included as a part of either the proposed Jewish or Arab states, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the western part of Jerusalem was captured by Israel, while East Jerusalem was captured by Jordan. The war came to an end with the signing of the 1949 Armistice Agreements, upon its capture, the Jordanians immediately expelled all the Jewish residents of the Jewish Quarter. The ancient Jewish cemetery on Mount of Olives was desecrated, Jordan also destroyed the Jewish villages of Atarot and Neve Yaakov just north of Jerusalem. East Jerusalem absorbed some of the refugees from West Jerusalems Arab neighborhoods that came under Israeli rule, thousands of Arab refugees who were displaced from their homes in Israeli-held West Jerusalem were settled in the previously Jewish areas of East Jerusalem. In 1950 East Jerusalem, along with the rest of the West Bank, was annexed by Jordan. During the period of Jordanian rule, East Jerusalem lost much of its importance, as it was no longer a capital and it even saw a population decrease, with merchants and administrators moving to Amman
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Islam in Palestine
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Muslim history in the Palestine region began in the 630s with the Early Muslim conquests. The Roman region of Palestine was conquered by the Muslim armies of the Caliphate under Caliph Umar, Muslim presence in the region has continued to the present time for nearly 1400 years. The region of Palestine has a significance for Muslims, as it contains the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Muslims call it the third holiest site in Sunni Islam, according to the Islamic tradition the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the site from which the Islamic prophet Mohammed is said to have ascended to Heaven. According to the Muslim tradition, during a night around the year 621. According to the tradition, from there he ascended to heaven where he spoke with Allah, Islam first came to the region of Palestine in the 630s during the great Muslim conquests in which the Caliphate conquered vast areas of Asia and Africa, including the region of Palestine. The Muslim conquests of the 7th century started a long and steady process of Islamization of many nations in the Middle East, Central Asia and this gradual process, which began with the formation of the Muslim empire, lasted for several hundred years. Through time many of the indigenous people merged with the Arab tribes, until a vast region, including the region of Palestine, became dominated by the Arabic language. Following the Muslim conquest of the region of Palestine, the Caliphate decided to build a mosque in Jerusalem - the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In addition, during that time many other Muslim structures were constructed throughout Palestine, the Al-Aqsa Mosque is considered nowadays as the worlds oldest Islamic building still in use. Rival dynasties and various conflicts which occurred later on, led to a split within the Muslim world, eventually, during the 9th century, Palestine was conquered by the Fatimid dynasty. During that time the region of Palestine became again the center of violent disputes followed by wars, at that time, the Byzantine Empire continued trying to recapture the territories they previously lost to the Muslims, including Jerusalem. The Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem who expressed their support to the Byzantine Empire were killed by the Muslim authorities, due to the growing importance of Jerusalem in the Muslim world, the tolerance towards the other faiths began to fade. The Christians and the Jews in Palestine were persecuted and many Churches and Synagogues were destroyed and this trend peaked in 1009 AD when Caliph al Hakim of the Fatimid dynasty, destroyed also the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. This provocation ignited enormous rage in the Christian world, which led to the first Crusades from Europe to the Holy Land, the Crusaders transformed the Dome of the Rock into the Shrine of the Lord and the Al-Aqsa mosque into the Hall of Solomon. The local Muslim reaction was to try to find an accommodation with the Crusaders, during this era, the larger Muslim world looked upon the setbacks in Jerusalem with indifference. In 1187, the Ayyubid Sultan Salah ad-Din led his armies to win a victory over the Crusaders in the Battle of Hattin. As a direct result of the battle, Islamic forces once again became the dominant power in the region, re-conquering Jerusalem, the Christian defeat led to a Third Crusade aimed to regain the lost territories in the Holy Land
26.
Palestinian Jews
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Palestinian Jew is the term used to refer to a Jewish inhabitant of Palestine prior to the establishment of the modern state of Israel. The common term for the Jewish community of Ottoman Palestine during the 19th century, after the establishment of Israel in 1948, the Jews of Mandatory Palestine became Israeli citizens, and the term Palestinian Jews has largely fallen into disuse, in favor of the term Israeli Jews. Prior to dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire, the population of the area comprising modern Israel, the West Bank, under the Empires rule in the mid-16th century, there were no more than 10,000 Jews in Palestine, making up around 5% of the population. By the mid-19th century, Turkish sources recorded that 80% of the 600, 000-strong population was identified as Muslim, 10% as Christian Arab, the situation of the Jewish community in Palestine was more complicated than in neighbouring Arab countries. The Jews of Palestine were not exclusively of Iberian origins, towards the end of the Ottoman era in Palestine, native Jewish communities lived primarily in the four holy cities of Safed, Tiberias, Hebron and Jerusalem. The Jewish population consisted of Ashkenazim and Sephardim, the latter of which could be subdivided as Sephardim proper. The majority of Jews in the four cities, with the exception of Jerusalem, were Arabic. The dominant language among Jews in Jerusalem was Yiddish, due to the migration of pious Ashkenazi Jews from Russia. Still, in 1882, there were 7,620 Sephardim in Jerusalem, of whom 1,290 were Maghrebim, natives of the city, they were Turkish subjects, and fluent in Arabic. Arabic also served as the lingua franca between the Sephradim/Mizrahim/Maghrebim and Ashkenazim and their non-Jewish Arab counterparts in mixed cities like Safed and Hebron, however, during the Greek and Roman period, the primary language of Palestinian Jews was Aramaic, a Semitic language closely related to Hebrew. European Jews were commonly considered an Oriental people in many of their host countries, a prominent example of this is Immanuel Kant, an who referred to European Jews as Palestinians living among us. Anyone born, after that date, of a Palestinian father—whether in Palestine or outside it—is also a Palestinian, additionally, The Jews who had normally resided in Palestine until the beginning of the Zionist invasion will be considered Palestinians. Yaakov Meir, the first Sephardic Chief Rabbi appointed in Mandatory Palestine and he spoke fluent Hebrew and encouraged the construction of new Jewish quarters of Jerusalem as well as the re-establishment of an Independent Israeli Jewish State. Ben-Zion Meir Hai Uziel, was the Sephardi chief rabbi of Mandatory Palestine from 1939 to 1948 and he served as a Mizrahi delegate to the Zionist Congress from 1925-46. As a religious Zionist, he believed in the redemption of Israel. Mordechai Eliyahu was a prominent rabbi, posek and spiritual leader and he served as the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1983 to 1993. Because Eliyahu was one of the leaders of the Religious Zionist movement he refused to use the term Palestinian. He was an opponent of the Gaza Disengagement of 2005 and supported Jewish settlements in Gaza
27.
Al-Aqsa Mosque
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Al-Aqsa Mosque, also known as Al-Aqsa and Bayt al-Muqaddas, is the third holiest site in Sunni Islam and is located in the Old City of Jerusalem. Muslims believe that Muhammad was transported from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to al-Aqsa during the Night Journey, Islamic tradition holds that Muhammad led prayers towards this site until the seventeenth month after the emigration, when God directed him to turn towards the Kaaba. The mosque was destroyed by an earthquake in 746 and rebuilt by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur in 754. His successor al-Mahdi rebuilt it again in 780, another earthquake destroyed most of al-Aqsa in 1033, but two years later the Fatimid caliph Ali az-Zahir built another mosque which has stood to the present day. When the Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, they used the mosque as a palace and the Dome of the Rock as a church, but its function as a mosque was restored after its recapture by Saladin in 1187. More renovations, repairs and additions were undertaken in the centuries by the Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ottomans, the Supreme Muslim Council. Today, the Old City is under Israeli control, but the remains under the administration of the Jordanian/Palestinian-led Islamic Waqf. Al-Masjid al-Aqsa translates from Arabic into English as the farthest mosque, for centuries, al-Masjid al-Aqsa referred not only to the mosque, but to the entire sacred sanctuary, while al-Jami al-Aqsa referred to the specific site of the mosque. This changed during the period of Ottoman rule when the complex came to be known as al-Haram al-Sharif. The al-Aqsa Mosque is located on the Temple Mount, referred to by Muslims today as the Haram al-Sharif, at the time of the Second Temple, the present site of the mosque was occupied by the Royal Stoa, a basilica running the southern wall of the enclosure. The Royal Stoa was destroyed along with the Temple during the sacking of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, however, remains identified as those of the Nea Church were uncovered in the south part of the Jewish Quarter in 1973. Analysis of the beams and panels removed from the mosque during renovations in the 1930s shows they are made from Cedar of Lebanon. Radiocarbon dating indicates a range of ages, some as old as 9th-century BCE. These included a mosaic like those used in Byzantine churches, the current construction of the al-Aqsa Mosque is dated to the early Umayyad period of rule in Palestine. However, Arculf visited Palestine during the reign of Muawiyah I and this latter claim is explicitly supported by the early Muslim scholar al-Muthahhar bin Tahir. According to several Muslim scholars, including Mujir ad-Din, al-Suyuti, and al-Muqaddasi, however, the entire Haram al-Sharif was meant to represent a mosque. The bridge would have spanned the street running just outside the wall of the Haram al-Sharif to give direct access to the mosque. Direct access from palace to mosque was a feature in the Umayyad period
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Basilica of the Annunciation
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This article refers to the basilica in Nazareth. For information on the associated with the Blagoveschenskaya Tower in Russia. The Church of the Annunciation, sometimes referred to as the Basilica of the Annunciation is a church in Nazareth. The church was established at the site where, according to Roman Catholic tradition, the current church is a two-story building constructed in 1969 over the site of an earlier Byzantine-era and then Crusader-era church. Inside, the level contains the Grotto of the Annunciation. Under Roman Catholic canon law, the church enjoys the status of a minor basilica, the first shrine was probably built sometime in the middle of the 4th century, comprising an altar in the cave in which Mary had lived. A larger structure was commissioned by Emperor Constantine I, who had directed his mother, Saint Helena, the Church of the Annunciation was founded around the same time as the Church of the Nativity and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Some version of it was known to have still been in existence around 570 AD, the second church was built over the ruins of the Byzantine era church during the Crusades, following the conquest of Nazareth by Tancred in 1102. The Crusader era church was never fully completed, saladin granted permission to Franciscan priests to remain in Nazareth to oversee services at the church. In 1260, Baybars and his Mamluk army destroyed the church during their attack on Nazareth, a small number of Franciscans managed to stay in Nazareth until the fall of Acre in 1291. In the three centuries that followed, the Franciscans were in and out of Nazareth, depending on the political situation. Franciscan accounts of this period document their expulsion in 1363, their return in 1468, local Christian families with Franciscan support helped take care of the church as well during this period. Emir Fakr ad-Din granted the Franciscans permission to return in 1620, in 1730, Zahir al-Umar permitted construction of a new church, which became a central gathering place for Nazareth Latin community. The church was enlarged in 1877, and then demolished in 1954 to allow for the construction of a new basilica. The new basilica was designed by the Italian architect Giovanni Muzio, used by the Latin parish, it remains under the control of the Franciscans. It is the largest Christian sanctuary in the Middle East, and was dedicated in 1964 by Pope Paul VI, in this Basilica is a gallery with mosaics representing some of the most important Marian devotions in different countries. Beyond the Basilica, Christians and Muslims in Nazareth, the Politics Behind the Construction of the Modern Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. The Catholic Historical Review, Volume 96, Number 1, January 2010, pp
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Cave of the Patriarchs
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According to tradition that has been associated with the Holy Books Torah, Bible and Quran, the cave and adjoining field were purchased by Abraham as a burial plot. The site of the Cave of the Patriarchs is located beneath a Saladin-era mosque, the only Jewish matriarch missing is Rachel, who is believed to be buried at Rachels Tomb near Bethlehem. The Arabic name of the complex reflects the prominence given to Abraham, revered by Muslims as a Quranic prophet, outside biblical and Quranic sources there are a number of legends and traditions associated with the cave. In Acts 7,16 of the Christian Bible the cave of the Patriarchs is located in Shechem, according to the Book of Genesis 23, 1–20, Sarah, the wife of Abraham, died in Kiryat-arba, the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan. Abraham the Hebrew was tending to business elsewhere when she died, at the age of 127 years, and he came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. After a while, he stood up and spoke to the sons of Heth and requested they give him a possession as a burying place, and then in verse 7 he again stood up to speak to them. Abraham then requested that Ephron the Hittite, the son of Zohar, give him the cave of Machpelah, in the end of his field, for as much money as it is worth. After Ephron confirmed that he would give the cave, in verse 11, Abraham further requested that he give him the field for money, Ephron agreed and named a price. The burial of Sarah is the first account of a burial in the Bible, the title deed to the cave was part of the property of Abraham that passed to his son Isaac in Genesis 25, 5–6. Isaac was 180 years old when he died, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him. As noted above, Isaac was 60 when they were born, so they were 120 years old here, Jacob died later at the age of 147 years. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, the purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth. And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people. In the final chapter of Genesis, Joseph had his physicians embalm his father, when Joseph died in the last verse, he was also embalmed. He was buried later in Shechem after the children of Israel came into the promised land. In Acts 7,16, Stephen claims that the cave of the Patriarchs is located in Shechem, herods building, with 6-foot-thick stone walls made from stones that were at least 3 feet tall and sometimes reach a length of 24 feet, did not have a roof. Archæologists are not certain where the entrance to the enclosure was located. Until the era of the Byzantine Empire, the interior of the enclosure remained exposed to the sky, under Byzantine rule, a simple basilica was constructed at the southeastern end and the enclosure was roofed everywhere except at the centre
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Church of the Holy Sepulchre
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The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, a few steps away from the Muristan. The tomb is enclosed by the 18th-century shrine, called the Aedicule, within the church proper are the last four Stations of the Via Dolorosa, representing the final episodes of Jesus Passion. The main denominations sharing property over parts of the church are the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Roman Catholic, and to a lesser degree the Egyptian Copts, Syriacs and Ethiopians. According to Eusebius of Caesarea, the Roman emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD built a dedicated to the goddess Venus in order to bury the cave in which Jesus had been buried. The first Christian emperor, Constantine the Great, ordered in about 325/326 that the temple be replaced by a church, during the building of the Church, Constantines mother, Helena, is believed to have rediscovered the tomb. Socrates Scholasticus, in his Ecclesiastical History, gives a description of the discovery. The remains are enveloped by a marble sheath placed some 500 years before to protect the ledge from Ottoman attacks. However, there are several thick window wells extending through the marble sheath and they appear to reveal an underlying limestone rock, which may be part of the original living rock of the tomb. The church was starting in 325/326, and was consecrated on 13 September 335. From pilgrim reports it seems that the housing the tomb of Jesus was freestanding at first. Each year, the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates the anniversary of the consecration of the Church of the Resurrection on 13 September and this building was damaged by fire in May of 614 when the Sassanid Empire, under Khosrau II, invaded Jerusalem and captured the True Cross. In 630, the Emperor Heraclius restored it and rebuilt the church after recapturing the city, after Jerusalem came under Arab rule, it remained a Christian church, with the early Muslim rulers protecting the citys Christian sites. A story reports that the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab visited the church and stopped to pray on the balcony and he feared that future generations would misinterpret this gesture, taking it as a pretext to turn the church into a mosque. Eutychius added that Umar wrote a decree prohibiting Muslims from praying at this location, the building suffered severe damage due to an earthquake in 746. Early in the century, another earthquake damaged the dome of the Anastasis. The damage was repaired in 810 by Patriarch Thomas, in the year 841, the church suffered a fire. In 935, the Orthodox Christians prevented the construction of a Muslim mosque adjacent the Church, in 938, a new fire damaged the inside of the basilica and came close to the rotunda. In 966, due to a defeat of Muslim armies in the region of Syria, the doors and roof were burnt, and the Patriarch John VII was murdered
31.
Church of the Nativity
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The Church of the Nativity is a basilica located in Bethlehem, in the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank. The Church of the Nativity sites original basilica was completed in 339, a new basilica was built 565 by Justinian, the Byzantine Emperor, restoring the architectural tone of the original. The site of the Church of the Nativity has had numerous additions since this second construction, due to its cultural and geographical history, the site holds a prominent religious significance to those of the Christian faith. The site of the Church of the Nativity is a World Heritage Site, the site is also on UNESCOs List of World Heritage in Danger. The holy site, known as the Grotto, that the Church of the Nativity sits atop, is associated with the cave in which the birth of Jesus of Nazareth is said to have occurred. In 135, Hadrian is said to have had the Christian site above the Grotto converted into a place for Adonis. Additionally, the Greek philosopher Origen of Alexandria wrote, In Bethlehem the cave is pointed out where He was born, and the manger in the cave where He was wrapped in swaddling clothes. And the rumor is in places, and among foreigners of the Faith. The first basilica on this site was begun by Saint Helena, under the supervision of Bishop Makarios of Jerusalem, the construction started in 327 and was completed in 333. Construction of this church was carried out as part of a larger project following the First Council of Nicaea during Constantines reign to build on the supposed sites of the life of Jesus. The structure was burnt down and destroyed in one of the Samaritan Revolts of 529 or 556, the current basilica was rebuilt in its present form in 565 by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. When the Persians under Chosroes II invaded in 614, they did not destroy the structure, according to legend, their commander Shahrbaraz was moved by the depiction inside the church of the Three Magi wearing Persian clothing, and commanded that the building be spared. Over the years, the compound has been expanded, and today it covers approximately 12,000 square meters. The theft in 1847 of the star marking the spot where Christ was born, was one of the direct causes for French involvement in the Crimean War against Russia. Until 1131, the Church of the Nativity was used as the coronation church for crusader kings. During this time, extensive decoration by the crusaders and various restorations of the basilica and this decoration and restoration process took place until 1169. The roof of the Church of the Nativity lay in poor condition after the desecration that occurred in April 1244 at the hands of the Khwarezmian Turks. In August 1448, the Duchy of Burgundy committed resources to the project, due to this worsening condition of the wooden Church roof, in 1480 an extensive roof reconstruction and renovation project took place on the Church of the Nativity
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Dome of the Rock
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The Dome of the Rock is an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The original dome collapsed in 1015 and was rebuilt in 1022–23, the Dome of the Rock is in its core one of the oldest extant works of Islamic architecture. The octagonal plan of the structure may also have influenced by the Byzantine Church of the Seat of Mary built between 451 and 458 on the road between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Herods Temple was destroyed in 70 CE by the Romans, and after the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 CE, Jerusalem was ruled by the Christian Byzantine Empire throughout the 4th to 6th centuries. During this time, Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem began to develop, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built under Constantine in the 320s, but the Temple Mount was left undeveloped after a failed project of restoration of the temple under Julian the Apostate. The Dome of the Rock is now assumed to have been built by the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik and his son. According to Sibt ibn al-Jawzi, construction started in 687, construction cost was reportedly seven times the yearly tax income of Egypt. A dedicatory inscription in Kufic script is preserved inside the dome, the date is recorded as AH72, the year historians believe the construction of the original Dome was completed. In this inscription, the name of al-Malik was deleted and replaced by the name of Abbasid caliph Al-Mamun and this alteration of the original inscription was first noted by Melchior de Vogüé in 1864. Some scholars have suggested that the dome was added to a building, built either by Muawiyah I, or indeed a Byzantine building dating to before the Muslim conquest. Its architecture and mosaics were patterned after nearby Byzantine churches and palaces, the two engineers in charge of the project were Raja ibn Haywah, a Muslim theologian from Beit Shean and Yazid Ibn Salam, a non-Arab who was Muslim and a native of Jerusalem. Creswell in his book The Origin of the Plan of the Dome of the Rock notes that those who built the shrine used the measurements of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The diameter of the dome of the shrine is 20.20 m and its height 20.48 m, while the diameter of the dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is 20.90 m and its height 21.05 m. It comprises a dome, approximately 20 m in diameter. Surrounding this circle is an arcade of 24 piers and columns. The original construction was surrounded by arcades, like the Dome of the Chain. Under Abbasid caliph Al-Mamun, a wall was added. The building was damaged by earthquakes in 808 and again in 846
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Great Mosque of Gaza
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The Great Mosque of Gaza also known as the Great Omari Mosque is the largest and oldest mosque in the Gaza Strip, located in Gazas old city. Described as beautiful by an Arab geographer in the 10th century, in 1149, the Crusaders built a cathedral dedicated to John the Baptist, but it was mostly destroyed by the Ayyubids in 1187, and then rebuilt as a mosque by the Mamluks in the early 13th century. It was destroyed by the Mongols in 1260, then soon restored only for it to be destroyed by an earthquake at the end of the century, the Great Mosque was restored again by the Ottomans roughly 300 years later. Severely damaged after British bombardment during World War I, the mosque was restored in 1925 by the Supreme Muslim Council, the Great Mosque is situated in the Daraj Quarter of the Old City in Downtown Gaza at the eastern end of Omar Mukhtar Street, southeast of Palestine Square. Gazas Gold Market is located adjacent to it on the side, while to the northeast is the Katib al-Wilaya Mosque and to the east. According to tradition, the stands on the site of the Philistine temple dedicated to Dagon—the god of fertility—which Samson toppled in the Book of Judges. Later, a dedicated to Marnas—god of rain and grain—was erected. Local legend today claims that Samson is buried under the present mosque, the building was constructed in 406 CE as a large Byzantine church by Empress Aelia Eudocia, although it is also a possible that the church was built by Emperor Marcian. The discovery of a 6th-century synagogue at the port of Gaza in the 1960s, however, make local re-use of this column much likelier. In addition to the inscription, the column depicted a menorah, a shofar, a lulav and etrog surrounded by a decorative wreath, the church appeared in the Map of Madaba mosaic, created in 600 CE. The Byzantine church was transformed into a mosque in the 7th century by Omar ibn al-Khattabs generals, the mosque is alternatively named al-Omari in honor of Omar ibn al-Khattab who was caliph during the Muslim conquest of Palestine. In 985, during Abbasid rule, Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi wrote that the Great Mosque was a beautiful mosque, on 5 December 1033, an earthquake caused the pinnacle of the mosques minaret to collapse. In 1149 the Crusaders, who had conquered Gaza in 1100, however, in William of Tyres descriptions of grand Crusader churches, it is not mentioned. Of the Great Mosques three aisles today, it is believed that portions of two of them had formed part of the Cathedral of John the Baptist, in 1187 the Ayyubids under Saladin wrested control of Gaza from the Crusaders and destroyed the cathedral. The Mamluks reconstructed the mosque in the 13th century, but in 1260 and it was rebuilt thereafter, but in 1294, an earthquake caused its collapse. Extensive renovations centered on the iwan were undertaken by the governor Sunqur al-Alai during the sultanate of Husam ad-Din Lajin between 1297-99, a later Mamluk governor of the city, Sanjar al-Jawli, commissioned the restoration of the Great Mosque sometime between 1311 and 1319. The Mamluks finally rebuilt the mosque completely in 1340, in 1355 Muslim geographer Ibn Battuta noted the mosques former existence as a fine Friday mosque, but also says that al-Jawlis mosque was well-built. Inscriptions on the bear the signatures of the Mamluk sultans al-Nasir Muhammad, Qaitbay, Qansuh al-Ghawri
34.
Joseph's Tomb
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One biblical tradition identifies the general area of Shechem as the resting-place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, and his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh. Multiple locations over the years have viewed as the legendary burial place of Joseph. Post-biblical records regarding the location of Josephs Tomb somewhere around this date from the beginning of the 4th-century AD. The present structure, a rectangular room with a cenotaph, dates from 1868. While some scholars, such as Kenneth Kitchen and James K. Hoffmeier affirm the historicity of the biblical account of Joseph, others. Redford, argue that the story itself has ‘no basis in fact’, the lack of Jewish or Christian sources prior to the 5th century that mention the tomb indicates that prior to the 4th century it was a Samaritan site. Samaritan sources tell of struggles between Samaritans and Christians who wished to remove Josephs bones, at key points in its long history, a site thought to be Josephs Tomb in this area witnessed intense sectarian conflict. Samaritans and Christians disputing access and title to the site in the early Byzantine period often engaged in violent clashes, after Israel captured the West Bank in 1967, Muslims were prohibited from worship at the shrine and it was gradually turned into a Jewish prayer room. Interreligious friction and conflict from competing Jewish and Muslim claims over the tomb became frequent, though it fell under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian National Authority following the signing of the Oslo Accords, it remained under IDF guard with Muslims prohibited from praying there. At the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000, just after being handed over to the PNA, following the reoccupation of Nablus during Israels Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, Jewish groups returned there intermittently. Between 2009 and 2010 the structure was refurbished, with a new cupola installed, the Torah provides four details regarding the traditions surrounding Joseph’s remains. The account in Genesis relates that, before his death, he had his brothers swear they would carry his bones out of Egypt to Canaan and he is then said to have been embalmed then placed in a coffin in Egypt. In Exodus, we are told that Moses fulfilled the pledge by taking Josephs bones with him when he left Egypt, in Joshua, Joseph’s bones are said to have been brought from Egypt by the Children of Israel and interred in Shechem. Joshua 24,32. The Bible does not identify a site in Shechem where his bones were laid to rest. The Genesis Rabba, a Jewish text written c, 400–450 CE, states that a burial site in Shechem is one of three for which the nations of the world cannot ridicule Israel and say you have stolen them, it having been purchased by Jacob. The rabbis also suggest that Joseph instructed his brothers to him in Shechem since it was from there he was taken. Other Jewish sources have him buried either in Safed, or, the Quran itself does not mention details of Josephs burial. Ali of Herat, Yaqut and Ibn Battuta all conserve both the Nablus and Hebron traditions, later Muslim chroniclers also mention a third site purporting to be the authentic tomb, near Beit Ijza
35.
Bani Na'im
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Bani Naim is a Palestinian town in the southern West Bank located 8 kilometers east of Hebron in the Hebron Governorate. Known as Brekke in the era, it was later referred to as Caphar Barucha in the 4th century. The town is best known as the place of Lot. Following the Muslim conquest, its name was Arabized as Kafr al-Barik, the tomb of Lot was turned into a mosque during Islamic rule and remained so under Crusader rule. Later, the Arab tribe of Bani Nuaym settled there, giving the town its current name Bani Naim, Bani Naim grew in population during the British Mandate for Palestine. It joined the 1936–39 Arab revolt as the site of a battle between the irregular Palestinian Arab forces of Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni and the British Army, following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Bani Naim was annexed by Jordan. It came under Israeli occupation after Israel captured the West Bank during the Six-Day War in 1967, in 1997, Bani Naim was transferred to Palestinian administration and consequently became a municipality. Today, it serves as a center for Hebron area villages. The town had a population of 20,084 inhabitants in 2007 and it is situated at a higher elevation than most localities in the area, with an altitude of 951 meters. Bani Naim was known as Brekke in pre-Ancient Roman times, biblical scholar Edward Robinson identified the site with Caphor Barucha mentioned by Saint Jerome as the burial place of Lot in the 4th century CE. The modern town was built on the Roman Jewish village of Kfar Brosha, Jerome wrote that Saint Paula, departing from Hebron, stopped upon the height of Caphar Barucha and looked upon the surrounding region, remembering Lot. According to tradition, Abraham observed the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah from that location, following the Muslim conquest of Syria in the mid-7th century, the village was known as Kafr Breik or Kafr al-Barik. Ali of Herat passed through the village in 1173 CE, noting that it was near Hebron and the burial place of Lot. Along with the town of Dura, Kafr al-Barik became a part of the waqf for the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron on orders from the Ayyubid ruler of Damascus, al-Muazzam Isa on May 2,1215. He noted that Lots tomb was a site of visitation and veneration from ancient times, in 1517 the town was annexed to the Ottoman Empire along with the rest of the Levant. Both the names Kafr Burayk and Nabi Naim were indicated for the village in the Ottoman tax registers of 1596 and it had a population of 42 Muslim households and paid taxes on wheat, barley, vineyards or fruit trees, grape syrup or molasses, and goats or beehives. The name Bani Naim was used by Muslim scholar Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi in 1690 during Ottoman rule and he wrote that the village had been known as Kafr al-Barik and now it is known as Qaryat Bani Nuaym in a diminutive form. It received this name from the Arab tribe of Bani Nuaym, also referred to as Bani Naim, until the end of the 19th century, the early Arabic name was used by the residents and Western travelers
36.
Nabi Samwil
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An-Nabi Samwil also al-Nabi Samuil is a Palestinian village of nearly 220 inhabitants in the West Bank, within the Jerusalem Governorate, located four kilometers north of Jerusalem. The village consists of a few houses and in addition to serving worshipers, Nabi Samwil is situated atop of a mountain,890 meters above sea level, four kilometers north of the Jerusalem neighborhood Shuafat and southwest of Ramallah in the Seam Zone. Nearby localities include Beit Iksa to the south, al Jib to the north, Beit Hanina to the east, the village consists of 1,592 dunams of which only 5 dunams are built-up. The village is held to contain the tomb of the prophet Samuel. The tomb is draped by cloth and is located in a cellar in Nabi Samwils large turreted mosque. A monastery was built by the Byzantines at Nabi Samwil, serving as a hostel for Christian pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, the monastery was restored and enlarged during the reign of Justinian I in the mid-6th-century CE. Since then, the site has been a place of pilgrimage for Jews, Christians, the tomb continued to be in use throughout the early Arab period of rule in Palestine from the 7th to 10th centuries. The Sultan asked the owner to describe the village, at which the owner enumerated the ills of the place After hearing this the ruler exclaimed Begone and we have no need for your village. 13th-century Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi, describes Mar Samwil or Maran Samwil as a town in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. Mar in Syriac signifies al-Kass, the priest, and Samwil is the name of the Doctors of Law, during Islamic times, Nabi Samwil became center for pottery production, supplying nearby Jerusalem, as well as Ramla and Caesarea. In 1099, the Crusaders conquered Palestine from the Arab Fatimids and received their first view of Jerusalem from the mountain upon which Nabi Samwil is built and they soon constructed a fortress there to fend off Muslim raiding of Jerusalems northern approaches as well as to shelter pilgrim convoys. A 6th-century Christian author identified the site as Samuels burial place, according to the Bible, however, the prophet is buried at his hometown, Ramah, to the east of the hill which is located near Geba while this site is identified as Mizpah in Benjamin. As Judas Machabeus, preparing for war with the Syrians, gathered his men to Maspha, over against Jerusalem and he wrote that a church dedicated to St. Samuel of Shiloh had been built on the hill. This may refer to the church of St. Samuel built by Premonstratensian canons. In 1157, they constructed a church at Samuels tomb, king Baldwin II of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem entrusted Nabi Samwil to Cistercians religious order, who built a monastery there and then handed it over to the Premonstratensians in the 1120s. After the Ayyubids under Saladin conquered much of interior Palestine in 1187, in 1192, Richard the Lionheart reached Nabi Samwil, but did not take it. In the later Middle Ages, during the Mamluk period, Christian pilgrims continued to visit the site, including the known as John Mandeville. Jewish pilgrimage, which favoured visits in April and May each year, resumed after the Ayyubids conquered the area, in the 15th-century, Jews built a synagogue adjacent to the mosque and resumed pilgrimages to the site after losing that privilege during the Crusader era
37.
Rachel's Tomb
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Rachels Tomb is the site revered as the burial place of the Hebrew matriarch Rachel. The tomb, located at the entrance of Bethlehem, is considered holy to Jews, Christians. Since the mid-1990s the site has been referred to by Palestinians as the Bilal bin Rabah mosque, the burial place of the matriarch Rachel as mentioned in the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Old Testament, and in Muslim literature is contested between this site and several others to the north. Although this site is considered unlikely to be the site of the grave. The earliest extra-biblical records describing this tomb as Rachels burial place date to the first decades of the 4th century CE, the structure in its current form dates from the Ottoman period, and is situated in an Ottoman-period Muslim cemetery. When Sir Moses Montefiore renovated the site in 1841 and obtained the keys for the Jewish community, he added an antechamber, including a mihrab for Muslim prayer. Following the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in 1967, though not initially falling within Area C, Rachels tomb is the third holiest site in Judaism and has become one of the cornerstones of Jewish-Israeli identity. According to Genesis 35,20, a mazzebah was erected at the site of Rachels grave in ancient Israel, according to Martin Gilbert, Jews have made pilgrimage to the tomb since ancient times. The first historically recorded pilgrimages to the site were by early Christians, throughout history, the site was rarely considered a shrine exclusive to one religion and is described as being held in esteem equally by Jews, Muslims, and Christians. In 2005, following Israeli approval on 11 September 2002, the Israeli West Bank barrier was built around the tomb, effectively annexing it to Jerusalem. A2005 report from OHCHR Special Rapporteur John Dugard noted that, Although Rachel’s Tomb is a site holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians, it has effectively closed to Muslims. On October 21,2015, UNESCO adopted a resolution reaffirming a 2010 statement that Rachels Tomb was. On 22 October 2015, the tomb was separated from the rest of Bethlehem with a series of concrete barriers, in rabbinical tradition the duality is resolved by using two different terms in Hebrew to designate these different localities. In the Hebrew version given in Genesis, Rachel and Jacob journey from Shechem to Hebron, a distance from Ephrath. She dies on the way giving birth to Benjamin, And Rachel died, and was buried on the way to Ephrath, and Jacob set a pillar upon her grave, that is the pillar of Rachels grave unto this day. The Judean scribal gloss which is Bethlehem was added to distinguish it from a similar toponym Ephrathah in the Bethlehem region, at 1 Samuel 10,2, Rachels tomb is located in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah. In the period of the monarchy down to the exile, it would follow, the indications for this are based on 1 Sam 10,2 and Jer. 31,15, which give a location north of Jerusalem, in the vicinity of ar-Ram, biblical Ramah
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Culture of Palestine
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The Culture of Palestine is the culture of the Palestinian people, located across Historic Palestine as well as in the Palestinian diaspora. Palestinian culture is influenced by the diverse cultures and religions which have existed in historic Palestine. New styles began to appear the 1960s, for example, the six-branched dress named after the six wide bands of embroidery running down from the waist. These styles came from the camps, particularly after 1967. Individual village styles were lost and replaced by an identifiable Palestinian style, the shawal, a style popular in the West Bank and Jordan before the First Intifada, probably evolved from one of the many welfare embroidery projects in the refugee camps. It was a shorter and narrower fashion, with a western cut, Dabke, is an Arab folk dance native to the Levant countries. It is popular in Palestinian culture, and many perform the dance throughout the world. The Dabke is marked by synchronized jumping, stamping, and movement, formulaic elements of the stories share much in common with the wider Arab world, though the rhyming scheme is distinct. There are a cast of characters, Jinss and Djinns who can cross the Seven Seas in an instant, giants. Traditional Palestinian songs have no set lyrics but rather a set rhythm to them, a form of this style of folk singing is Ataaba, it consists of 4 verses, following a specific form and meter. The distinguishing feature of ataaba is that the first three end with the same word meaning three different things, and the fourth verse serves as a conclusion. The Ataaba continues to be performed at weddings and festivals in Arab localities in Israel, other traditional Palestinian song styles include zajal, Bein Al-dawai, Al-Rozana, Zarif – Al-Toul, Al-Maijana, Sahja/Saamir and Zaghareed. Over three decades, the Palestinian National Music and Dance Troupe and Mohsen Subhi have reinterpreted and rearranged traditional wedding songs such as Mishal, Marj Ibn Amer, traditional Palestinian architecture covers a vast historical time frame and a number of different styles and influences over the ages. The urban architecture of Palestine prior to 1850 was relatively sophisticated, nonetheless, the Palestinian townhouse shared in the same basic conceptions regarding the arrangement of living space and apartment types commonly seen throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. Palestinian athletes have competed at every Olympic Games since the 1996 Summer Olympics, the Palestinian Olympic committee did not work with the Israeli Olympic committee to train for the 2012 Olympic games, and participation in the 2013 Mediterranean Games. There is a West Bank Premier League, and Gaza Strip League, the Palestine national football team played Afghanistan in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. They visited Australia for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, the Beit Jala Lions is a West Bank Rugby Union team. The Turmus Aya Equestrian Club, established in 2007, is a club dedicated to the mission of providing affordable access to horses for Palestinians
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Palestinian art
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Palestinian art is a term used to refer to paintings, posters, installation art and other visual media produced by Palestinian artists. While the term has also used to refer to ancient art produced in the geographical region of Palestine. Contemporary Palestinian art finds its roots in art and traditional Christian. After the Nakba of 1948, nationalistic themes have predominated as Palestinian artists use diverse media to express and explore their connection to identity, before 1948, most Palestinian artists were self-taught, painting landscapes and religious scenes in imitation of the European style. Art exhibitions were almost unheard of, notable artists of this era include Khalil Halaby, Nahil Bishara and Faddoul Odeh. Jamal Badran was a leading artist in the Islamic style, sophie Halaby studied in France and Italy before returning to teach at the Schmidt Girls College in 1935-1955. One of the earliest artists to add a dimension to his works was Nicola Saig. While most of the art in his day explored religious themes and non-controversial issues, caliph Umar at Jerusalem Gates c. 1920, for example, seems to recount a popular legend about Umar bloodlessly taking over Jerusalem. After 1948, Ismail Shammout, Naji al-ali, Mustafa al-Hallaj, Abdul Hay Mosallam and Paul Guiragossian tackled the painful memories of the Nabka showing massacres, refugees, according to Tal Ben Zvi, Palestinian artists after 1948 reside in four geographical territories and have no art colleges. Palestinian artist and art historian Kamal Boullata describes place as one of the major components of Palestinian art throughout its history. Proximity and distance from the historical Palestinian homeland and the relationship between the artist and his current place of residence is the key element moving Palestinian art, before 1948, Jerusalem was an important theme. After 1948, memory of place and distance from homeland became a central theme, even Palestinian artists born and raised in Israel explore alienation and a sense of growing up as foreigners in the land of their ancestors. The question of memory and belonging is a recurrent theme. Key iconic symbols are keys and doors, likewise the cactus tree plays a prominent role. The horse came to mean revolution, the flute came to mean the tune of the ongoing resistance. The wedding came to mean the entire Palestinian cause, the key came to mean the right of return. The sun came to mean freedom, the gun with a dove came to mean that peace would come after the struggle for liberation
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Cinema of Palestine
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Cinema of Palestine is relatively young in comparison to Arab cinema as a whole, many Palestinian movies are made with European and Israeli funding and support. Palestinian movies are not exclusively produced in Arabic and some are made in English, French, the result was a silent movie that was presented at the Nabi Rubin festivals. Following this documentary, Sirhan joined Jamal al-Asphar to produce a 45-minute film called The Realized Dreams, Sirhan and al-Asphar also produced a documentary about Ahmad Hilmi Pasha, a member of the Higher Arab Commission. In 1945 Sirhan established the Arab Film Company production studio together with Ahmad Hilmi al-Kilani, the company launched the feature film Holiday Eve, which was followed by preparations for the next film A Storm at Home. The films themselves were lost in 1948, when Sirhan had to flee Jaffa after the town was bombarded, the 1948 Palestinian exodus had a devastating effect on the Palestinian society, including its nascent film industry. Cinematic endeavours, requiring infrastructure, professional crews, and finance, individual Palestinian participated in the film-production of neighbouring countries. After 1967 Palestinian cinema was founded under the auspices of the PLO, funded by Fatah, more than 60 films were made in this period, mostly documentaries. The first film festival dedicated to Palestinian films was held in Baghdad in 1973, mustafa Abu Ali was one of the early Palestinian film directors, and he helped found the Palestinian Cinema Association in Beirut in 1973. Only one dramatic movie was made during the period, namely The return to Haifa in 1982, the different organisations set up archives for Palestinian films. The largest such archive was run by PLOs Film Foundation/Palestinian Film Unit, in 1982, when the PLO was forced out of Beirut, the archive was in storage, from where it disappeared under circumstances which are still unclear. The 1996 drama/comedy Chronicle of a Disappearance received international critical acclaim, a break-out film for its genre, it won a New Directors Prize at the Seattle International Film Festival and a Luigi De Laurentiis Award at the Venice Film Festival. In 2008, three Palestinian feature films and an estimated eight shorts were completed, more than ever before, in 2010, Hamas, the governing authority in the Gaza Strip, announced the completion of a new film. Titled The Great Liberation, the film depicts the destruction of Israel by Palestinians, currently in the Gaza Strip, all film projects must be approved by Hamas Culture Ministry before they can be screened in public. Independent filmmakers have claimed that the Culture Ministry cracks down on content not conforming to Hamas edicts, in a notable 2010 case, Hamas banned the short film Something Sweet, directed by Khalil al-Muzzayen, which was submitted at the Cannes Film Festival. Hamas banned it from being shown locally due to a scene where a woman is shown with her hair uncovered. In 2011, a festival hosted by the Gaza Womens Affairs Center which included documentaries and fictional pieces on womens issues. One film had to remove a scene where a woman lowered one shoulder of her dress, olive Harvest, The Arnas Children Jeremy Hardy vs. the Israeli Army Women in Struggle Waiting Paradise Now The Color of Olives Iron Wall Goal Dreams First Picture Marias Grotto Kaffa. Salt of this Sea Taste the Revolution The View Till When, spider Web Beyond the Sun cup final takes place during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon
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Palestinian costumes
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Palestinian costumes are the traditional clothing worn by Palestinians. Foreign travelers to Palestine in the 19th and early 20th centuries often commented on the variety of the costumes worn. Many of the garments were richly embroidered and the creation. Munayyer says that from 1200 BC to 1940 AD, all Palestinian dresses were cut from natural fabrics in a similar A-line shape with triangular sleeves. This shape is known to archaeologists as the Syrian tunic and appears in such as an ivory engraving from Megiddo dating to 1200 BC. In their length, fullness, and use of pattern these modern garments bear a resemblance to the costumes of West Asiatic people seen in ancient Egyptian and Assyrian monuments. The shift from woven to embroidered designs was made possible by artisanal manufacture of needles in Damascus in the 8th century. Embroidered dress sections, like the square chest piece and decorated back panel prevalent in Palestinian dresses, are found in costume from 13th century Andalusia. Each village in Palestine had motifs that served as identifying markers for local women, common patterns included the eight-pointed star, the moon, birds, palm leaves, stairs, and diamonds or triangles used as amulets to ward off the evil eye. Traditionally, Palestinian society has been divided into three groups, villagers, townspeople, and Bedouins, Palestinian costumes reflected differences in the physical and social mobility enjoyed by men and women in these different groups in Palestinian society. The villagers, referred to in Arabic as fellaheen, lived in isolation, so that the older. The specificity of local village designs was such that, A Palestinian womans village could be deduced from the embroidery on her dress, by the early 20th century, well to-do women in the cities had mostly adopted a Western style of dress. Due to their nomadic life-style, Bedouin costume reflected tribal affiliations, as in most of the Middle East, clothing for men had a more uniform style than womens clothing. Woolen fabrics for use were produced by weavers in Majdal, Bethlehem, Ramallah. The wool could be sheep, goats or camels. Weaving among the Bedouins was and is traditionally carried out by women to create domestic items, such as tents, rugs. Thread is spun from wool, colored with natural dyes. Linen woven on hand-looms and cotton were mainstay fabrics for embroidered garments, fabrics could be left uncoloured or dyed various colours, the most popular being deep blue using indigo, others being black, red and green
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Palestinian cuisine
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It is similar to other Levantine cuisines, including Lebanese, Syrian and Jordanian. Cooking styles vary by region and each type of cooking style, rice and variations of kibbee are common in the Galilee. The West Bank engages primarily in heavier meals involving the use of bread, rice and meat and coastal plain inhabitants frequent fish, other seafood. The Gaza cuisine is a variation of the Levant cuisine, but is more diverse in seafood, Gazas inhabitants heavily consume chili peppers too. Meals are usually eaten in the household but dining out has become prominent particularly during parties where light meals like salads, bread dips, the area is also home to many desserts, ranging from those made regularly and those that are commonly reserved for the holidays. Most Palestinian sweets are pastries filled with either sweetened cheeses, dates or various nuts such as almonds, beverages could also depend on holidays such as during Ramadan, where carob, tamarind and apricot juices are consumed at sunset. The region of the southern Levant has a varied past and as such, after the area was conquered by the Muslims, it became part of a Bilad al-Sham under the name Jund Filastin. Therefore, many aspects of Palestinian cuisine are similar to the cuisine of Syria—especially in the Galilee, modern Syrian-Palestinian dishes have been generally influenced by the rule of three major Islamic groups, the Arabs, the Persian-influenced Arabs and the Turks. The Arabs that conquered Syria and Palestine initially had simple culinary traditions primarily based on the use of rice, lamb, yogurt and dates. This cuisine did not advance for centuries until the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate, the Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi said this of Palestines foods, From Palestine comes olives, dried figs, raisins, the carob fruit. From Jerusalem comes cheeses and the celebrated raisins of the known as Ainuni and Duri. Also pine nuts of the kind called Kuraish-bite, and their equal is not found elsewhere, from Sughar and Baysan come dates, the treacle called Dibs. The cuisine of the Ottoman Empire—which incorporated Palestine in 1516—was partially made up of what had become, by then a rich Arab cuisine. After the Crimean War, in 1855, many communities including Bosnians, Greeks, French and Italians began settling in the area especially in urban centers such as Jerusalem, Jaffa. These communities cuisines contributed to the character of Palestinian cuisine, especially communities from the Balkans, until around the 1950s-60s, the main ingredients for rural Palestinian cuisine was olive oil, oregano and bread baked in a simple oven called a taboon. Author G. Robinson Lees, writing in 1905, observed that The oven is not in the house, it has a building of its own, there are three primary culinary regions of Palestine—the Galilee, Gaza and the West Bank. In the Galilee, bulgur and meat are primary ingredients that are combined to form several variations of dishes ranging from a family-sized meal to a side dish. However, in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the populations have a style of their own
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Dabke
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Dabke, is an Arab folk dance native to the Levant countries. It is performed in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Hatay, Dabke combines circle dance and line dancing and is widely performed at weddings and other joyous occasions. The line forms from right to left, the leader of the dabke heads the line, alternating between facing the audience and the other dancers. In English, its name is also transliterated dabka, dabki, the Palestinian dabkeh jumps may or may not have origins in age-old Canaanite fertility rites which reflected the increasing growth of plants. They were used to scare away evil forces and to protect the security, according to Yazbec, the Phoenicians were the first teachers of the dance in the world, and the dabke is a representative descendant of the Phoenician dances. According to one tradition, the dance originated in the Levant where houses were built from stone with a roof made of wood, straw. The dirt roof had to be compacted which required stomping the dirt hard in a way to compact it evenly. This event of cooperation is called taawon and from here comes the word awneh and this developed into the song Ala Dalouna, roughly translated, Lets go and help. The dabke and the songs go together in an attempt to keep the work fun. In Jordan there are around 19 types of The Jordanian Dabke, habel Mwadea’ is the Jordanian dabke of any type performed by men and women jointly. Another type is the dabke niswaniyyah, danced specifically by women, each type of dabke dance has its own corresponding set of songs, the theme of which is often love. There are six types of dabke, Al-Shamaliyya, is probably the most famous type of dabke. It consists of a lawweeh at the head of a group of men holding hands, the lawweeh is expected to be particularly skilled in accuracy, ability to improvise, and quickness. Typically, the dabke begins with a musician playing a solo on the mijwiz or yarghoul of a Dal Ouna piece, the dancers develop a synchronized movement and step and when the singers finish their song, the lawweeh breaks from the semicircle to dance on his own. When the leader of the sees that the mens steps are one, in sync, he instructs the dancers to slow down. The lawweeh continues to inform the dancers of their basic rhythms, al-Sha’rawiyya, is limited to men and is characterized by strong steps or stomps. The lawweeh is the most important element in this type of dabke, al-Karaadiyya, is characterized by a lack of a lawweeh and slow movement with an azif in the middle of the circle. Al-Farah, is one of the most active types of dabke, al-Ghazal, is characterized by three strong stomps of the right foot, and is usually tiring for those dancing
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Palestinian handicrafts
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Palestinian handicrafts are handicrafts produced by Palestinian people. A wide variety of handicrafts, many of which have produced by Arabs in Palestine for hundreds of years. Palestinian handicrafts include embroidery work, pottery-making, soap-making, glass-making, weaving, an exclusively female artistic tradition, embroidery has been a key feature of traditional Palestinian costumes for hundreds of years. Two main types of embroidery are tatreez and tahriri, the production of cloth for traditional Palestinian costumes and for export throughout the Arab world was a key industry of the destroyed village of Majdal. Majdalawi weaving, as the technique is known, is woven by a weaver on a single treadle loom, using black and indigo cotton threads combined with fuchsia. Gaza itself was a center for production, famous for a fine silk produced there that was known as gazzatum. Imported to Europe as early as the 13th century, this later gave its name to the loose weave fabric known today as gauze. Bedouin weaving is traditionally carried out by women to create household items suited for the life in the desert. The thread is spun from wool, colored with natural dyes, and woven into a fabric using a ground loom and the strong fabric produced is used for tents, rugs, pillows. A key Hebron industry, glass has been produced in the city since the Roman rule in Palestine, according to the Bethlehem municipality, olive-wood carving is thought to have begun in Bethlehem in the 4th century CE, following the construction of the Church of the Nativity. At the time, Christian monks taught how to make craft to the citys residents, though its exact origins are obscure, one of the earliest olive-wood handicrafts were rosary beads carved from olive pits. Olive-wood is ideal for craft-making being resistant to decay and receptive to a number of surfacing treatments, the wood is usually carved using simple hand tools. Today, rough cutting is carried out using machines programmed with a model, though fine work, such as work with facial structures. Olive-wood carvings are largely purchased by tourists and are important to Bethlehems economic industry, biblical scenes depicting Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the three Magi are also integrated into their work. Palestinian pottery shows a remarkable continuity throughout the ages, modern Palestinian pots, bowls, jugs and cups, particularly those produced prior to the establishment of Israel in 1948, are similar in shape, fabric and decoration to their ancient equivalents. Cooking pots, jugs, mugs and plates that are still hand-made and fired in open, charcoal-fuelled kilns as in ancient times in historic villages like al-Jib, Beitin, Nabulsi soap is a type of castile soap produced only in Nablus in the West Bank. An olive oil-based soap, it is made up of three ingredients, virgin olive oil, water, and a sodium compound. Nabulsi workers who make the soap are proud of its unique smell, long reputed to be a fine product, since as early as the 10th century, Nabulsi soap has been exported across the Arab world and even to Europe
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Palestinian literature
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Palestinian literature refers to the Arabic language novels, short stories and poems produced by Palestinians. References to the subjects of resistance to occupation, exile, loss, Palestinian literature is one of numerous Arabic literatures, but its affiliation is national, rather than territorial. While Egyptian literature is written in Egypt, Jordanian literature is that written in Jordan etc. Additionally, Palestinian Literature spoke to other causes of oppression and discrimination across the world and this sense of international solidarity can also be found in Palestinian poets work such as in Mahmoud Darwishs poem Cuban Chants, And the banner in Cuba. The rebel raises it in the Aures, oh a nation that feels cold, and in Samih Al-Qasims poem, Birds Without Wings. Hannah Amit-Kochavi recognizes only two branches, that written by Palestinians from inside the State of Israel as distinct from that written outside and she also posits a temporal distinction between literature produced before 1948 and that produced thereafter. However, Maurice Ebileeni argues that a branch referring exclusively to anglophone literary works is not sufficient. There is also resistance to school of thought, whereby Palestinian artists have rebelled against the demand that their art be committed. Poet Mourid Barghouti for example, has said that poetry is not a civil servant, its not a soldier. Poetry, using classic pre-Islamic forms, remains a popular art form. Until 20 years ago, local folk bards reciting traditional verses were a feature of every Palestinian town, after the 1948 Palestinian exodus, poetry was transformed into a vehicle for political activism. The work of poets was largely unknown to the wider Arab world for years because of the lack of diplomatic relations between Israel and Arab governments. The situation changed after Ghassan Kanafani, another Palestinian writer in exile in Lebanon published an anthology of their work in 1966, the work of Nathalie Handal an award-winning poet, playwright, and writer appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines. She has been translated into twelve languages, Palestinian poets often write about the common theme of a strong affection and sense of loss and longing for a lost homeland. The art of story telling is part of the life in Arabic speaking countries. The tradition of “Tales From a Thousand and One Nights” is not an exception, in Palestine in each small town or village an itinerant story teller or hakawatis would visit and tell the stories they knew. The tales of the hakawatis once told for all ages are now emerging from the Palestinian Diaspora as children’s books, « Critiques littéraires »,2009. net Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa review
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Music of Palestine
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The music of Palestine is one of many regional subgenres of Arabic music. While it shares much in common with Arabic music, both structurally and instrumentally, there are forms and subject matter that are distinctively Palestinian. In the areas now controlled by both Israel and the Palestinian National Authority, multiple groups and religions have long held on to a diversity of cultures. Palestinians constituted the largest group, followed by Jews, Egyptians, Cypriots, Samaritans, Circassians Armenians, Dom, wasif Jawhariyyeh was one oud player, famous for his post 1904-diary. Early in the 20th century, Palestinians lived in rural areas, the fellahin sang a variety of work songs, used for tasks like fishing, shepherding, harvesting and making olive oil. Traveling storytellers and musicians called zajaleen were also common, known for their epic tales, weddings were also home to distinctive music, especially the dabke, a complex dance performed by linked groups of dancers. Popular songs made use of varying forms, particularly the mejana and dalona. After the creation of Israel in 1948, large numbers of Arab Palestinians fled to, or were forced into, refugee camps in the West Bank, the most popular recorded musicians at the time were the superstars of Arab classical music, especially Umm Kulthum and Sayed Darwish. The centers for Palestinian music were in the Palestinian towns of Nazareth and Haifa, in the 1970s, a new wave of popular Palestinian stars emerged, including Sabreen and Al Ashiqeen. In the 1990s, the Palestinian National Authority was established, wedding bands, which had all but disappeared during the fighting, reappeared to perform popular Egyptian and Lebanese songs. The Diaspora Palestinian Reem Kelani is one of the foremost researchers and performers in the present day of music with a specifically Palestinian narrative, all the songs on the album relate to pre-1948 Palestine. A large part of Palestinian music includes wedding songs and dancers, due to the large amount of weddings in Palestinian culture, wedding singers have been able to maintain the tradition of Palestinian songs whilst incorporating modern vocals and rhythms. Wedding singers draw from a repertoire of ceremonial material including henna songs sung at the ceremony, wedding processionals. As might be expected, much of it deals with the struggle of living under Israeli occupation, the longing for peace, and the love of the land of Palestine. A typical example of such a song is Baladi, Baladi, struggle, revolution, do not die, For the storm is on the land. Zareef et Tool is one of the most popular Palestinian songs of today, the song encourages Palestinians not to leave their homeland. رايح عالغربة و بلادك أحسنلك خايف يا زريف تروح و تتملك, the singers are usually family members or close friends that make up the lyrics on the spot. At modern Palestinian events there may be a singer but the forms mentioned below
