Before Israel occupation of Gaza and West Bank, who/what was there in that area?

Answer 1

It was pretty much as it is today. there were farms and buildings and people living there. the major population was Palestinians, who lived under Turkish rule until the Ottoman Empire was split up primarily by Great Brittain.

Answer 2

Between 1948 (Israel's creation) and 1967 (6-day war), those areas belonged to Arabs, but it was not until 1967 that they called themselves Palestinians. Instead, they considered themselves to be Jordanians.

Prior to Israel's creation, those areas were part of a British Mandate (euphemism for a colony), but the people were Arab. (In the land that became Israel, the population was 60% Jewish. In Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank combined, Arabs were about 2/3 of the population.) Before becoming a mandate, the land belonged to the Ottoman Empire.

I could keep going on about who controlled the land at which time period, but there were so many empires that controlled these areas dating back thousands of years. As for what was physically in these lands, it was some farmland and some desert.

Answer 3

Between 1948-1967, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was controlled by Jordan. The kingdom even officially annexed the territory, an annexation recognized only by Britain. Jordan gave the Palestinians of the West Bank Jordanian citizenship.

During the same period, Egypt controlled the Gaza Strip, though it never annexed it. Gazans were not given Egyptian citizenship and were mostly forced to stay in refugee camps.

Prior to 1948, both territories were part of the British mandate of Palestine. Until World War I they were part of the Ottoman Empire.

Answer 4

Gaza was occupied by Egypt and the West Bank was occupied by Jordan.
Of course, nobody refers to those as occupations, exclusively referring to only Israel as an occupying force.

Before 1948, it was part of a British Empire territory and before then, in 1917, it was part of the Ottoman Empire.

Answer 5

Before Israel Gaza was occupied by Egypt and the West Bank was occupied by Jordan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_the_Gaza_Strip_by_Egypt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupation_of_the_West_Bank_by_Jordan
Wow I am surprised not a single person mentioned this fact. History people.

Answer 6

Mainly Palestinian farmers (olives were major crop.) Of course, there were all manner of differing occupations in the towns and villages.
A huge number of the olive groves (some hundreds of years old) are gone now, destroyed by the Israelis in order to deprive the native peoples of their ability to make a living. I'll tell you what WASn't there: those ugly trailer settlements erected by the occupying Zionist settlers.

Answer 7

it is not unlawful in view that Israel captured the territories after protecting themsleves against the Arab/Muslim invaders in 1967 and 1973 and driving out the weakling, cowardly, pussy armies of the midsection East. right this is a extra desirable question: Will the disgruntled Arabs and Muslims interior the midsection East ever provide up bitching and whining approximately their fictitious abuse by making use of Israel?

Answer 8

A UN human rights investigator has likened Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories to apartheid South Africa and says there should be "serious consideration" over bringing the occupation to the international court of justice.

The report by John Dugard, a South African law professor who is the UN's special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, represents some of the most forceful criticism yet of Israel's 40-year occupation.

Prof Dugard said although Israel and apartheid South Africa were different regimes, "Israel's laws and practices in the OPT [occupied Palestinian territories] certainly resemble aspects of apartheid." His comments are in an advance version of a report on the UN Human Rights Council's website ahead of its session next month.

After describing the situation for Palestinians in the West Bank, with closed zones, demolitions and preference given to settlers on roads, with building rights and by the army, he said: "Can it seriously be denied that the purpose of such action is to establish and maintain domination by one racial group (Jews) over another racial group (Palestinians) and systematically oppressing them? Israel denies that this is its intention or purpose. But such an intention or purpose may be inferred from the actions described in this report."

He dismissed Israel's argument that the sole purpose of the vast concrete and steel West Bank barrier is for security. "It has become abundantly clear that the wall and checkpoints are principally aimed at advancing the safety, convenience and comfort of settlers," he said.

Gaza remained under occupation despite the withdrawal of settlers in 2005. "In effect, following Israel's withdrawal, Gaza became a sealed-off, imprisoned and occupied territory," he said.

Prof Dugard said his mandate was solely to report on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories and he described as a violation of international humanitarian law the firing of rockets by Palestinians from Gaza into Israel. "Such actions cannot be condoned and clearly constitute a war crime," he said. "Nevertheless, Israel's response has been grossly disproportionate and indiscriminate and resulted in the commission of multiple war crimes."

Answer 9

They were many Palestinian refugees who were waiting for the UN to implement their right of return to their homes according to the UN resolutions.

Answer 10

I have a better question. Why is that everyone with an "Israel" question has less than 100 points?

I mean that is sooooo weird!!!!