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| Some history |
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To determine the etymology of the word Palestine and the geographical boundaries of the region is a difficult task. Between 3000-1468 BC the region we call Palestine was known as the "Land of Canaan", settled by the Canaanites, along the Mediterranean coastline to the west and the Jordan River to the east. Egypt conquered the land after the battle of Armageddon, and kept it under their rule until 1200 BC. The Philistines, thought to be originally from Crete, attacked the land of Canaan and resettled it. They reconstructed the cities of Gaza, Ashkal and Gath. David become the king of the Jews, united the Israelites and captured the city of Jerusalem, which was a Canaanite city. His kingdom lasted between 1000-923 BC. It was his son, Solomon, who built the First Temple. The Canaanites lost the major part of their land to the Israelites who gave the landscape Jewish names like Judah, Samaria and Galilee.
The Babylonians defeated both the Philistines and the the Canaanites and destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the First Temple. In 63 BC the Roman general Pompeii the Great invaded the region and called it Palestine, a corrupted pronunciation of the word "Philistines". Between 636 and 1260 Palestine became an integral part of the Arab world. During the Crusades the region was divided in several separate kingdoms and fiefs.
The last Crusaders were expelled from Palestine in 1291 and the region was under Ottoman rule between 1253 and 1918. Great Britain defeated the Turkish Ottoman troops in 1918 and established a protectorate in Palestine. In 1947 the United Nations proposed a partition between an Jewish state, an Arabic State and an international zone outside Jerusalem, but the partition proposal was never accepted and the Arab states declared war to the new Jewish state. During the war 800.000 Palestinians were forced to leave their homes and 418 villages were depopulated and demolished.
Sources:
Palestine Net
The Palestinian Return Centre
Encyclopedia Britannica
Ancient World Mapping Center
Background to the wall
A wall is being built in the border zone between Israel and Palestine, land internationally recognized as occupied territory. The wall is called a security fence by many Israelis and the Apartheid wall by many Palestinians. It will be around 350 km long with an average height of 8 meters. In its final state it will be equipped with watchtowers, electric fences, sensors and surveillance cameras and security patrols will monitor the activities in the wall zone. According to the Israeli government the fence is being built to provide security for Jewish Israelis in Israeli proper.
The wall so far does not strictly follow the border of 1967, the so called Green Line and there are alternate plans for the exact location of the wall. The plan used at the moment will tantamount to de facto annexation of over 10% of the West Bank. This includes important water sources and large parts of the most important agricultural areas of the West Bank. The wall will split many Palestinian communities and separate them from their agricultural land. Palestinian land on the "wrong" side of the wall will be annexed into Israel proper.
The Israelis have assured the Palestinian people whose land falls on the "wrong" side of the wall, that they will have access to it both during and after the construction of the wall. The record to date on allowing people to cross the wall, however, has been abysmal. Armed private security forces, the border police and regular soldiers are denying Palestinians access to their lands daily. Roads leading to agricultural areas as well as whole communities have been cut off and blockaded, irrigation systems have been ruined and Palestinians in the wall area have been detained and beaten.
In Jayyous and Ras Atiya, small villages close to Tulkarem, the construction of the wall has blocked the access to most of the community´s agricultural land. Even though the wall now is merely a "scar" on the land and the foundations are not yet in place, the people in these communities are not allowed to cross over. They have to walk several kilometers to a place – a check point - where the Israeli forces will allow them to pass. Then they have to walk the same distance back on the other side of the wall to get to their land. Returning home at the end of the day follows the same procedure. Palestinian vehicles are not at all permitted to cross over.
So far no written offers of compensation have come from the Israeli authorities to those who have lost or will lose their land. So far no consultation with the local Palestinian authorities has taken place. So far the only information to the villagers that will lose their land has been crude maps posted on trees or given to schoolchildren.
Some background in Swedish
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