Palestine, Arabic Filastin, 1) in the Greek form Palaistine (in Hebrew Peleschet) initially the name for the area of the Philistines (Greek Palaistinioi); 2) In Greco-Latin usage, the meaning expanded to include the “Land of Israel” or the Holy Land (Promised Land) Judeo-Christian tradition, which roughly covers the area of the present-day states of Israel and Jordan (except for the desert areas in the northeast and southeast). The Roman provincial name Palestine, which passed into the language of the Latin Middle Ages, was decisive. Continuous territorial delimitation is hardly possible due to the changeable political and ethnographic history of this area. As the Holy Land, Palestine remained a religious and national reference point for Judaism. At the same time, due to the respective holy places, a Christian and an Islamic claim to the land (especially Jerusalem as the “Holy City”) arose, which thus became a destination for pilgrims of these three world religions. With its diverse landscape and its location between the cultural centers in the Nile Valley and in the great empires of the Near East on the one hand and between the sea and the desert on the other hand, it was the scene of lively disputes between different population groups and their cultures even in prehistoric times. 3) Name of the desired state of the Palestinians in the areas of Palestine that do not belong to Israel (Gaza Strip, parts of the West Bank). According to COUNTRYAAH, Palestine is a nation in Western Asia, the capital city of which is East Jerusalem. The latest population of Palestine is 5,101,425.
Palestinian territories
Palestinian territories, semi-autonomous territory in the Gaza Strip, Jericho and West Bank (since 1995, excluding Jerusalem) under Israeli sovereignty, from which a Palestinian state is to emerge in the long term.
In 1993/94 the representatives of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) and Israel negotiated the Gaza-Jericho Agreement and some follow-up agreements, which regulated the gradual return of the territories occupied by Israel to the Palestinians, the establishment of self-government and the withdrawal of Israeli troops. The implementation of the agreement was inter alia. hampered by protests and attacks by radical Islamic organizations and extremist Jewish settlers.
In 1996 the Palestinian Council and the Rais, President of the Council, were elected. The first raise was PLO boss J. Arafat. After the beginning of the 2nd Intifada (Middle East conflict), violence between Israel and the Palestinians has escalated again.
The conservative Israeli government is only reluctantly bowing to the treaty agreements and repeatedly intervening militarily. Since the living conditions in the autonomous areas are not improving and there is no prospect of a near peace, radical organizations such as Hamas, Jihad Islamia and others. great popularity. After Arafat’s death, Mahmud Abbas (* 1935) was his successor.
In 2005, Israel withdrew its troops from the Gaza Strip. After fighting with Fatah, Hamas took sole control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, while Mahmoud Abbas’ influence remained limited to the West Bank. This sealed the political and spatial division of the Palestinians. After sustained rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, Israel carried out an extensive military operation there against radical groups in 2014. The conflict claimed over 2,100 people dead. After various unsuccessful efforts, Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation agreement in October 2017 to overcome the division in the Palestinians.
