The Israel – Palestine conflict is rooted in pre-biblical times. Though its borders have shifted over the years, Palestinian territories used to be what is now Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.
Both
Israeli Jews’ and Palestinian Arabs’ history, culture, and identity are linked
to the Palestinian territories and to the
ancient city of Jerusalem, “one of the most bitterly contested cities on
earth,” according to The Associated Press.
The
Ottoman Empire controlled the region for about 400 years before its defeat,
along with Germany, in World War I. Britain was given control of
Palestine by the League of
Nations in 1920, under an order called the British Mandate.
In
1917, the British government signaled its support for the establishment of a Jewish state in
Israel with the Balfour Declaration.
While the declaration stated support, it also said that “nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestinian territories, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”
