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.”
Jewish migration from eastern and
central Europe surged from 1922 to 1947 as Jews fled
persecution and the destruction of their communities during the interwar period
and during World War II. By the end of the Holocaust, more than 6 million
European Jews had been murdered, and many survivors were left stateless.
As the
number of Jewish immigrants increased, many Palestinians were displaced. They
began pushing back and violence resulted.
In
1929, 67 Jews were killed in the Hebron massacre, part of Palestinian riots
against Jewish immigration in Palestine.
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