Short history of the Palestine and Israel conflict and why supporting Israel matters for America’s future
Ancient Israel, Modern Israel, and Palestine
In 1948, “modern Israel” was established in “ancient Israel,” which is now called Palestine (where the once united “Kingdoms of Israel and Judah” were located). [Ancient E.U.]
Jerusalem has been conquered more than 40 times
Throughout history, the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Romans, Muslims, Mongols, Ottoman Turks, and the British Empire wanted a piece of Jerusalem, the holy capital of Israel.
Over 100 battles have been fought to control it and conquered at least forty times.
The Palestine-Israel conflict centers on three historical events:
- God’s promise to Israel and its restoration.
- Muslims’ conquest of Jerusalem.
- Politics between the Arabs, the West, and the United Nations.
1. God’s promise to Israel
Canaan: The “Promised Land”
The indigenous people of Canaan were never a unified ethnic group and without a ruler until Josua led its conquest around 13 BCE. The land was named after a man called Canaan, the grandson of Noah (Genesis 10). [Timeline of Israel]
Eventually, Canaan was conquered by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Alexander the Great, the Seleucids, and the Roman Empire.
Canaan: The Land of Judeae
When Pompey conquered Jerusalem and surrounding areas, Canaan became a Roman province (Land of Judaea) in 63 BCE. [Britanica 1,2]
Judea, including Samaria and Idumea, was part of ancient Israel. Today, it’s recognized as part of the Palestinian territories.
2. Muslim conquest of Jerusalem
Despite having few natural resources, Israel’s dry, arid lands have been the objects of various empires and nations for thousands of years.
Islamization of Jerusalem
Islamization of Jerusalem spanned over 500 years. In the early 690s, the Dome of the Rock was built on the “foundation stone,” the location of the former Jewish Temple.
Other Muslim structures, such as memorials and gates, were constructed on the mount in Israel.
List of Israel’s conquerors
- Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian periods from 733 BCE to 582 BCE.
- Persian period from 539 BCE to 347.
- Greeks (Hellenistic period) from 332 BCE to 144.
- The early Roman period was from 63 to 117.
- The late Roman period was from 130 to 313.
- The Byzantine period was from 324 to 629.
- Early Muslim period from 636 to 968.
- Fatimid and Seljuk ruled from 969 to 1098.
- Salah al-Din Usuf captured Jerusalem in 1187.
- Crusader’s period from 1099 to 1250.
- Khwarezmian Tartars out the Jews in 1244.
- Ayyubids drove Tartars out in 1247.
- Mamluks Sultanate ruled from 1250 to 1517.
- Mongol Empire in 1260.
- Mamluk period from 1267 to 1496.
- Early Ottoman period 1516 to 1798.
- Napoleon’s campaign in 1799.
- The late Ottoman period was from 1821 to 1908.
- British Mandate of Palestine from 1918-1948.
Emperor Hadrian renamed the “Land of Judeae” to “Palestine”
In 132 A.D., Roman Emperor Hadrian renamed Judaea (Israel) to ‘Syria-Palestina’ after the Bar Kokhba (Jewish) revolt. By the early 1900s, the British referred to it as Palestine. [Britanica]
Hadrian renamed Judaea (Israel) to ‘Syria-Palestina.’
Muslims conquer Jerusalem
Muslims occupied Jerusalem for 451 years, from 638 until 1099. But it was Saladin, the Muslim Sultan of Egypt and Syria (Ayyubid dynasty), who made history in the Battle of Hattin.
- Saladin rallied the Muslim world against the (Christian) Crusader army of Europe.
- He recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187 (the Second Crusade).
- Saladin ruled vast areas of Egypt, Syria, and Jerusalem.
From the Roman to the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire
From 1516 until the end of World War I, the whole region of western Asia was part of the Ottoman Empire, including Syria-Palestinia. [IPS]
Judgment for the sins of modern Israel
Although they claim God’s protection, Israel will be judged not necessarily for its land grab but for embracing liberal ideologies such as PRIDE March, SlutWalk, and abortion, which Yahweh despised.
3. The politics between Israel, the U.N., and PLO
Partition of Palestine in 1947
Before the partition of Palestine, the British promised to support the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine under the Balfour Declaration in 1917.
Naturally, what followed was increased hatred for the Jews, not by the Europeans, but this time by its Muslim neighbors.
The League of Nations (United Nations today)
It was endorsed by the Allied powers under the British mandate over Palestine and approved by the newly created League of Nations in 1922. More Jews began to immigrate to the land until the Second World War broke out.
The Philippines was the only Asian country to vote in favor of creating the State of Israel under U.N. Resolution 181 in 1947. Israel and the Philippines established full diplomatic relationships in 1957.
Palestinian Liberation Front (PLO)
In 1964, Palestinian nationalists formed a “united Arab” to seek “Palestinian statehood” in former Mandatory Palestine to oppose Israel. Fatah leader Yasser Arafat was its first PLO chairman.
Since then, the PLO launched military attacks on Israel—but Israel kept winning.
State of Palestine in 1988
In 1988, the Palestine State was established (West Bank) as a de jure sovereign state (by right) under the Fatah and the Gaza Strip under Hamas—also in conflict. [CFR]
They’ve been an “observer state” at the United Nations since 2012 and are recognized by 138 countries, though not as a member.
In 2022, the U.N. recognized Nakba Day, commemorating the displacement of Muslims in Palestine after “modern Israel” was established in 1948.
Recognizing the Palestine State, admission to the U.N. (as an observer), and acknowledging Nakba Day will only increase violence and instability in the region—perhaps leading to an apocalypse that will commence in Israel. [Thinc.; End times]
Land Grab: Israel expands its territory in Palestine
The land of Canaan was promised to the Israelites by God, which they occupied for at least 3,000 years.
However, not everyone believes in the God of Israel—the reason to invalidate their claim to occupied territories and call it a relentless and illegal “land grab” that Jews justify.
Israel-Arab Conflicts
- First Arab-Israeli War in 1948 (Palestinian Nakbah to give way to the State of Israel.)
- Suez Crisis in 1956 (Second Arab–Israeli or Sinai War, Israel joins British and French forces to capture the Suez Canal.)
- Six-Day War in 1967 (Syria bombarded Israeli villages in Golan Heights.)
- Yom Kippur War in 1973 (Eygpt crosses Suez unto Golan Heights.)
- Lebanon war in 1982 (After Israel’s withdrawal from Sinai, Israeli bombed Beirut, a PLO stronghold; invaded Lebanon but withdrew in 1985)
- Second Lebanon War in 2006 (Hezbollah operation against Israel to release Lebanese prisoners.)
- Israel-Gaza conflict in 2023. (Hamas attacks Israel and took civilian hostages)
The critical support of the United States
To this date, the number of countries supporting Israel is dwindling. In 2022, many countries supported Nakba Day (an anti-Israel celebration), which the U.N. Assembly voted in favor of.
Most of Europe and the USA voted against it, maintaining a balance of support and preventing an all-out war against Israel.
U.S. Democrats are mostly anti-Israel
In 2021, the U.S. House passed legislation to help restock its Iron Dome that protects Israel from missile strikes—just days after Democrats removed the funding.
Supporting Israel follows a Jewish prophecy: “Whoever blesses Israel will be blessed, and whoever curses Israel will be cursed” (Numbers 24:9).
