Palestine (region)

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  Boundaries of Roman Syria Palaestina, where dashed green line shows the boundary between Byzantine Palaestina Prima and Palaestina Secunda, as well as Palaestina Salutaris

  Borders of the British Mandate of Palestine

  Borders of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, claimed by State of Palestine

Palestine is a region in the Middle East. It is in the Levant, between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.^[1][2][3] Many cultures have lived in Palestine through history and built their civilizations, such as the Philistines, Phoenicians and Arabs. It is also called the Holy Land. It is where Judaism and Christianity began.

Today, the region is divided between Israel, Jordan, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The territories in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been disputed between Israel and Palestine.^[4][5] Many cities in the region are sacred to Abrahamic religions: Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth and Hebron are among the most important. Now Palestine only owns a quarter of the country.

1. ↑ Jacobson, David M., Palestine and Israel, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 313 (Feb. 1999), pp. 65–74
2. ↑ The Southern and Eastern Borders of Abar-Nahara Steven S. Tuell Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 284 (Nov. 1991), pp. 51–57
3. ↑ Herodotus' Description of the East Mediterranean Coast Anson F. Rainey Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, No. 321 (Feb. 2001), pp. 57–63
4. ↑ Le More, Anne (2008). International assistance to the Palestinians after Oslo: political guilt, wasted money. Routledge studies on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Vol. 1. London and New York: Routledge. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-415-45385-1.
5. ↑ "December Overview" (PDF). UNOCHA. December 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-02-16. Retrieved 2010-01-03.