The Jewish people also have a historic connection to the land that is claimed by the Palestinians.
- Many of the holiest Jewish sites sit in the area that is now claimed as a Palestinian state, including East Jerusalem and the Western Wall.
- Jews have maintained a continuous presence in the land of Israel for more than 3,000 years—a fact supported by substantial archaeological and historical evidence.
The Jewish people's right to sovereignty in their homeland has been firmly established in international law.
- In 1917 the British Government issued the Balfour Declaration, which explicitly called for the "establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." The British government promised to undertake efforts to "facilitate the achievement of this object."
- Following World War I, the Allied powers convened in San Remo, Italy. This conference created the basis for the British Mandate of Palestine, giving Israel the legal right, based on international law, to become a sovereign nation under the oversight of Great Britain. The San Remo Resolution was later approved by the entire 52-member League of Nations in 1922, further entrenching it as international law.
- In 1947 the newly created United Nations voted to partition the British Mandate of Palestine into two states: one for the Jewish inhabitants of the Mandate and a second one for the Arab inhabitants. The Jewish residents accepted this resolution. The Arab residents rejected it and launched a war of annihilation against the new Jewish state, joined by five outside Arab armies.
What about the “atrocity” that took place in Deir Yassin in 1948?
On April 9, 1948, just a month before the official start of Israel's 1948 War of Independence (after the 1947 UN Partition Plan was announced), Zionist paramilitaries attacked the village of Deir Yassin near Jerusalem and killed 107 Palestinians—men, women, and children. However, what really happened that day does not depict a large-scale massacre but a deliberate attempt by Palestinian leadership to force Arab militaries of surrounding countries to intervene in the battle over Palestine—leading some to posit the whole thing is a myth. Keep learning about what's substantiated by historians and what is propaganda in the below resources.
- Former Kuwaiti Minister Blasts Palestinian Strategy Past Century
- The Truth About Deir Yassin
- What Is Deir Yassin and the Nakba? (Video)
Israel captured the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in a defensive war in 1967. It has satisfied its obligations under international law to administer these areas until permanent borders are set within the framework of a permanent peace agreement.
- Israel's possession of these lands was legal since the Jewish people had been included in the land approved for a Jewish State by the British Mandate, San Remo, and League of Nations agreements.
- In 1947 the UN Partition Plan set aside areas in the West Bank and Gaza for Arab sovereignty—but the Arab countries rejected the plan.
- Israel's possession of these territories is not a legal "occupation" because these territories were never the possession of an Arab entity and are therefore considered to be "disputed territories."
- As a result of the Oslo Accords, 97 percent of Palestinians enjoy self-rule under the Palestinian Authority.
A "State of Palestine" never existed in history.
- The areas now described as Palestinian were once part of the British Empire and the Ottoman Turkish Empire.
- In 1948 Egypt captured the Gaza Strip and Jordan captured Judea and Samaria, renaming the territory "the West Bank."
- Egypt and Jordan controlled these areas until 1967. During that time, no country in the Arab World called for the creation of a Palestinian state.
Additional Resources
- Is Zionism "Settler Colonialism"? (article, 2024)
- Sovereignty over Jerusalem and Its Old City – Lawyer Dr. Jacques P. Gauthier analyzes the Jewish people's legal claim to their capital (Video)
- "Whose Land"? (CBN, 2023 video)
- Debunking Revisionist History about Israel's Legal Right to the Holy Land (CBN, 2021 video)
- The Real Story behind History's Oldest Land Dispute (Jerusalem Dateline, 2017 video)
- Is Israel Occupying the West Bank and Gaza Strip? (article, 2024)
- The Truth about the West Bank (video)