Palestinians consider 'Palestine' to be the area covered by what we now call Israel plus the Occupied Territories. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria and Jordan in the West, touches Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the South and the Mediterranean Sea in the east.
In 1917, the British promised a home land for the Jews through the Balfour Declaration in the land of Palestine where the people living there could trace their roots over many centuries. At this time, more than 90% of the population here were Arabs, Muslims and Christians.
The mass migration of Jews began in the 1920 and tension was inevitable. Britain then handed over the matter to the United Nations and in 1948 , the UN partioned the land to create the state of Israel giving Jews 55% of the land when tey made up only one-third of the population and owned only 6% of the total land area. The Palestinians were forced off their land even though they were the legal owners, and have never been allowed to return.
It was also in 1948, after a war with her Arab neighbours, that Israel seized another 22% of the land, expelled some 800,000 inhabitants and destroyed 531 villages. In 1967, after the 'Six Day War'Israel occupied Gaza and West Bank. In the same year, the United Nations Security Council passed resolution 242, declaring the occupation illegal and demanded Israel to withdraw and return the land to its rightful owners.
Israel ignored the demand and continues to ignore many other UN resolution since. This is because U.S has been vetoing all efforts to end the illegal occupation.
Life Under Occupation:
- You are denied permission to leave the country even you are seriously ill
- Your land is stolen from you and your homes are regularly demolished
- your towns are separated from each other by military checkpoints and separation walls
- You need a visa to move from town to town within your own homeland
- Your children are denied equal opportunities in education
