The Early History of Palestine - Before World War I

Early History of Palestine

The Early History of Palestine (Before World War I)

The origin of some of the earliest known civilizations is traced back in the Middle East where the land of Palestine comprised of a human habitation existing even before the biblical times. With the name of Palestine so prominent in the news, it is important that we know where its roots lies.

Where did the name Palestine come from?

The land area of Palestine refers to the region which lies between the Syrian interior and southern Mediterranean coastal plains. The word Palestine is the derivation of “Plesheth”, which meant migratory or rolling. “The land of Palestine” was inhabited by a warrior tribe for most of the population while there were also Hebrews living there. But in the Old Testament, the land is not called Palestine but Canaan.

What was the extent of Palestine in Biblical Times?

The name “Plesheth” has appeared in the Bible frequently and has come to be known in English as “Philistine”. The start of the Biblical period brings Palestine in Christian significance; however, the region was inhabited even long before Abrahamic religions. The region was referred to as the land of Israel or Eretz Yisrael in the Old Testament as it was not called Palestine in those times.

What is the evidence for the antiquity of Israel?

Around 13th century BC, the Exodus from Egypt brought the Children of Israel in the land of Canaan where they first settled as a tribe and then established their separate kingdoms of Judah and Israel. The name of Jacob is changed to Israel in the Old Testament following his encounter with God. In Genesis, God address Jacob:

“Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

Who were the original inhabitants of Palestine?

The trace of the original populace of Palestine is rather difficult but the ancient inhabitants of Palestine are known to be ancient Greeks hailed from Asia Minor and not Arabs or Semites. The location of Palestine at the crossroads to some chief civilizations like Egyptians, Babylonians and Romans made it a frequently invaded land with several people living here through the ages.

When did the Jews come to Palestine?

The presence of Jews in Palestine is evident from the mention of the name “Israel” in a historic Egyptian inscription where this ethnic group is said to have located between the areas of the Jordan Valley and Mediterranean. In Hebrew Bible, “Land of Israel” is used as a term in as old as the texts of Exilic period. The highland zone was occupied by two separate kingdoms, the Kingdom of Israel situated in the north while the Kingdom of Judah to the south.

What do the names Judea and Samaria refer to?

Judea and Samaria are the biblical names for the area that is now known as the West Bank. The area holds importance for the Arabs as a large population of them is living there while conflicts arise with Israel trying to take over the territory. Historically, the ancient kingdoms of Judah and Israel are known to have corresponding to Judea and Samaria roughly. After the fall of the two kingdoms, the name Judah was Hellenized to Judea and Israel was renamed Samaria from Shomron.

What is the Arab history in Palestine?

The origin of Arabs is intermingled with several races and ethnic groups instead of a more singular line. The tradition says that Arabs come from the line of Abraham and his son Ishmael. The tribal, Bedouin society of the Arabian Desert is the birthplace of “Arab”. There are other ethnic Arab groups as well that spread in the land and existed for millennia. Before modern Arab nationalism which developed in 19th and 20th century, Arab speaking people identified themselves with a particular tribe, a village or a family.

When did Islam come to Palestine?

Following the Battle of Yarmouk in 636 CE, the Islamic Empire was established in Palestine as Muslims conquered Syria and there started a Muslim rule which spread over 1300 years. It is known that the Muslim empire was a “golden age” for Jews as they were treated much better than by the Christians

What was the history of Palestine between Biblical times and the modern era?

The land of Palestine has been populated by the nation known as Palestinians since historical times. These people are known to have been religiously diverse always with Muslim as its majority, living peacefully with fellow Jews, Christians and Druze people. However, with the Zionist movement of 20th century, a large number of Jews immigrated to Palestine from many parts of the Europe which increased the Jewish population drastically, leading to conflicts between Arabs and Jews.

What is the significance of Jerusalem to Jews and Muslims?

Jerusalem is probably the only city in the world which has gained continuous attention and controversies, especially among the followers of the three biggest religions: Islam, Judaism and Christianity. For Muslims, Jerusalem is the third most holy city after Mecca and Medina. This is the place where Prophet Muhammad SAW made his ascent to the heaven, an event which holds a huge religious significance for Muslims. Also, before Muhammad SAW was asked to pray facing Mecca, Muslims faced Jerusalem for their prayers.

The soil and air of Jerusalem is holy for Jews and they mention the city’s name in their prayers. King Solomon made Jerusalem the capital of his vast kingdom and built the First Temple in 10th century BC.

What is Zionism and who are Zionists?

The turn of the 20th century saw a Jewish nationalist movement springing up with Theodor Herzl as its founder. This ideology was named Zionism and its supporters are called Zionists, the name derived from Zion, Jewish synonym for the land of Israel. The goal of this movement was to gain Eretz Yisrael back and to create a Jewish homeland in the country of Palestine. There are a large number of Jews who do not support the Zionist views, stating it to be completely different from the traditional Jewish beliefs, laws and the teachings of Torah.

What is Aliyah?

Aliyah is one of the three major components of Judaism and in Hebrew its means ascent, immigration of Jews to The Land of Israel. The term holds a high importance for the religious Jews and has become an aspiration since the Babylonian exile. Jews hold the view that travelling to Israel is going up the level both metaphysically and geographically as anyone moving to Jerusalem from Egypt, Mediterranean basin or Babylonia climbs to a higher altitude, 2,700 feet above sea level.

Who, besides Jews, supported the Zionist’s ideas?

It is known that the idea of Jews returning to the Holy land was supported not only by the Jews but some prominent figures like King Edward VII, Queen Victoria, Napoleon Bonaparte, Henry Dunant of the Red Cross and the political leaders of United States, South Africa, Czechoslovakia and Italy.

Zionists found their support in some Christian, Hindu as well as Muslim people where the Shah of Persia met with the Jewish leaders from British in 1873 and suggested that Jews should buy a land and establish their home.

Who were the inhabitants of Palestine before the Zionists?

The historical figures show a substantial Arab population in Palestine till 1914 until Jews started pouring from across Europe as a result of the Zionist movement. As Palestinian refer to people who were the descendents of races living here, they have been the original inhabitants from centuries and even at present, 49% of the population consists of Palestinian Arabs, concentrated largely in West Bank and Gaza and the rest in Israel.

What about Christians in Palestine?

Christians consider Palestine a Holy place as it is the birthplace of Christianity; however, there is very little Christian population in Palestine, comprising only 5% in West Bank and Gaza collectively and 10% of the Israeli population in Palestine. Due to the emigration that led from the Six-Day War in 1967 and 1948 War, many of the Palestinian Christians now live outside of the Mandate Palestine but a lot of them still live in the Palestinian territories nonetheless.

How did the Zionists acquire land in Palestine?

In 1947, Palestine was divided among Arabs and Jews with an unjust 55% to Jews and 45% to Arabs. When Israel announced independence in 1948, the previously only 6% percent of the Jewish population increased drastically, taking more than their share, a percentage that is increasing to the present day because of the Zionist movement. Zionists acquired land from Arabs unjustly, inciting and launching wars on the Arabs, depopulating the villages and

What was the impact of the Zionists on Palestine?

Aims of the Zionist movement failed to compliment the positive approach with which Palestinian Arabs thought of gaining independence. From the very beginning, Zionist movement has made efforts to achieve Jewish majority in Palestine with immigration as their tool and establishing Jewish property on as much as land as they could. All this necessitated the displacement of Palestinians from their homes and conflicting with their interests.

Comments:

The true history of Israel/Palestine is not given here. from early bible days the land of Israel has belonged to the Jewish people. the Philistines who fought Israel and lost are no longer. The land of Israel was coined Palestina from 70 AD when Israel was taken over by Rome. n the term was to insult the Jew concerning their long time enemy the Philistines, the remnant of Jews who lived in the land now called Palestine still outnumbered the Arabs. The land was mostly uninhabitable as dry desert or malaria infested swamps. as the jews started coming back the Arabs sold land back to the Jews at way over priced costs. as the Jews began to work the land and clear it up, many rabs came in and helped work the land being paid now by the Jews. mostly they were friendly with each other until the leaders tole their people to leave as they were going to destroiy the Jews. those who stayed are still there, those who left now are kept in refugee camps by their leaders not Israqel. why do you think they are still in the position they are in? who has all the oil money? Not Israel. why did Israel take in their refugees but not The Arabs? arafat always said at first don’t call us “Palestinians” we are Egyptians, Jordanians, and such, in 1964 He decided the term would benefit their cause and they became the “Palestinians” as they are today called. there never was a Palestinian state or language or money or anything else because the term is made up by Rome to erase the name Israel. the story has been going on for thousands of years. Check out the book of Esther, Nehemiah and see the same story as of today. God has promised that all who bless the Jew will be blessed and all who curse the Jew will be cursed, not because He loves one over another, but for His plan of salvation who comes from the Jew. please check out the truth and not believe a lie told by leaders who know the truth but don’t really care about their people, if they did they would not hold you captive and blame Israel and let your children die for their cause.

PLEASE GET IT STRAIGHT !! There was no Palestine before Yassa Arafat. Name a single leader of Palestine before Yassa. Palestinian is a new word created for some people who decided to live in an area close to the Jews a few years back. There are no such people as Palestinians in history. READ THE HISTORY BOOKS. The immigrants who moved to the area live off the Jews. If the state of Israel was to disband, the Palestinians would also disapear. If the truth be known I would guess them to be immigrants from Syria. Yes Palestine is now officially recognised as a state by many, but it is a new state thanks to the Jews who at anytime could kick them out, and tell them to find another patch of dirt to live, and it may be legal to do so !!

There are so many people that are duped by the Palestinian cause especially American and European leftists.I have seen photographs prior to 1948 of present day Israel which depicts a dissolute wasteland with very few inhabitants. The Jewish people worked hard and the land become productive with fruits,vegetables and other crops that are exported throughout the world. There are many Palestinians as well as other Arab peoples and Christians who work and live in Israel and are treated very well. If you remember back to 2005 when Israel withdrew from Gaza they left many material goods including machinery for labor and production.

Instead of benefiting from that the Palestinians destroyed everything and began lobbing rockets into Israel.I have a book titled From Time Immemorial by Joan Peters that describes the PLO as master public relations propagandists. Peters was a 1960s American leftist who went to the Palestinian in the 1970s to show solidarity with the PLO cause and was invited into the confidence of Arafat and his inner circle. She came away with a different mindset after finding out what things were really like. She saw a very corrupt and violent PLO leadership that had millions in currency at their disposal while the poor common people were living in abject poverty. She left there returning to the US and denouncing Arafat and the PLO as nothing but a scam that was generating millions. She began researching the ancient archeological as well as Biblical history of Jerusalem and Palestine as well as the different people groups going back to antiquity. She determined that Jerusalem and present day Israel does rightfully belong to the Jews. She was liberated from being a brainwashed radical leftist who supported the Palestinian cause to someone that could look at the facts and speak out on them.

As a Christian I have no hatred toward Arabs or Palestinians but hate their violent acts toward people they disagree with. My heart goes out to the common Palestinians who just want to raise their families and have some normalcy. Their are unfairly used by Fatah and Hamas. Any group that has such an almost demonic hatred toward Christians and Jews will never progress. Also, with all the money that many wealthy Arab states possess, why do they not send more to alleviate the suffering of the impoverished Palestinians. Truth be told as I have had discussions with Arabs in the US who hail from various Mid Eastern countries it appears that they don’t really care for the Palestinians. However,those other Arab countries use them for their own benefit. I also strongly believe that the Jews are God’s chosen people who have contributed many great things to civilization in spite of periods of severe discrimination. The Bible states that God will bless those that bless Israel and curse those that curse Israel and I hope the US continues to support Israel along with the 30-40 million American evangelical Christians who support Israel with prayer and financial contributions. I know that my views are not in line with the leftist media but remember that because we live in a Western society that values freedom I am free to express my views. I would not have that right in the majority of the Middle Eastern countries.

In the 2nd century CE, the last attempt of the Jews to achieve independence from the Roman Empire ended with the well-known event of Masada, which is historically documented and universally recognized as the fact that determined the Jewish Diaspora in a definitive way.

The land where these things happened was the province known as Judea, and there is no mention of any place called “Palestine” before that time.

The Roman emperor Hadrian was utterly upset with the Jewish Nation and wanted to erase the name of Israel and Judah from the face of the Earth, so that there would be no memory of the country that belonged to that rebel people. He decided to replace the denomination of that Roman province and resorted to ancient history in order to find a name that might appear appropriate, and found that an extinct people that was unknown in Roman times, called “Philistines,” was once dwelling in that area and were enemies of the Israelites.

Therefore, according to Latin spelling, he invented the new name: “Palestina,” a name that would be also hateful for the Jews as it reminded them their old foes. He did so with the explicit purpose of effacing any trace of Jewish history. Ancient Romans, as well as modern Palestinians, have fulfilled the Hebrew Scriptures Prophecy that declares: “They lay crafty plans against Your People… they say: come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more’.” – Tehillim 83:3-4 (Psalm 83:3-4).

They failed, and Israel is still alive. Any honest person would recognize that there is no mention of the name Palestine in history before the Romans renamed the province of Judea, that such name does not occur in any ancient document, is not written in the Bible, neither in the Hebrew Scriptures nor in the Christian Testament, not even in Assyrian, Persian, Macedonian, Ptolemaic, Seleucian or other Greek sources, and that not any “Palestinian” people has ever been mentioned, not even by the Romans that invented the term. If “Palestinians” allegedly are the historic inhabitants of the Holy Land, why did they not fight for independence from Roman occupation as Jews did? How is it possible that not a single Palestinian leader heading for a revolt against the Roman invaders is mentioned in any historic record? Why there is not any Palestinian rebel group mentioned, as for example the Jewish Zealots? Why every historic document mentions the Jews as the native inhabitants, and the Greeks, Romans and others as foreigners dwelling in Judea, but not any Palestinian people, neither as native nor as foreigner? What is more, there is no reference to any Palestinian people in the Qur’an (Quran), although Muslims claim that their prophet was once in Jerusalem (an event that is not mentioned in the Quran either). It appears evident that he did not meet any Palestinian in his whole life, nor his successors did either.

Caliph Salahuddin al-Ayyub (Saladin), knew the Jews and kindly invited them to settle in Jerusalem, that he recognized as their Homeland, but he did not know any Palestinian.

To claim that Palestinians are the original people of Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) is not only against secular history but also against Islamic history!

“Palestine” for sure was the name of a state under British Mandate. If you doubt that Palestine was a mandated “state” read for example the pre mandate treaty between France and Great Britain regarding future borders of mandated Syria and Palestine and that the “state under mandate” (french: “l’etat sous mandate”) is going to accept this treaty. Or read a decision by the permanent international court that Palestine was obliged to respect treaties from Ottoman times, because it was a successor state. Or read countless bilateral treaties between Palestine and other states, even between Palestine and Great Britain before the mandate. Or read statements by the chairman of the Permament Mandate Comission of the League of Nations that Palestine was state and the international treaties and its nationality law would show this. Palestine was a state, but a not yet and independant state and only a dependant state under mandate.

“Palestinian” for sure was the nationality of Jewish and Arab Palestinians since the establishment of Palestine’s nationality law in 1925 (“Palestine Citizenship Order”) . “Jews” and “Arabs” were ‘nationalities within this citizenship’. Palestinians had their own ID-card not to be confused with the British Passport Palestine which was a travel document for Palestinians, because of the British mandate they were internationally regarded as British Protected Persons and were allowed in foreign countries to use British consulates in lack of their own.

The only thing that changed since 1964 is that the PLO’s definition of “Palestinian” automatically still includes pre mandate Jews (and their descendants) but excludes Jews which immigrated since the mandate.

The Romans changed the land of Canaan to Palestine 2000 yrs ago. There have been many different peoples and religions living in the area, since that time, but no Palestinians, until the Jews made claim and were allowed to make that small strip of land theirs, did a people called ‘the Palestinians’ suddenly appear.
Before the turn of the 19th century the area had a mix of people, but no single majority of any religion, or race. The whole area was barren, and Jerusalem had been falling into disrepair for centuries. In less than 100yrs the returning Jews have turned the area into an oasis. There is about 5-6 million people live there, surrounded by 400-450 million Muslims who try everything they can to kill the 5-6 million Jews.
The Islamic people are obsessed with killing all the Jews and humiliating every other living breathing human on the planet. Islam demands all it followers to never rest until this task is complete.
Some people might say Jews did better under the Muslims than the Christians. This was only as long as they were useful. Muslims tend to destroy all written works of every other race of people. and re writing history to make Islam the inventor and discoverer of all things.
if you look around the world now, the people destroying religious and other historical sites are Muslims.
The Muslims didn’t want the old land of Canaan, until the Jews moved back into the area, and the Palestinian people were invented to counter the claim by Jews to be the rightful owners of that land.
The history is there, all you have to do is read it. Or believe the rubbish the mad Islamic leaders preach. The trouble with believing a lie though is you look stupid when confronted with the truth.
One of the truths is that most of the people who suddenly became Palestinians less than half a century ago, don’t know anything about history, that doesn’t come from the mouths of liars and madmen. The children born into the conflict zone only know how to hate. And when confronted by truth all they do is scream and go into a physcotic rage. The situation in the middle east can only end one way. War. That has been the only way it could ever end. It has been 1400yrs in the planning.

“Surya Palestina” is the name the Romans gave to “Judea” as punishment for the Jewish rebelion.
they also changed the name of Jerusalem to “Illia Capitilina”.
Anyway this has nothing to do with the arab inhabitants of the area in the begining of the 20th centuary.
When the british held an accurate number in 1922 there were about 500000 muslims in “Eretz israel – Palestine” as it was called by the british mandate.
in the begining of the 19th centuary there were less then 200000 people of all religions in the area.
most of the population were brought by the Ottomans who ruled the region during the 18th and 19th centuaries.
the origin of the “Palestinians” are Egiptian, Syrian ,Iraq and also from Europe like Bosnia and other areas ruled
by the Ottoman empire.
Anyway “Palestinians” Are for sure NOT natives.

Palestinians???

There never was a Palestinian people, nation, language, religion or economy.
The claims of descent from a Palestinian people who supposedly lived for thousands of years in a land called Palestine is a deliberate lie. That land was called Canaan, inhabited by Canaanites. What had been Canaan became the land of Israel when G-d gave it to his people.

The people who call themselves Palestinians today are Arabs by birth, Islamic religion and culture. The name Palestine comes from the name Philistines, Ancient Israels chief enemies.

In AD 130 the Romans rebuilt Jerusalem as a pagan city, with a temple dedicated to Jupiter where the Jewish temple stood. Provoked to rebellion about 500k Jews were killed and thousands
sold into slavery. The Romans then angrily renamed the land of Israel “Syria Palestinae” (and that’s where the name comes from). From that time Jews living there became known as Palestinians.

During WWII the British army had a Palestinian brigade made up of entirely Jewish volunteers.
The Palestinian Symphony Orchestra was all Jewish. And the Palestine Post was a Jewish newspaper.

In 1948 Arabs who had fled from Israel began to claim that they were the true Palestinians and that Israel had always belonged to them. World media eagerly promotes that lie. The truth is that in 1948 Arabs owned a mere 3% of so called Palestine. Israels claim to the land goes back 4k years to Abraham’s purchase of the
cave of Machpela in Hebron (Where Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah are buried). This is where David was also later crowned King.

Lets also not forget that just prior the the 48 war, the Arab high command urgently ordered Arabs by radio to get out of Palestine while they would be on the attack, and that is why most of them left.
The few who remained were eventually grafted in as Israeli citizens with full rights.

Prior to the British Mandates the British commissioned their own people to analyze clearly what the conditions of the land now known as Isarel and this is a factual report:

From the report of Mr . Lewis French,Director of Development appointed by the British Government in1931:
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“This, then, was the picture of Palestine in the closing decades ofthe 19th century and up to the First World War : a land that was overwhelmingly desert, with nomads continually encroaching on the settled areas and its farmers; a lack of elementary facilities and equipment ; peasants wallowing in poverty, ignorance and disease,saddled with debts (interest rates at times were as high as 60 percent) and threatened by warlike nomads or neighbouring clans.The result was a growing neglect of the soil and a flight from the villages, with a mounting concentration of lands in the hands of asmall number of large landowners, frequently residing in such distant Arab capitals as Beirut and Damascus, Cairo and Kuwait.Here, in other words, was a social and economic order that had all the earmarks of a medieval feudal society.”
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No one including the British felt that anyone including the Jews surrounded by their mortal enemies could survive, but they did, and is the basis of the anti Israel posts we see here. The British mandated 500,000 sq miles of land to Egypt and that is ok, the British and French mandated 220,000 sq miles of land to Syria and that was ok, the British mandated 72,000 sq miles to Jordan originally thought by the British as additional homeland for the Bedouins as Transjordan and that was ok, but when the British mandated a sliver of 8,000 sq miles of infertile land to Israel that is not ok? Then Israel won wars against all odds and as every other nation affirming its nation after winning wars only to then give land back to the losers, along with infrastructure,and aid and then why is Israel different than all other nations reaffirming its earned statehood? The answer is simple that after 64 years the Arabs which are killing themselves fighting within their numerous sects for 1400 years are the ones that must become civilized and learn to assimilate as many peoples have had to do time and time again throughout history. If the Arabs would replace their inbred hatreds with education, replace their rocks and weapons with books, realize that they are better protected from their own brutal leaderships found in other Arab countries, and as a result enjoy the highest standard of living within Israel as compared to their counterparts living under Sharia Laws in other Arab Country,learn to embrace Israel for all of Israels contributions, only then can there be civilized peace, only then they can replace their animosities toward Israel and thrive as israel thrives.

Jews are not immigrants but returnees, re-established legally via the UN, with all countries voting in the Motion – including all Christians & Islamic states. Jews have never stolen or occupied another peoples’ land in all their 4,000 year history. No one can produce a Muslim Palestinian prior to the 20th century. These are modern world atrocities: transferring the name Palestinian from Jews to Muslims after 2,000 years; changing the 3,000 year Hebrew name of Samaria to ‘West Bank’ in 1951, calling a 4-state in the same land as a 2-state, denying the Jerusalem temple existence, inventing a place called EAST Jerusalem, omitting the real refugees of 850,000 Jews from Arab controlled lands, keeping silent of a Roman Pope who calls Muslims as Palestinians – contradicting his own Gospels [Matt 2:21]. The Arabs were recruited in the Roman legions when the Jerusalem Temple was
destroyed; prominent Islamic sources identify its location and this city’s sovereignty:
“The al-Aqsa Mosque was built on top of Solomon’s Temple.” – Eleventh century historian Muhammad Ibn Ahmad al-Maqdisi and fourteenth century Iranian religious scholar Hamdallah al-Mustawfi. [185]
“Its identity with the site of Solomon’s Temple is beyond dispute. This too is the spot, according to the universal belief, on which David built there an alter unto the Lord, and offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings” – (“A Brief Guide to the Al-Haram Al
Sharif Jerusalem”; published by the Supreme Moslem Council; Jerusalem, 1924.
Historical sketch, Page 4).
“O my people, enter the Holy Land which G-d has prescribed for you, and turn not back in your traces, to turn about losers.” – [Surat Al-Mai’dah, The Noble Qur’an 5:21]
“Allah Gave the Land of Israel to the Jews. I say to those who distort their Lord’s book, the Koran: From where did you bring the name Palestine, you liars, you accursed,
when Allah has already named it “The Holy Land” and bequeathed it to the Children of Israel until the Day of Judgment (Sura 5 Verse 21), and that Jews are the inheritors of Israel (Sura 26 Verse 59).” – (Sheikh Ahmad Adwan, Jordanian Muslim scholar.)
Jewish Palestine. The following is part of the U.S. Congressional Record of 1922 by the members of Congress in favor of re-establishing Palestine as the historical land of the Jews:
“Palestine of today, the land we now know as Palestine was peopled by the Jews from the dawn of history until the Roman era. It is the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people. They were driven from it by force by the relentless Roman military machine and for centuries prevented from returning. At different periods various alien people
succeeded them, but the Jewish race had left an indelible impress upon the land. Every name, every landmark, every monument, and every trace of whatever civilization remaining there is still Jewish. And it has ever since remained a hope, a longing, as expressed in their prayers for these nearly 2,000 years. No other people have ever
claimed Palestine as their national home.”
– Mr. Appleby, representative of New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional district in the United States House of Representatives; 1922.