Was Palestine a country before Israel was created in 1948?

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Bravo Sierra

of course it was, but unfortunatly for them, they paid the price of the german (hitler's) arrogance against the world, and the vaticans silence during this war, Zionists took over and doing to palestenians even worst than Hitler did to Europe !

Palestine is an oppressed country in the 21st century and Zionists are the shame of humanity.

Beauty

Yes it was.

http://www.palestinehistory.com/history/quicktime/quicktime.htm

http://www.palestine-net.com/history/

Ms.Miche

Yes Mary Moon,

It was called Palestine before 1948, but you probably already knew that!

As you can see this is a very long story, but the bottom line is both Palestinians and Israelis belong to that land. Both come from similar regions, and it would be very difficult to tell who was there first, nor does it matter at this point. What matters is to find a way to create coexistence - a way to live in peace and harmony. Unfortunately, as you can clearly see in this forum, there are one sided radicals from both parties who spend hours in this forum mentally masturbating until they are blue in the face, trying to convince everybody that there is only one right party.

The fact is, both parties are right, and both parties have the right to live in this part of the world. When you are dealing with men, you also have to deal with a very limited capacity to understand the word coexistence. Because men are all about power and territory. The problem is not the land and its inhabitants, because many times over the centuries Jewish and gentile lived side by side and had no trouble getting on.

But when the politician and terrorists decide what to do, then you have a problem that is seemingly impossible to solve.

It the end, however, there will be a solution, simply because of the fact that there has never been in history a territorial dispute that didn't somehow get resolved, even if it took more than a few hundred years.

I trust that if the two parties cannot come to an understanding, a stronger force will take over, and peace will come from a different angle.

Sincerely,

Ms. Miche ; })

opal1331

Some say yes. others say no, but, the Funk & Wagnels encyclopedia, has articles that claim that Palestine existed more than 3000 years ago, but today's modern history books have been changed to where they claim there never was a place called Palestine, or Palestinian people.
Iguess this was to bolster the Jewish claim that they alone owned the land.
A little research on the various parts of the internet, will eventually reward you with maps of the area called Palestine, that existed long before the Jews tried to settle the area.
Also, a trip to the library and search of some old documents and old world maps will again show the existance of such a place.

Galahad

Palestine was very much like New England in terms of it's legal status; the region was known by all under that name from at least the first century to 1948; even the Jewish Agency - the precursor of the zionist government - used this term. Like New England,it was a region consisting of smaller administrative units but with a common culture and ethnicity. Zionist propaganda began arguing around 1968 that so such place or people or culture had ever existed. But this is a shell game. They leave out the fact that they are merely referencing an independent existence. To suggest - as all jews now do - that "it never existed" because it had no independent legal status as a nation is as absurd as suggesting New England does not exist because it has never been a country in it's own right,and that therefore it cannot have a common culture and ethnicity. With the exception of Boston it is 95% Anglo-Saxon with a unique culture obvious to all visitors to Maine,Vermont,New Hampshire,rural Massachussetts and Rhode Island. To reckon the idiocy - there is no other word for it - of suggesting that if Palestine "never existed" because it was a province of the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years is akin to suggesting New England never and does not now exist because it has been a region of the US for more than two hundred years. The implication for zionists is that the non-existent Palestine was up for grabs due to the lack of prior independence. That would be like saying a jewish organization could set up in New England and then abruptly declare it to be a Jewish State,drive out the Anglo-Saxons,and premise all this on the idea that "there never was a country called New England". If you doubt the pre-1948 existence of Palestine check any urban library index and you will find hundred of books on Palestine published throughout the 19th century and right up to 1949. It is ridiculous to suggest it never existed. A good example of how it was viewed would be the scholarly article in the 1911 Encycopedia Brittanica. For zionist usage of the term consult any zionist publication prior to May 1948. Like all propaganda lines,this Palestine-was-never-a-country-culture-pe... crumbles under the merest of scrutiny.

Shadi

Palestine was the name of that place back then but it wasnt a country It was a part of "AlSham countries" or Syria but it was always called Palestine
Al Sham countries were : Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine
Devided by British occupation in order to be controlled
Take a look at the map of these countries and see how the borders look like ! You will see no natural cerves like in other borders..

Zeno

Legally it became one at the Versailles Conference and later at San Remo,however under terms of the Mandancy,which was awarded to Great Britain it was to be governed by the Brits for 20 years or so during which they would prepare it for statehood. They did nothing of the kind,and in fact threw up quite a few obstacles to the establishment of anything comparable to the Jewish Agency,while treating the Jewish Agency as if it were a shadow government. Inexplicably the jews turned against them with blinding cruelty and venom in 1944-48 so as the UK prepared to abandon the Mandate they arranged for the government they had created in Jordan - also a now-former British Mandate - to simply assume governmental authority. The UN proposed a partition plan which the jewish agency accepted but with no comparable organ the Palestinians were in effect not in any position to represent themselves. The UN under superpower pressure recognized the Jewish Agency as the new government of the eastern zone but left the fate of the western portion unresolved; eventually Jordan claimed it. Palestine has had a common culture for more than a thousand years,known as al-sham. It was once considered part of Syria.

Maya

It was a nation is terms of culture and ethnicity but administratively it had been under a variety of powers,never knowing national independence,rather like the ancient hebrews who were rarely independent but usually dominated by some empire or another,starting with the Persians. It has also been known as Palestine although the actual borders depended on which power was administering it; however it's legal status changed with the mandancy,resulting in both well-defined borders and status as a "national entity" in the words of the San Remo Conference,so normally at the conclusion of the Mandate it would have received it's independence,just like Syria,Jordan and Lebanon. Instead,the UN presumed to dispose of half of it's national territory by literally giving it to a jewish organization known as The Jewish Agency,then communicating to neighboring states that this had been done,period. The UN did recognize the right of the Arab League to represent Palestinian interests but did not consult with the Palestinians on that,nor had the British done their job under the terms of the mandancy which demanded the establishment in all mandated territories of what might be called governments-in-waiting. This was done as part of a secret deal with what would become Jordan so that at the end of the mandate Jordan would fill a power vacuum by administering Palestine,no government having been established there. That's how a legal entity designated at San Remo as a "national entity" - a country-to-be without a current government,the Ottoman Empire having been dismantled - ended up without any semblance of a government as the mandate era approached it's end,and that is how half of what was in 1920 scheduled to become an independent country ended up divided between Jordan and a local jewish organization.

Brynn

No. Was the jewish-dominated section of Palestine a country before 1948? Of course not. Same logic. As far as the so-called Partition Plan the point out the following: nobody consulted the Palestinians. There was no plebiscite. As for the Un it simply told them they were losing half their territory because jews are rich and influential and they aren't. If a plebiscite had been held I doubt they would have accepted the UN's logic.

mark

first we have to remember that the term nationhood is a new term. Many nations in clouding most of the European countries were created in the late 1800s.
Palestine was part of many states and the land was called all ways Palestine. in 1921 under the league of Nations mandate system the country was called officially The Mandate Government of Palestine. Note it was not called Israel. Those who ignore that fact have being subjects to history twisting and contemporary propaganda by the Zionist leaders. Most believe lies such as there was no Palestine nor they were people living in Palestine either. Those people never red a true history books about Palestine or the Palestinian people.

Mimi-מימי- ميمي

No it wasn't. It was a part of the british Mandate since the British were occupying it at that time. But it was not a country or a state with a president. Actually, it had never been a country (with a president) before 1948. It only became a country after the "zionist" occupation (occupation of land that was not given to them according to the partition plan).

rosends is right about everything he/she said except that he/she chose to put Palestinians in quotations. So I am putting "zionists" in quotation now.

Bahira

Palestine is a country. It is currently under hostile occupation.

Local Machine

Palestine was long before Romans or jews.
"Palestini" is a Greek word meaning "I'll go back some day" or "my old home land"
Long before jews ever moved from their original country the Egypt.

My point exactly

Yes and it still is

Stainless Steel

I agree with Local machine.
He is very educated and he is always right.
(He was my sergeant and he managed to get us all back alive, so he speaks the truth).

doodle

Palestine was not a country - it was a region, such as the Pacific Northwest in the US. It was controlled by the Ottoman Empire until their collapse, then it was controlled by Britain. There was never a Palestinian government, laws, etc which are required for something to be considered a country.

Shalom, Salaam

Trooper

Palestine existed for more than 4000 years ago
Exodus 23 (King James Version): 31 says :

"And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee." Doesn't it mean the Palestine existed before the Torah and the Jews?

Pals were occupying the coastal area from Gaza yo Haifa with 50 kms depth.

To those who do not read English:
Exodus 23:31 in Hebrew:
לא וְשַׁתִּי אֶת-גְּבֻלְךָ, מִיַּם-סוּף וְעַד-יָם פְּלִשְׁתִּים, וּמִמִּדְבָּר, עַד-הַנָּהָר: כִּי אֶתֵּן בְּיֶדְכֶם, אֵת יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ, וְגֵרַשְׁתָּמוֹ, מִפָּנֶיךָ

holmes.john14

It was a region which only had local government if any: the word "medina" means "city" in Arabic.

DANIEL W

No, there has never been a country called "Palestine". Before Israel was created it was a Mandate administered by the British. This also included what is now Jordan (at first). Before the Mandate it was part of the Ottoman Empire.

The last time an independent nation existed in that area of the World was ended in 586 BCE when the Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar's army. There was a short-lived Hasmonean Kingdom from 140-37 BCE but this became part of the Roman Empire.

The word "Palestinian" was invented by the Romans to insult the Jews after Judea had revolted..

samsproudmommy

it was a territory of first the ottomans and then the english

No, it was British territory. Before that it was an Ottoman province.

misemefein08

Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire, until it collapsed after WWI. Palestine then fell under British control, and subsequently Israel was established. So, while there were Palestinian people living in the area before 1948, there wasn't an independent country called Palestine. By "independent country" I mean a country such as France, or Italy for example, which are fully independent entities with a government which is capable of carrying out the functions expected of a government.

mo mosh

No. Palestine constituted a mass of land which is now divided among several countries:
1. Jordan (75% of Palestine)
2. Israel
3. part of Syria
4. part of Lebanon
5. disputed territories (Judea, Samaria, Gaza)

Cher JPA

The mixup from ancient times is that Assyria used Palestinia as part of it's name when it conquered and created a whole large empire that spread well beyond this area, before the days of Islam. The name for the region wasn't resurfaced until the Ottoman empire and Britsh mandate used it extensively for what they controlled in this area.

The current Palestinians called themselves Arabs until around 1964, and called the Jews Palestinians! Their PLO charter describes them as members of the Arab community and NOT as a separate people. They never had a country in the area and were under Ottoman rule for the last umteem centuries. Before that it was all one big Muslim Arab empire that spread all the way to Spain and through Africa, not a Palestinian sub-people. They shifted to calling themselves Palestinians for exactly the political reasons this question raises - to make it easier to say "it's all ours".

So whether they want a state for themselves next to Israel or they don't, they didn't used to have a country called Palestine in this area and they didn't used to be Palestinians, just Arabs.

If you watch Arab outputs over time, I've noticed a "creation" of history that occurs. Something will be reported one way for a while, and only then will a new way to tell the story in their favor be invented and made popular. Even the criticism that Israel is making up history is one of these new versions of history telling. Arab culture (at least here) says propoganda in war is okay. So the rest of us should know that. It's not good or bad, but it's important to know.

Note: when Israel was created there was already a country in place waiting for recognition. They had population (of Jews), govermental structures, ownership of land purchased, and were ready to self govern. To put this under Arab rule would have meant that this group would have to subjected to rule by others. It's unfortunate that the Arabs haven't put together an effective governement in all this time, and based on this commenters, continue to blame everyone else. The Jewish Agency was not the Israeli government - Jews beyond the agency had a parliment, elections, judicial system, newspapers, and military pieces must under united control that were immediately officially unified on formation of a country.

zeuge77

No. It was not internationally recognized as a country. Palestine was under a British Mandate until 1948, but it was handed over to the UN in 1947. A 2/3 majority of the UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into two states- one Jewish, one Arab. "Jewish leaders (including the Jewish Agency), accepted the plan, while Palestinian Arab leaders rejected it and refused to negotiate. Neighboring Arab and Muslim states also rejected the
partition plan". Violence escalated. The State of Israel was declared the day before the British Mandate ended (May 15, 1948) and "The neighboring Arab states and armies (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Transjordan, Holy War Army, Arab Liberation Army, and local Arabs) immediately attacked Israel following its declaration of independence, and the 1948 Arab-Israeli War ensued. Consequently, the partition plan was never implemented."

That's the simple answer to the simple question.

rosends

no, it was a region. It never had a leader, an anthem or an identity as a country. the "palestinians" were a mix of Jew, Arab, Christian and then some who happened to live in the area.

To say that there was any sort of "unified" culture which belonged to the entire region "like New England" is to show incredible ignorance and insensitivity to New England. In fact, Rhode Island was established as an escape for the Puritan mores of Massachusetts. New England is a loose label on a map, but not a signifier of anything more connected than that. Go tell someone in Southie that he is the same as someone from Revere Beach and you'll get punched.

J.driven

Yes it was called Syria. There never has been a Palestine. Long ago the Romans named it Philtisinia but that didn't stick long.

Mr. X

no, it was never a country. the name palestine referred to a region, not a country. like "normandy" is a region of france, not a country.

the only country ever there before 48 was the ancient nation of israel, about 2000 years ago.

it went from the roman empire to the ottoman empire to the british after ww1, to independent countries after ww2, including jordan, egypt, iraq, etc. All those countries are 20th century inventions.

the region of palestine was split into jordan and israel.
what they call palestine today is a small part of the land which used to be owned by egypt (gaza) and jordan(the west bank), and both of those arab countries have given up all rights to those lands. the arabs living there today can't get together either, hamas runs gaza and fatah runs the west bank and they hate each other, they kill and torture each other for power.
that's the story up 'til now.

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