History of the Conflict

The disputed territory that has been alternately referred to as Palestine and Israel is relatively small, the total area is only roughly 22 000 square kilometers. It is bordered by Jordan on the East, Lebanon on the North, Egypt and the Mediterranean Ocean on the West, and shares 76 kilometers of border with Syria in the North East. The two disputed territories that are occupied by the Israeli Army but under the autonomous control of the Palestinian Authority are the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. These two territories amount to roughly 6400 square kilometers, the West Bank makes up the majority of this area – it amounts to 6000 square kilometers in the Eastern part of the country and borders the nation of Jordan.

Jews have long considered Israel to be their national home. They consider it to be a Holy Land, or a Promised Land – they believe it to be their right from God to live in the region. The area is also considered the birthplace of Christianity, Bethlehem the city where Jesus Christ was supposedly born is located in the region. It is also regarded as one of the most sacred sites for Islam. The fact that all three of these major religions claim the area as their own is one that makes conflict almost inevitable.

Archaeologists have unearthed evidence that inhabitants of the region were cultivating domesticated crops from as far back as 8000 B.C. The area was home to a series of Jewish kingdoms for over a thousand years until the Roman Empire expelled the Jews from the region in 73 A.D. after the Great Jewish Revolt. The country was under the control of the Roman Empire until the 7th century when the Muslim Caliphate conquered the land. This first attracted Arab settlers to the region. In fact before the birth of Zionism there were only 10 000 Jews living in what is now called Israel.

The Zionist movement was formally started at the end of 19th century it was started by Theodor Herzl and called for the creation of a Jewish