Palestine

Palestine is the name given to the land of Israel by the Romans and others in order to deny that the land belongs to the Jews. It is named after the Philistines who at one time lived in part of the area and were completely conquered by King David.

Palestine (from Latin: Palaestina; Hebrew: פלשת‎ Pleshet, פלשתינה Palestina; Arabic: فلسطين‎ Filastīn, Falastīn) is one of many names for the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan. Many different definitions of the region have been in usage in the past three thousand years.

Other English names for this region include: Canaan (Hebrew: כנען‎), Land of Israel (Hebrew: ארץ ישראל‎ Erets Yisrael), Judea (Hebrew: יהודה‎ yehuda), Holy Land (Hebrew: ארץ הקדש Erets Ha-Kodesh‎; Latin: Terra Sancta; Arabic: الأرض المقدسة‎ (Ard-al-Muqaddasah)and Cisjordan.

The Hebrew scriptures call the region Canaan (related to an ancient nation, exist no longer) (Hebrew: כּנען‎) when referring to the pre-Israelite period and afterwards Israel (Yisrael). The name "Land of the Hebrews" (Hebrew: ארץ העברים‎, Eretz Ha-Ivrim) is also found. The wide area appears to be the habitat of the ancient ethnic Hebrews, though perhaps shared with other ethnic groups. The land of Canaan is part of the land given to the descendants of Abraham, which extends from the Nile to the Euphrates River (Genesis 15:18). This land is said to include an area called Aram Naharaim, which includes Haran in modern Turkey, from where Abraham the ancestor of the Israelites departed.

The events of the Four Gospels of the Bible take place entirely in Israel.

In the Qur'an, the term الأرض المقدسة ("Holy Land", Al-Ard Al-Muqaddasah) is mentioned at least seven times, once when Moses proclaims to the Children of Israel: "O my people! Enter the holy land which Allah hath assigned unto you, and turn not back ignominiously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin." (Surah 5:21)

Currently, the Arabs living in the land of Israel are working to create a state called Palestine in part of the land, though this has been met with mixed views from the international community.

As one of the names for this region over the years has been "Palestine," but that name never referred to a sovereign country [1] nor was it ever an Arab country [2]. Historically, Arab Palestinians have lived primarily in Syria and Jordan. The area Palestine is the home of many terrorist organizations, such as the Palestine Liberation Organization, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (related to Fatah Arafat & Abu Mazen), Hamas, Islamic Jihad.