Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

Although there may be Palestinians who live in Israel and are Israeli citizens, and who also may have even converted to Judaism, the Palestinians who live in territories such as the Gaza Strip, the West Bank of the Jordan River, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula, which came under Israel's control following the so-called "Six-Day War" (5-10 June 1967), as well as the "Yom Kippur War" (6-25 October 1973) between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and were either subsequently absorbed by Israel, restored to their former countries (such as Egypt), or granted local autonomy as a result of negotiations in the years since then, were -- and in many cases still are -- predominantly Muslim (that is, adherents of the Islamic faith).

That was also the case in Palestine as a whole before the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 under international auspices as a safe homeland for Jews following the extermination of millions of Jews by Nazi Germany (both in Germany and in the nations that Nazi Germany conquered) from 1933 to 1945.

The establishment of Israel led to conflict between Israel and the neighboring Arab (Muslim) nations or territorial entities that has never been fully resolved among all parties -- although some nations such as Egypt and Jordan have signed peace treaties with Israel -- and that continues to the present day, as the recent rocket attacks on Israel that have originated in the Gaza Strip (instigated by the anti-Israel terrorist group Hamas) have illustrated.

May 14 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report