Israel & Palestine: words and meanings

LATE 1800S–1917

Chapter 2

Two national movements take shape

Modern political Zionism emerged in late nineteenth-century Europe. Its supporters argued that Jews were not only a religious community but a people entitled to national self-determination, and that a Jewish homeland offered protection from entrenched antisemitism and recurring violence. At the same time, Arabic-speaking inhabitants of Palestine were developing political identities shaped by local loyalties, Ottoman reform, Arab cultural revival and opposition to growing external control. A distinct Palestinian national consciousness did not appear on one day, but it was visible before the British Mandate.

1947–1949

Chapter 8

Independence for Israel, catastrophe for Palestinians

War began between Palestinian Arab and Jewish forces after the partition vote, months before neighbouring Arab armies entered. Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948. Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon intervened after the British Mandate ended. Israel survived, defeated the Arab armies and expanded beyond the UN’s proposed borders. No Palestinian Arab state emerged. Israel remembers national survival and independence. Palestinians remember the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe.

1987–1993

Chapter 14

An uprising from inside the occupied territories

The First Intifada began in Gaza in December 1987 and spread across the occupied territories. It involved demonstrations, strikes, tax resistance, boycotts, neighbourhood committees, stone-throwing and attacks on Israelis. Israeli forces responded with arrests, curfews, deportations, live fire and other force.

2005–2007

Chapter 18

Israel withdraws from inside Gaza, then Palestinian politics splits

In 2005, Israel removed its settlements and permanent ground forces from inside Gaza. In 2006, Hamas won a majority of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council. After escalating conflict with Fatah, Hamas seized de facto control of Gaza in 2007.