Israel and the palestinians
Israel and the palestiniansIsrael and the Palestinians
Israel is situated at the connection of Africa and Asia. It is 20,000 square kilometres and unlike its neighbour Arab states it lacks natural resources. Lebanon and Syria border it in the north, Jordan in the east and Egypt to the south. Israel has also been holding Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank of the River Jordan since 1967.
It has an extremely varied geography and climate. Most of the coastline lies on the Mediterranean Sea. In the south are the valleys of Jezreel and Hulveh. There is the lake Tiberias and in the east the hills of Samaria ad Judea on the west bank. There is also the Negev desert to the south, which makes up sixty percent of the total land area. Coastal inhabitants face a hot but temperate climate with more rain relative to the north. Inland temperatures are cooler with seldom snow.
Tel Aviv is the largest city and the centre of industry. Jerusalem has been declared the capital but has not been recognised as such by the international community. Major towns in the West Bank include Nablus, Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah and Jericho.
Agriculture and industry employ millions of Israelis. Today Israel is a leading fruit exporter. The industry is mainly based on military. Service industries account for more than half the employment in Israel. Tourism is another source of income.
Politically Israel is a multiparty democracy. A President elected by parliament for a five-year term, a government under a Prime Minister and a 120-member Parliament (Knesset). The people of Israel are extremely diverse. Jews in Israel consist of East European Jews, Moroccans, and Ethiopian Jews. More Jews and Palestinians live outside their �common land� than in it.
Judaism is essentially the religion of ethical monotheism, which means that one God made the world and created the human beings to help complete his plan. In the Bible it is stated that Abraham found Judaism. The land promised to the Jewish was then called Canaan. They were probably a Semitic people made up of nomadic tribes and speaking a language called Hebrew. Under Moses the Jews founded the Judaean State.
Later because it was a small force Israel was invaded by the super powers of the day � Egypt, Assyrian, the Hittites, Greece and finally Rome. In 636 Jerusalem fell to the Arabs. Fallowing in 1557 Ottomans invaded the city. Until the Ottoman collapse in 1918 it remained under Ottoman rule. Afterwards in 1917 when the British forces took Jerusalem and a period of bargaining between the British and the French for their regional strategic interests in the Middle East had begun.
In 1922 France declared a mandate over Syria, and in short Britain and France together controlled all of what is today Lebanon, Israel,...
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