The Name Palestine:

Mesopotamian and Northern Syrian records indicated the names of areas located south of the Levant during the third millennium BC. The Levant was known during that period as "Amurru" or the Western Land, while Palestine has been known since the eighteenth century BC as the Land of Canaan (as indicated by the Idrimi Stele, cuneiform sources, and the Amarna Letters). The origin of the word Palestine is likely "Palashtu" or "Pilistu" mentioned in Assyrian records, where an Assyrian king mentioned around 800 BC that his forces subjugated "Pilistu" and forced its people to pay taxes.

The naming crystallized through Herodotus on Aramaic foundations when he mentioned Palestine as "Palaistinē". It is understood that this name referred to the coastal land in the southern part of Syria extending to Sinai in the south and the Jordan Valley in the east.

The name Palestine became applicable to all the Holy Land during the Roman era, becoming a nominal term since the time of Hadrian and was always referred to in reports of Christian pilgrims.

During the Islamic era, Palestine was part of the Levant. Yaqut al-Hamawi says in Mu'jam al-Buldan: "Palestine is the last district of the Levant towards Egypt, its capital being Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis), and among its most famous cities are Ascalon, Ramla, Gaza, Caesarea, Nablus, and Bayt Jibrin." Palestine was known as "Jund Filastin" during the administrative divisions of the Islamic State, and since that period, Palestine has carried this name.

Historical Overview:

Ancient humans inhabited the land of Palestine since the earliest times. These inhabitants practiced agriculture and industry, such as pottery making (5500 BC), copper tools (4000-3150 BC), bronze tools (3150-1200 BC), and iron tools (1200-320 BC). People became known by their tribes and kingdoms. Migrations of various Arab tribes and peoples from the Arabian Peninsula took place, settling in Palestine and its surroundings. Among the most famous of these peoples are the Canaanites, Amorites, and Arameans. These peoples established civilizations, especially the Canaanites who invented writing and built large cities in Palestine, naming them after themselves—names that remain as a legacy to this day.

Palestine and neighboring regions were invaded by various ethnic groups that managed to control it for some time. However, these foreign entities were eventually expelled from this land, severing their connection to it, and the country returned to its original people and character. Among those who invaded Palestine are: the Hyksos (1750-1500 BC), the Persians (520 BC), the Greeks under Alexander (332 BC), and the Romans in the first century AD.

In the year 636 AD, the armies of the Islamic conquest managed to liberate Palestine, and it became part of the Arab-Islamic state. Palestine witnessed revival and prosperity during the Arab era despite the suffering it endured during the Crusader period. It remained active in shaping the events of Arab history even during the Ottoman rule, which lasted for four centuries.

In the 19th century, the Zionist movement began its endeavors to establish a homeland for Jews in Palestine under false historical claims. This movement directed Jewish pioneers from Russia to Palestine for agricultural settlement between 1884 and 1962, establishing many settlements with the support of wealthy Jews like Baron Lionel Rothschild.

After the First World Zionist Congress held in Basel, Switzerland, in 1897, the Zionist movement began attempts for actual control over Palestine instead of slow settlement, by intensifying waves of Jewish immigrants and establishing new settlements to absorb them.

On May 16, 1916, the "Sykes-Picot Agreement" was signed, stipulating that Palestine be placed under British mandate after the end of World War I. On November 2, 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour issued a declaration stating the establishment of a national home for Jews in Palestine. Britain worked to provide facilities and support for waves of Jewish immigration to Palestine and increase the number of Jewish settlements there.

The Palestinian people began confronting Zionist and British moves through armed resistance and demonstrations, resulting in the revolt of 1921, the Al-Buraq revolt of 1929, and the revolt of 1936 which was renewed in 1937 and continued until 1939. Meanwhile, Britain continued to confiscate and Judaize land. The United Nations took up the Palestinian issue, issuing the Partition Plan on November 29, 1947, which called for the creation of two independent Arab and Jewish states.

Events escalated and resistance intensified until the outbreak of the first Arab-Israeli war on May 15, 1948, which erupted after Britain's formal withdrawal from Palestine. Its results included the establishment of the State of Israel and its seizure of the largest part of Palestine, in addition to the displacement of most of the Palestinian people from their cities and villages under pressure from organized Zionist groups that committed massacres against the Palestinian people to force them to leave their land. The Arab Palestinian people lived as refugees in camps spread across neighboring countries.

In the aftermath of the 1948 war, nothing remained of Palestine except the West Bank, which came under Jordanian administration, and the Gaza Strip, which came under Egyptian administration. The Palestinian people continued their resistance to the occupation, hoping for return and liberation of the land through fedayeen operations concentrated between 1951 and 1956, which Israel met with attacks that claimed the lives of a large number of Palestinians. In November 1956, Israel participated in a tripartite aggression alongside Britain and France against Egypt, occupying the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula during it, then withdrew from them in March 1957 under international pressure.

On January 1, 1965, the Palestinian armed revolution was launched under the leadership of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, Fatah, with the aim of liberating the Palestinian homeland. On June 5, 1967, Israel launched an aggression against Egypt, Jordan, and what remained of Palestine. The result of this aggression was Israel's control over all Palestinian territory after occupying the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in addition to the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt and the Syrian Golan Heights. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were displaced from their homeland once again.

The Palestinian people's resistance to the Israeli occupation continued, and thousands of martyrs fell. In late 1987, the Palestinian Intifada, known as the Stone Intifada, broke out and remained active until the signing of the Declaration of Principles, known as the Oslo Accords, on September 13, 1993.

As a result of the Oslo Accords, the first national authority was established on Palestinian land as a stage lasting five years, after which an independent Palestinian state was to be established on the territories occupied in 1967 with East Jerusalem as its capital. However, Israel did not adhere to these agreements, escalated settlement in the West Bank, and worked at an accelerated pace to Judaize the city of Jerusalem. This led to the outbreak of the second Intifada, known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, on September 28, 2000, during which Israel killed thousands of Palestinians, wounded tens of thousands, and imprisoned thousands more. Israel also reoccupied cities it had handed over to the Authority under the Oslo Accords, fragmented geographic areas, deprived Palestinians of free movement, and built the Apartheid Wall which consumed thousands of dunams of Palestinian citizens' land, especially agricultural land and land located within water basins.

During the Al-Aqsa Intifada, the Palestinian people confronted the occupation's repressive measures with more steadfastness and resistance. This pushed Israel to announce in February 2004 its intention to unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip, which was actually carried out on August 15, 2005, where Israel dismantled 21 settlements in the Strip and withdrew its forces from it, while maintaining control over its borders by land, sea, and air.

Palestine forms a land bridge connecting the continents of Asia and Africa, and a link between Europe and India. It is the country which the Pharaoh of Egypt would advise his heir to keep under his control because it could be a passage through which enemies could infiltrate to control Egypt, and to control the caravan trade routes between Africa, Asia, and Europe. It is the point whose strategic importance has remained to this day, especially after the opening of the Suez Canal and the flourishing importance of maritime transport in international trade.

The importance of Palestine has greatly increased due to its close relationship with the religious and civilizational conflict. It is one of the most prominent focal points of conflict between the doctrines and ideas of the three Abrahamic faiths, their associated cultures, and the civilizations built upon them. Therefore, the perception of Palestine as the Holy Land has prevailed. It houses the shrine of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), and it is the land of Noah, Lot, Ishmael, and Isaac (peace be upon them all). It is the land that the interlocutor of God, Moses (peace be upon him), sought. It is the land of the kingdoms of David and Solomon (peace be upon them). It is the birthplace of Jesus (peace be upon him) and the starting point of his call. The sanctity of Palestine increased as it is the first Qibla (direction of prayer) and the third of the Two Holy Sanctuaries for Muslims, who undertook to carry the call of monotheism paved by the messengers of the heavenly religions before them. Adding to Palestine's importance for Muslims is the miracle of the Night Journey and Ascension of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) from its holy site to the heavens.

Hence, the conflict over the land of Palestine has persisted throughout history, and global powers have sought it to impose ideological, intellectual, civilizational, economic, political, and military sovereignty.