Introduction to Palestine
As one of the most famous lands in the world, you might know Palestine as the birthplace of Jesus, or as a holy land to the three major Abrahamic religions that represent nearly half of the global population. If you are an adherent to mainstream media, you probably see it as a land gridlocked in a constant state of conflict. Regardless of perspective, one thing can certainly be agreed on- the region of Palestine has a rich cultural history that dates back over 4,000 years.

Historical Overview:

Pre-History

Palestine, first known as the region of Canaan, is a strategically placed strip of land located between three different continents (Africa, Europe, and Asia; also called the Levant) that served as a historical crossroads for trade, religion, culture, and politics. Between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, Canaan displayed some of the earliest evidence of agricultural communities and small villages (10,000 to 5,000 BCE).

Bronze Age & Egypt
The emergence of the first Canaanite cities were seen as early as 3100 BCE, engaging in trade and diplomatic relations with – and heavily influenced by - ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia (Iraq), Phoenicia (Lebanon), and Syria. After the Bronze Age (from 1550 to 1200 BCE), Canaan became a vassal for the New Kingdom of Egypt, and essentially reported to the pharaohs of Egypt during that given period.
Emergence of Philistines & Israelites Likely branching out from the indigenous Canaanite populations, Canaan became home for the Israelites (where the name “Israel” stems from) and Philistines (where the name “Palestine” stems from) as early as 1200 BCE. Two kingdoms, Israel and Judah, emerged as the leading power during this period, later becoming a vassal state to Assyria and falling to Assyrian invasions in 720 BCE when the Assyrian king became discontent with his vassal states.

Palestine as a Jewish and Christian Vassal State
The Assyrian empire slowly went into a decline, and by 601 BCE, Palestine became yet another vassal state for Babylon. During the Babylonian period, the written history of Judaism began to emerge, informing us of its key texts and significance in the Canaan region. This lasted until Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539 BCE, making Palestine a vassal state of the Persian empire. The Babylonian empire exiled many of those living in Judah and Israel during their rule, but the Persians allowed them back in (who then come to be known as Jews), endorsing Judaism as the religion of the region. During what was known as the Hellenistic period, Alexander the Great then conquered Palestine as part of the Macedonian Empire. His death led to the land being divided into smaller territories under the control of his many generals until the Romans made the Jewish kingdom their client in 63 BCE. Direct Roman rule was established in 6 CE, which led to growing tensions with the Jewish communities who yearned independence from the Roman rulers. In 66 CE, the first Jewish-Roman war commenced, leading the Romans to win and capture Jerusalem in 70 CE.
Christianity had also emerged at this point, and the first major rift between Christians and Jews was created. Palestinian Jews were still allowed to practice and live in Palestine after this period but revolted again in 130 CE (for unknown reasons) leading to almost all Palestinian Jewish life moving to the Galilee region who stayed out of the conflict. Despite intense persecution against Christians early in the 4 h century, the rise of the Byzantine Empire and its transition into a Christian state became a great era of prosperity and a flourishing Palestinian culture. Over 140 of the world’s oldest Christian monasteries were built, and the cities of Caesarea and Gaza became two of the world’s most important educational centers. The first Arabs come to the region from South Arabia, and both Jewish and Christian communities thrived alongside each other. This lasted until the 6th century, in which wars with the Persian Empire greatly weakened the region preparing it for Arabian conquest. Early Islamic Rule of Palestine
Islam was founded in the late 6 th century, giving rise to the first Muslim Empire. The tribes of Arabia conquered Palestine from 636 to 640. This empire was the first to allow all people to practice their religions in peace and saw Christians and Jews as protected persons because they were “peoples of the Book”, or those who followed Abrahamic religions. The Muslims also lifted the centuries-long ban on Jews from entering Jerusalem, which was imposed by the Romans.
The empire went through three different Caliphates (polities) – the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Fatimid – that lasted until the 11 th century. The Umayyad Caliphate specifically was responsible for the construction of the Dome of the Rock, which is an iconic symbol of Modern Palestine. During this period, Palestine was extremely prosperous due to the fertile land and strategic location. Goods manufactured in Palestine included marble and white stone, spices, soaps, olive oil, sugar, indigo, Dead Sea salts, silk, and expertly made glass wares. Despite being destroyed
many times, the Muslim Empire invested much into the land, while the Christian world appreciated the land and donated much to Jerusalem’s holy sites.
The Crusades, Ayyubids, and Mamluks Starting in the 11 th century, European Christians increasingly nurtured the idea of Palestine as a holy land. According to Crusaders, there were impediments on European Christians leading pilgrimage to Palestine, which led to a doctrine of holy war where the European Christians
wanted to retake the region of Palestine. The First Crusade was extremely successful and led to the capture of the entire eastern Mediterranean coast.
The Ayyubid dynasty, under Salahuddin (Saladin), recaptured Palestine in 1187. Although there were more Crusades among negotiations, Jerusalem was never recaptured by the European Christians, and the European interest in Palestine waned over time. It is worth noting that in Jerusalem in 1099 and in Haifa in 1100, Jews fought alongside Muslims against the Crusaders. The Ayyubid and Mamluk dynasties maintained control of Palestine preceding an Ottoman takeover in 1516. During the 13 th century, Palestine became a battlefront against the expanding
Mongol empire, with the Mamluks successfully defending Palestine against Mongol control. The Mongols surprisingly were still able to raid as far as Gaza, and controlled Jerusalem for 4 months, but ultimately proved as a limitation on the powerful Mongol empire.

The Ottoman Period
After the Ottoman Empire expanded and conquered Palestine, they maintained the administrative and political organizations that the Mamluks had previously left. Although the name Palestine was used officially to refer to the region for over 2,000 years at this point, the Ottomans split Palestine into provinces that officially went by their capital names for administrative purposes (Gaza, Nablus, Jerusalem, etc.). Regardless, Palestine and Falasteen was still unofficially used to refer to the people and the region. From the 1640’s to 1660, Gaza’s influence over all of Palestine rose, and it was seen as the capital of Palestine under Husayn Pasha. The Ottoman Empire was concerned about the consolidation of power in Palestine and led a military expedition to reassert its control over the land as decentralized territories. This was a theme of the Ottomans, as they feared a threat of power from a Palestine controlled by one people in its entirety (emphasizing the strategic importance of the land). During the mid-1770’s, Zahir – a sheikh from the Zaydani family – expanded his control in Palestine from Gaza to Beirut due to economic success and an encouragement of immigration to Palestine, which led to an influx of Jews and Christians. He centered his power in Acre, founded modern-day Haifa, and allied himself with Russia and Egypt making himself extremely popular with the locals. This threatened the Ottomans, who lay siege to Acre and killed Zahir in 1775. Jazzar Pasha succeeded Zahir, but differed in that he was not as popular with the locals while his strong suite was building a powerful personal army. Napoleon entered Palestine in 1799, occupying Gaza and looking to conquer Palestine. Jazzar was able to fight off Napoleon (backed by the British), causing his reputation to be built on military prowess. In the 1830’s, Egypt entered Palestine and Syria attempting to form a centralized government (until this point, Palestine was semi-autonomous regionally). Rebels, mainly in Nablus, wanted autonomy for Palestinians. Egypt engaged in negotiations, but exiled, arrested, or executed rebel
leaders during a truce. This led to region-wide violence, resulting in the defeat of the rebellion and Egyptian control until the British backed the Ottomans, causing Egypt to retreat. After 1840, Palestine was used to refer to the land from Rafah to Lebanon and everything west of the Jordan River. Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Palestinians were allowed to exercise jurisdiction over their own people, and the local population referred to the land as Falasteen (Palestine). This directly refutes the claim that Palestine did not exist prior to Zionism, as the local population referred to the entirety of the land as such regardless of what provinces the
Ottomans claimed existed. This point was one of major contention when the Palestinians decided to participate in the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire, as the British offered the Palestinians their own state and independence. In the next section, our history will continue following the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and its effects leading up to the modern day.

Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine:
Early Zionism (1897-1917)From the 1897 Basel Conference to the disbandment of the Ottoman Empire, there were talks of interest in establishing a state exclusive to the Jewish religion. During this time period, Palestine operated as an ethnic region reporting to the Ottoman government, along with all the other modern-day Arab nations. In 1917, as a result of influence from affluent Jewish/Zionist leaders in Western government, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour wrote a declaration to Lord Rothschild, a British Jewish leader in their community, announcing the British government’s support for a Jewish national homeland in Palestine. This letter was issued as a public statement by the British government, solidifying their stance regarding those interests from the affluent Jewish communities. A major issue with this declaration was that it set the precedent in disregarding the rights and
interests of the Palestinian people who were already residing in the region. The declaration provided sympathy to the Jewish people, reinforcing their national rights to a political status and an established nation, but labelled Palestinians as only the “existing non-Jewish communities” that would receive civil and religious rights.
On the surface, this seems to not be problematic, yet the deliberate exclusion of rights to a political status and a nation for the Palestinians while simultaneously referring the majority-Palestinian population as an “other” created an assumption that Palestinians were not entitled to the same rights as Jewish peoples.
The British Mandate & Great Revolt (1920-1947)

The Nakba & Martial Law (1948-1966)

Six Day War & Rising PLO (1967-1986)

First Intifada & Oslo Accords (1987-1999)

Second Intifada, Occupation, and Gaza (2000-Present)