middle east history

May I recommend John Keay's 'Sowing the Wind: the Seeds of Conflict in the Middle East'. It covers the period from c1900 to the Suez Crisis.

Yours in Christ

Matt

 

Never create a nation by drawing lines on a map!!!
It was certainly occupied......

 

Travelsong, you might also want to check out She Eagle's (as the Lady then was) and my posts on this BB page:- http://www.baptistboard.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi/topic/60/794/2.html? Between the two of us, I think we manage to set out both takes on the history of the place

Yours in Christ

Matt

 

The latest deal, the foundering of which led to the present mutual unpleasantness, was the Oslo Accords. Ultimately, Arafat was offered pretty much 95% of what he wanted. The offer was rejected by him on two counts:-

1. East Jerusalem was not included. I cannot imagine any Israeli government wanting to hand over any part of Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority (although they managed without East Jerusalem prior to 1967)

2. The Right to Return was not offered by the Israelis. This was the right, demanded by Arafat, for the Arab refugees who left or were expelled from Israel during the first round of war in 1947-49 to return to the homes they had lost then. Again, I can't see the Israelis agreeing to that because that would result in there being an Arab majority in Israel proper which would mean it would cease to be a Jewish state, although some more thoughtful Israelis are beginning to contemplate that possibility.

Yours in Christ

Matt

 

This is very informative, I too have only a smattering of knowledge re this region and recent times conflicts.

I am off to check out the links.

 

The region previously known as Palestine was owned by the British. The strife between Israel and Arab nations predate the creation of Israel. Prior to the 20th century, the majority of occupants were Arab. Throughout the early 20th century, Palestine became a center of Jewish immigration, encouraged and organized by a movement known as Zionism. Immigrant Jews clashed with the Palestinian Arab inhabitants of the region throughout the British administration of Palestine from 1918 to 1948.

When the British decided to leave the terrority, the UN developed a plan to partition Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as a UN protectorate. The Arabs rejected the plan, but the Jews accepted it, and the independent nation of Israel was created in 1948. Israel unilaterally claimed West Jerusalem as its capitol. Five Arab nations—Egypt, Transjordan (now Jordan), Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq—immediately invaded Israel. In the Arab-Israeli War of 1948-1949 and subsequent wars with its Arab neighbors Israel acquired territory beyond its 1948 boundaries. As a result of the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel unilaterally annexed the Syrian territory of the Golan Heights (a claim not recognized by most nations). Israel also occupied the West Bank (formerly of Jordan) and the Gaza Strip (formerly of Egypt), areas now partially under Palestinian Arab administration. Even Jerusalem, the city Israel claims as its capital, remains an area of dispute.
Predominantly Jewish West Jerusalem has been part of Israel since independence in 1948; Israel began occupying the mostly Arab East Jerusalem in 1967. Israel has since claimed the entire city as its capital. However, the United Nations does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

One consideration (and one of the main things overlooked) is the fact that the inhabitants of the land for hundreds of years prior to 1948 is that the local inhabitants were Arab. When the Jewish State of Israel was founded, many of the local Arabs became refugees in the surrounding regions.

Another consideration is the fact that the five Arab nations reacted to Isreael's unilateral moves with force, rather than discussion.

Another consideration is the fact that Israel now owns more territory than it did at the time of its creation. Some of the terrority was taken as a spoil of war, some as the result of unilateral occupation. Very little Palestinian territory is left. Also of consideration is that the city of Jerusalem, originally concieved by the UN, was to belong to the UN, and neither Israel nor Palestine.

A major consideration right now is the use of individual terrorist tactics by Palestine. While Palestine's use of terrorism should not be downplayed, Israel's use of military force should also not be dismissed. Add to that, both sides have a long history of engaging in actions that do not coincide with words.

One major consideration also, is that, during British rule, the region was run as a secular state. In 1948, the regions were setup as theocratic.

 

middleeastinfo.org

www.merip.org/palestine-israel_primer/toc-pal-isr-primer.html

 

Here's a map to help put things in proper perspective & cut to the chase. A picture is worth 1000 words.

http://www.masada2000.org/geography.html

 

The Case For Israel

by Alan Dershowitz

 

Er...Joseph and LadyEagle, I thought the guy wanted UNbiased material...

Yours in Christ

Matt

 

So, are you saying the "map" isn't true? A map is a map.

 

The commentary is blatantly pro-Israeli

Yours in Christ

Matt

 

All material is biased, isn't it? Every writer has a point of view. The problem appears when that bias means omitting/distorting information, or just plain lying.

I do not pretend to be an expert, but I would just say that I read that the land, although inhabited, had many fewer inhabitatnts than now. Indeed, Mark Twain apparently wrote that the land was in need of people to go and live in it! Most of the Jewish people emigrated there in the late 19th / early 20th century, but in order to gain favour with the Arabs (whose oil we needed), the British stopped Jewish immigration and allowed more Arab immigration to Palestine. Most, I am told, of the Palestinian Arabs were immigrants as recent as the Jews. But like I said, I am no expert.

 

I think the purpose of the original post is to find data whose author isn't interested in a religious point of view, but from a historical point of view.