Palestine

Palestine PALESTINE. The region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea that was known as Palestine changed its identity in May 1948. At that time most of the territory became the state of Israel. A portion adjacent to and west of the river was taken by Jordan, earlier known as Transjordan, in the 1948 war for Israel's independence. This area later became known as the West Bank. This division between Jordan and Israel reflects modern historical developments. Until World War I and its aftermath, Palestine was also considered to include lands east of the Jordan River. In 1921 Great Britain, which then administered Palestine, partitioned the area, creating the emirate of Transjordan on the east side of the river. It was this region, with the West Bank, that became known as Jordan in 1949. During the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Israel occupied the West Bank, a situation that continues. Palestine's significance has always been far greater than its size. Strategically located at the joining of Africa and Southwest Asia, Palestine was traditionally fought over by great powers in Egypt and Mesopotamia in ancient times. Later Christian crusaders from Europe occupied the area, seeking to remove the region from Muslim control. Finally the Zionist palestine, jewish, war, jews, israel, arab, jerusalem, british, under, region, known, century, britain, zionists, world, time, land, immigration, during, became, area, zionist, years, west, tribes, rule, political, movement, jordan, came, zionism, state, site, river, remained, population