Palestine, now occupied and named Israel, lies on the western edge of Asia. Lebanon and Syria borders Palestine on the north, the Mediterranean sea to the west, to the south by the Gulf of Aqaba and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula, and to the east by the Kingdom of Jordan. A Mediterranean climate prevails in Palestine. Summers are hot and dry. Winters are rainy and cold. The weather in Gaza is fair and warm in winter, and hot and dry in the summer. The average temperature in the West Bank in the summer is 29 degrees Celsius, in winter it is 12 degrees Celsius. Click here for more details about the geography of Palestine.

Three currencies are used in Palestine, The Jordanian Dinar, the American dollar and the Israeli shekel. The official language is Arabic, but the majority speak English and many speak Hebrew, French and some Latin. Here are some more cultural aspects in Palestine.

Historically, the land of Palestine was populated by a people known as the Palestinians. Palestinians have always been religiously diverse, with the Muslim majority maintaining friendly relations with their Christian, Jewish, and Druze neighbors. At the turn of the 20th Century, a new Jewish nationalist ideology called Zionism was developing. Zionism called for the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. During this time, increasing numbers of Jewish Europeans immigrated to Palestine, causing the Jewish population to grow from a tiny minority to 35% of the population.***

As of January, 2003, the number of Palestinians worldwide is 9.3 million, of them, 3.6 million reside in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and eastern Jerusalem, and 4.6 million in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and other countries. 2.3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank, 1.3 million in the Gaza Strip and 1 million in Israel. 2.7 million Palestinians live in Jordan, 423,000 in Syria, 403,000 in Lebanon, 578,000 in other Arab states, 223,000 in the US and 295,000 in the rest of the world. It is predicted that the number of Palestinians worldwide will double in 22 years to 18.6 million.**

In 1920, following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, Palestine fell under western occupation, political boundaries were forced upon the region for the first time in nearly 2,000 years under the British occupation, conveniently named "Mandate". Today this geographical area is divided into Israel (established in May 1948 over land carved out of historic Palestine by western powers using the UN all without consulting with the local Palestinian population), the West Bank (including eastern Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip (on the south western corner of the country bordering Egypt) both of  which Israel occupied in 1967. The struggle between the Israelis and the Palestinians is one of the longest and most enduring and explosive of all the world's conflicts. For the Palestinians the last 100 years have brought colonization, expulsion and military occupation, followed by a long and difficult search for self-determination. For the Jewish Israelis, they believe to be the land of their forefathers, after centuries of persecution around the world, the return to this self proclaimed "home land" has not brought peace or security. After decades of living under occupation, a popular Palestinian uprising (Intifada 1987 - 1992) against Israeli rule, brought about various peace negotiations the first of which was the Oslo (Madrid) peace process. Palestinian cities, villages, and most of the 19 official refugee camps were transferred to a self-governing Palestinian Authority under the Oslo 'peace process.' The area, however, remained under Israeli occupation with full Israeli military control.*

The Palestinian Israeli conflict is the single issue that has generated the largest number of United Nations resolutions, the Palestinian problem has loomed large on the international scene, even though Palestine can be described as a small territory, and the Palestinians—the indigenous Arab people of Palestine— a relatively small population. In 1967, the former Soviet bloc countries cut diplomatic ties with Israel as a consequence of the June War of that year. Indeed, many Third World governments expelled the Israeli diplomatic missions from their capitals and offered their premises to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), internationally recognized in 1974 as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Since the end of the cold war, most countries have restored diplomatic relations with Israel. New nations born out of the collapse of the Soviet Union fostered relations with Israel and the PLO alike.*

Show your support to the Palestinian people in their struggle to get what you and I have as a birth right, freedom, statehood, dignity, sovereignty and the right to live in their own homes. Support their rights to return to their homes. Help them free Palestine.

Only Israel, the United States, and a few U.S. allies, clients, and dependencies continued to deny recognition of the Palestinians as a people with the PLO as their legitimate representative. Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the long-held position of the United States and Israel, combined with the rise in international influence of the Palestinians since 1967, often placed the U.S. government in an untenable position. Combine that with the Palestinian Intifada against Israeli occupation that exploded in December 1987, and the Gulf War of 1991, the USA found itself in a position where it had to do some serious work towards peace between Israel and the Palestinians.*

Hence, the United States, as the remaining superpower, launched a more sustained ‘peace process’ in 1991, after the Gulf War. This effort, spearheaded by then Secretary of State James Baker, culminated in the 1991 Madrid peace conference, which brought to the negotiating table Israel, the surrounding Arab states, and representatives of the Palestinians under occupation in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (but not the PLO, because of both Israeli and U.S. objections). The Madrid peace conference, followed by eleven rounds of bilateral and multilateral negotiations in Washington, DC, and elsewhere, reached an impasse that lasted until September 13, 1993, when the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles (the Oslo Accords) were signed. The handshake between Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Executive Committee of the PLO, and Yitzhak Rabin, prime minister of Israel, following the signing initiated a new reality that would change the nature of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the future of the Palestinians and the Middle East for generations to come.*

Many people and forces in the US and abroad, cashed in on the unfortunate and tragic events that touched the hearts of the entire planet on September 11, 2001, to declare an unofficial war on Islam and Muslims all over the world. Portraying this religion as one that encourages terrorism and the killing of innocent people, Which left a wide spread confusion on what really is the truth about Islam, and where exactly does it stand . At allaboutpalestine.com, we felt it was necessary to add a new section about this great religion which remains mysterious to many people, in an attempt to shed a little light, and explain what Islam is all about.

Palestine was host to numerous prophets and the home of many great civilizations. Palestine's location at the centre of various routes linking three continents made a very hot spot, an important central location for many religious and cultural influences, from Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Asia Minor.

The exact point in history when Palestine was first inhabited is yet to be uncovered, however, archaeological discoveries found at south of Lake Tiberius human remains that are dated as far back as 600,000 B.C.! One of the earliest communities to be unearthed was in the ancient city of Jericho, comprising several hundred villagers forming part of what is known as Natufian culture.

Alas, not much is known of Palestine during those ancient times, so the next best thing to begin talking about the history of Palestine, is to start the journey in a land once known as the land of Canaan.

Find out more about the region and take a look at some facts and events that has a big impact on the area and the current explosive situation, where one may wonder how, if it was called Palestine, the name has almost vanished? And how that name has become Israel. Perhaps by browsing this web site, you will find out how PALESTINE BECAME ISRAEL, and what obstacles the Palestinian struggle for freedom is facing.

*    Source:  Salaam.
**  Source: Palestine central bureau of statistics.
*** Source: If Americans knew

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