Jews and Arabs have always been the indigenous peoples of Palestine (a Roman designation).
There was never a Palestinian state; the only self-governing nation was the ancient state of Israel until it was destroyed by Rome. Foreign conquerors ruled until after World War I.
The United Nations promised to create a Jewish homeland in reaction to the Holocaust. In 1948, the area was partitioned into Arab and Jewish states. But the Palestinians refused partition and aided by five surrounding Arab nations, attacked, urging Arabs to flee the region. More than 700,000 Arabs fled or were expelled.
Israel miraculously defeated the Arabs, enlarging territory, but Jordan annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Some 156,000 Arabs remained and became citizens of Israel.
Jordan lost the West Bank and Jerusalem in the Six-Day War in 1967. In 1993, the Oslo Accords authorized the Palestinian National Authority to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza, but Israel has been under siege since 1948.
Carol White
Makiki
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