![]() ![]() Palestinian Arab claims to the land are based on their continuous residence in the country for hundreds of years and the fact that they represented the demographic majority until 1948. Jewish claims to this land are based on the biblical promise to Abraham and his descendants, on the fact that the land was the historical site of the ancient Jewish kingdoms of Israel and Judea, and on Jews’ need for a haven from European anti-Semitism. The competing claims to the territory are not reconcilable if one group exercises exclusive political control over all of it. It is a small area-approximately 10,000 square miles, or about the size of the state of Maryland. Following the war of 1948–1949, this land was divided into three parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank (of the Jordan River) and the Gaza Strip. That same name was also used to designate a less well-defined “Holy Land” by the three monotheistic religions. From the end of World War I until 1948, the area that both groups claimed was known internationally as Palestine. The conflict began as a struggle over land. Although the two groups have different religions (Palestinians include Muslims, Christians and Druze), religious differences are not the cause of the strife. ![]() The conflict between Palestinian Arabs and Zionist (now Israeli) Jews is a modern phenomenon, dating to the end of the nineteenth century. ![]()
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