The question of who “owned” the land first is complex, as both groups have ancestral ties to the region that span thousands of years. Historical, archaeological, and religious records show that the land has been inhabited by numerous peoples and ruled by various empires.
Ancient Origins
- Canaanites: The earliest recorded inhabitants of the region were the Canaanites, who established city-states in the Bronze Age (roughly 3000–1200 BCE).
- Early Israelites: Ancient Israelite tribes emerged as an outgrowth of the indigenous Canaanites or settled in the central highlands around 1200 BCE. The first historical reference to “Israel” appears on the Egyptian Merneptah Stele, dated to approximately 1207 BCE.
- Philistines: Appearing roughly at the same time as the Israelites (circa 1175 BCE), the Philistines settled on the southern coast. The name “Palestine” is derived from this group.
Historical Sovereignty and Naming
- Israelite Kingdoms: Independent Jewish kingdoms (Israel and Judah) existed from approximately 1000 BCE until they were conquered by the Assyrians and Babylonians in the 8th and 6th centuries BCE, respectively.
- Roman Palestine: After Jewish revolts in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, the Roman Empire renamed the province Syria-Palaestina to minimize Jewish connection to the land.
- Arab and Islamic Rule: Following the Muslim conquest in the 7th century CE, the land became home primarily to an Arab population for over a millennium. It was ruled by various Islamic caliphates and later the Ottoman Empire for 400 years.
Modern Claims and Ownership
- British Mandate (1920–1948): After World War I, Britain governed the territory as “Mandatory Palestine”. During this time, Zionist movements encouraged Jewish immigration to re-establish a national home, leading to increased tensions with the local Arab population.
- 1947 UN Partition Plan: The UN proposed dividing the land into two states: one Jewish and one Arab. At the time, Arabs owned approximately 20% of the land and Jews about 6–7%, with the rest held by the Mandate authorities or foreign owners.
- State of Israel (1948): Israel declared independence in 1948. Subsequent wars led to Israel controlling the majority of the territory, while Palestinians faced mass displacement (known as the Nakba).
In summary, from a purely historical perspective, the name “Israel” predates the name “Palestine” by over 1,000 years. However, the Palestinian people have lived on the land for more than a millennium following the Jewish diaspora. Both groups maintain that they are indigenous to the region based on these overlapping histories.