Free Palestine

Capital : Jerusalem
Language: Today the language is Levantine Arabic, although long ago Palestinians spoke Aramaic, and Greek
Religion: Sunni Islam, Druze, Baha'i, Christianity (Orthodox, Catholicism, Protestantism,) and Judaism (Samaritanism and Orthodox Jew).

Palestine is one of several names for the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The land is considered Holy Land to the religions of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Historically, the land was referred to as Canaan, and the original inhabitants were a Semitic people called the Canaanites. The land was called Syria-Palaestina (later shortened to Palaestina) by the Romans, after the Philistines. Today, most of this land is called Israel. However, Gaza and West Bank are referred to as "Palestine."

Ancient History Overview

Throughout history, Palestine has been conquered many times. This is due to its strategic location in the middle of the European, African, and Asian continents. Its historical religious significance was also a factor in the reasons why it was wanted and conquered by many, including: the Canaanites--the first known inhabitants, Egyptians, Amorites, Hittites, Hurrians, Philistines, Hebrews, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, European Crusaders, Mamluks, and the Ottoman Turks.

Modern History Overview

British Mandate

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, under the Sykes-Picot Agreement, Britain gained control of Palestine under the British Mandate. Shortly thereafter, British foreign minister Arthur Balfour issued the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which laid plans for a Jewish homeland to be established in Palestine. Many European Jewish colonists settled in Palestine among indigenous Palestinian populations.

In the years following World War II, Britain's position in Palestine gradually worsened. This was caused by a combination of factors, including:

• The situation in Palestine itself rapidly deteriorated, due to the incessant attacks by Irgun and Lehi on British officials, armed forces, and strategic installations. This caused severe damage to British morale and prestige, as well as increasing opposition to the mandate in Britain itself, public opinion demanding to "bring the boys home".

• World public opinion turned against Britain as a result of the British policy of preventing the Jewish Holocaust survivors from reaching Palestine, sending them instead to refugee camps in Cyprus, or even back to Germany, as in the case of Exodus 1947.

• The costs of maintaining an army of over 100,000 men in Palestine weighed heavily on a British economy suffering from post-war depression, and was another cause for British public opinion to demand an end to the Mandate. Finally in early 1947 the British Government announced their desire to terminate the Mandate, and passed the responsibility over Palestine to the United Nations.

1948 Arab-Israeli War

In 1948, after the British Mandate had left, Israel declared itself a Jewish state. After the United Nations proposed to partition the territory of the British Mandate of Palestine into two states, Jewish and Arab, the neighboring Arab nations refused to accept it and the armies of Egypt, Syria, Transjordan, Lebanon and Iraq, supported by others, attacked the newly established State of Israel.
1949 Armistice Agreements ended the war.

During the Arab-Israeli War, even though they weren’t directly involved in the war, Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes. This period in time is referred to by Palestinians as Al-Nakba, which means the catastrophe in Arabic. The UN estimates that approximately 711,000 (2/3 of the population) Palestinians were expelled into refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Gaza, and West Bank. In some cases, many Palestinians were massacred by Zionist gangs such as the Irgun or Haganah. Over 530 Palestinian villages and towns were ethnically cleansed and confiscated by the newly established state of Israel in order to make room for new Jewish immigrants. In 1950, the Absentee Property Law was passed in Israel. It provided for confiscation of the property and land left behind by departing Palestinians, the so-called "absentees". Arabs who never left Israel, and received citizenship after the war, but stayed for a few days in a nearby village had their property confiscated.

Al-Nakba marked the beginning of the Palestinian refugee crisis. According to the UNRWA, the number of registered Palestinian refugees today is approximately 4.9 million. These refugees are scattered throughout the world, many of which are still living in poverty-stricken refugee camps.

Israel has since refused to allow Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland, and has refused to pay them compensation as required by UN Resolution 194.

Six-Day War

In 1967, a war was fought between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, and Syria. When Egypt expelled the United Nations Emergency Force from the Sinai Peninsula, increased its military activity near the border, and blockaded the Straits of Tiran to Israeli ships, Israel launched a pre-emptive attack on Egypt's airforce fearing an imminent attack by Egypt.[1] Jordan in turn attacked the Israeli cities of Jerusalem and Netanya.

At the war's end, Israel had gained control of the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. The results of the war affect the geopolitics of the region to this day.

Intifada

The First Intifada, an Arabic term meaning "uprising," began in 1987. Palestinians began using violent resistance against the Israeli occupation of West Bank and Gaza. This uprising ended in 1991 with the Oslo accords (August 1993) and the creation of the Palestinian National Authority.

The Second Intifada was the violent Palestinian-Israeli conflict that began in September of 2000 and is still happening today.
Palestinian Culture

Traditional Dress: Palestinian traditional dress varies slightly from village to village.

Palestinian culture is most closely related to the cultures of the nearby Levantine countries such as Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. It includes unique literature, music, and cuisine. The culture of the Palestinian people has also flourished in the Palestinian diaspora.

Palestinian music is well-known and respected throughout the Arab world. The shared Palestinian identity first arose during the period after 1948, and a new wave of performers emerged with distinctively Palestinian themes, relating to the dreams of statehood and the burgeoning nationalist sentiment. The Israeli government exerted considerable control over Palestinian music recordings, and many of the most popular cassettes had to be distributed through the black market. A popular instrument played in Palestinian traditional music is the oud.

In weddings, Palestinians dance the dabke: a complex dance formed by linked groups of dancers. There have developed over the years many Palestinian dabke groups, such as El-Funoun. El-Funoun is world renowned and has performed throughout the Middle East as well as Europe and the U.S. Their performance combines dabke with bellydancing, and a story that interprets the Palestinian pain and struggle through dance.

Both Jaffa oranges and olive trees serve as a symbols in the Palestinian folklore and literature. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Palestinian farmers were separated from orange groves and olive trees that their families had tended for generations. Palestinians were known for having the sweetest oranges and the best olive oil. For many Palestinians, Jaffa oranges and olive trees symbolize the bounty of what they view to be their lost homeland.

Palestinians are considered Arabs today, but genetically they are a mix of people. Many Palestinians trace their ancestry back to the time of the Canaanites, and thereby mixed with the many conquerers who settled and assimilated into the population. Canaanite culture is still very much prevalent in Palestinian culture. We can see this through much Palestinian artwork. Many paintings feature a woman as the central figure. This woman, Anat, the ancient goddess of the Canaanites, symbolizes the soul and the strength of Palestine.

Palestinian cuisine is very similar to that of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and to a lesser extent Egypt. The signature dish in Palestine is stuffed grape leaves (warak dawali). Nablus is famous for the creation of knafeh, a Palestinian culinary specialty consisting of white goat cheese, pastry, and syrup served in hot square slices.