Land of Canaan, 2000 B.C.E.--
Even before 3000 B.C.E., West Semitic tribal groups speaking variations of the Canaanite tongue inhabited much of what is now the modern Middle East. Many settled in the Syria-Canaan lands of Ancient Palestine. Early Mesopotamian documents refer to both nomadic shepherds and to traders. One such group, the Habiru {or Hapiru} migrated into Palestine perhaps as early as 2000 B.C.E. from northern Mesopotamia; later elements from among them formed the ancient Hebrews. As they entered Ancient Palestine, the Phoenicians in the north and the Philistines in the south occupied definite areas. "Phoenicia" is the Greek translation of "Canaan,"--the land of purple merchants," referring perhaps to the dye they used to colour cloth. Indeed, it is from the time of Canaan that Bethlehem is believed to have derived its name, Bethlehem - Beit Lahem in Arabic ("The house of Lahman - a Canaanite God").
The Canaanites, were a Semitic people speaking a language remarkably close to Hebrew. They were farmers, some were nomads, but they were also civilized. They used the great Mesopotamian cities as their model and had built modest imitations of them. They had also learned military technology and tactics from the Mesopotamians, as well as law. Thus when the Hebrews arrived at Canaan, they began the long, painful, and disappointing process of settling the land, but being uncivilized, tribal, and nomadic, they faced a formidable enemy. Even the accounts of this period in the Hebrew bible, the books of Joshua and Judges paint a pretty dreary picture of the occupation. They are eventually driven from the coastal plains and forced to settle in the central hill country and a few places in the Jordan River valley. They also faced another looming enemy, the Philistines, who overwhelmed everyone in their path. They had chariots and iron weapons and few could stand against these new technologies.
Thus it was that the Hebrews found themselves living in the worst areas of Canaan, spread thinly across the entire region, with the balance of power constantly shifting as local kingdoms would grab and then lose territory, finding themselves first under one and then another master.
The Monarchy, 1020 - 920 B.C.
Saul, 1020-1000 BC
After two hundred years of only marginal success in occupying and holding lands in Palestine, the Hebrews, who were initially a loosely coordinated series of tribes linked by the Ark of the Covenant, united for a century under a series of powerful kings, beginning with Saul, a farmer from the tribe of Benjamin. Saul's goal was to retake territory lost to the Philistines. He is eventually succeeded by David of Bethlehem (In Islam, the Prophet Daud) who continued Saul's consolidation and established his capital at Jerusalem.
David, 1000-961 BC
David has been etched in time for his famous defeat of the Philistines' Goliath. The Philistines had established an independent state along the southern coast inflicting relentless damage on the Hebrews through their superior military organization and iron weapons. After centuries of losing conflict, the Hebrews finally defeated the Philistines under the leadership of David. There was consternation in the Philistine army: they broke and fled, and were pursued and cut to pieces. His military campaigns transform the new Hebrew kingdom into a Hebrew empire. 
Solomon, 961-922 BC
Peace and prosperity continued under David's son and successor, Solomon. It was this third and final king of a united Hebrew state that turned the Hebrew monarchy into something comparable to the monarchies of the Middle East and Egypt. Solomon's reign was a peaceful one. He did not expand his territory any further; rather he built alliances with surrounding countries and developed trade. Of all of Solomon's accomplishments, the building of the temple and the palace were significant. They were milestones for the Hebrews who felt like they were finally becoming a nation on the scale of other nations. But at his death the country was divided: the north remained Israel and the south became Judah. The great empire of David and Solomon was no more and never to return; in its place were two mighty kingdoms which lost all the territory of David's once proud empire within one hundred years of Solomon's passing.
Sources:
Richard Hooker, World Civilizations
Richard Stockton College
thetruthaboutpalestine.com
salam.co.uk
palestinehistroy.com
Maps and pictures taken from Wikipedia.org, the free encyclopedia
