Palestine

The Whole Truth

 

History of the Arabic
Region

When
Christopher Columbus discovered the new continent, which is known today as
America, the Arabic countries were then under the rule of a great Islamic
state, namely the Ottoman Empire, which had extended its dominion over all the
Arabic soil and countries known today, in addition to some other Islamic
states. Such empire was the last Islamic state that had reigned over the Arabic
region, and that was from the year 1516 till the year 1918.

The
Arabic regions and the Middle East region had witnessed the rise of many
governments and Islamic States that followed one after the other on its soil,
according to place and time. The following table, which is compiled from
different historic resources, shows the times of such states, and its
geographic prevalence since the rise of Islam till the establishment of the
Ottoman Empire:

Note:
this table cites the most important countries that the aforementioned states
had ruled and not all of them.

This
table reveals clearly the versatility of states that shared control, or
contended with each others for the control of the Arabic region, the Middles
East, and the Gulf. In addition, it pinpoints to the absence of any foreign
influence in such regions, and especially what is now known as Israel.

Owing
to the fact that the Middle East is privileged with great importance due to its
spiritual and religious value, as it was the place of descent of religions and
messengers. In addition, it is considered the commercial crossroads, and the
point of junction of the three most important continents at that time: Europe,
Africa, and Asia, hence it had witnessed many wars, which drained the Arabic
nation for long centuries, because of the external greediness and the numerous
invasions, in addition to the internal dissensions, which had caused
states to fall down, and others to rise over its debris, as shown in the above
table. Nevertheless, the external greediness remained the severer, in
particular with the recurrence of attempts to destroy the Islamic state, lay
hands on it, and manipulate its nations and riches.

The Crusades are considered one of the gravest
invasions, under which the region had suffered the scourges of military
expeditions, the first of which was prompted by Pope Urban II at
Clermont in the year 1095. The historian Foucher de Chartres had talked
about this incident in his book “Histoire du pèlerinage des Francs à
Jérusalem”, where we quote what he said in page 122: “War is not to acquire
just one city, but rather the region of Asia as a whole, together with its
countless riches and treasures. Thus proceed to the sanctified tomb, and
liberate the sacred land from the hands of the robbers, and take it to
yourselves, for this land as the Torah has said outpours with milk and honey.”

Among the other important invasions that the Muslims
suffered under during this long history, is the ravaging Mongol and Tatar
invasions, which had overthrown the Abbasid Caliphs in the year 1258, and
destroyed Baghdad, killing from its people more than 800 thousands, their
troops advanced towards the rest of the Middle East countries, spreading fear
all over the region, where Syria and Palestine had fallen under their dominion.
Then and under the circle of struggle and contention between France and
Britain, the former, under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte had mounted a
campaign against Egypt and Palestine in the Year 1897, where he occupied many
Palestinian cities, and committed a massacre killing more than 12000 Arab
captives. Those last wars were not less greedy and atrocious, if they were not
even more bloody, which brought about more affliction and hardship to the Arabic
region that rankles with its wounds, for the British and the French had broken
up the unity of the Islamic states and occupied them, imposing on the citizens
different systems that violate the sanctities and traditions of these nations,
enough to recall to our minds the number of victims of the French occupation in
Algeria, which reached million and half a million martyrs, in order for all to
know the brutality of that occupier, who exceeded that of Tatar under the
leadership of their savage leader Holako.

 

Controlling The Arabic
Region And The Emergence of Colonies

Owing to the great number of wars that depleted the
Islamic states and the Arabic nation, the colonizing power managed to overthrow
the Ottoman Empire, and fetter its influence little by little. Then followed
the signing of Sykes-Picot Agreement between France and Britain in 1916,
through which they agreed upon dividing the Arabic region into controlling
areas, thus they subjugated Lebanon and Syria to French dominion, while Jordan
and Iraq were subjugated to the British dominion, as for Palestine it remained
a small state. All this occurred without paying the least heed to the opinion
of the people of the region, as if they did not care about the future of their
land, or as if the people were no more than just slaves to the colonist to do
to them whatever he wanted. Facing up this racial division and illegitimate
control of the Arabic countries, it was the duty of the nations of the region
to strive to liberate the Arabic lands from the British and French occupation.
The following table shows the dates of independence of these countries,
according to the information found in the Arab League site on the internet:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The above table shows how all the Arabic countries
have gained their independence, and put an end to the suppression and despotism
of occupation, except Palestine that stills suffers savagery and brutality of the colonist
without achieving its independence, and they were even expelled out of their
land, and were driven away to contiguous countries, while others, who are
foreigners to the region and totally different from its people in their
conventions and customs were implanted in their place. They were embedded by
the British colonist by the power of the arms, in revenge for the independence
movements that emancipated the Arabic countries and lifted up high the flags of
victory. Hence, it is rendered essential to clarify the whole story of the
history of Palestine, so that everyone knows how the world has now reached this
stage of dissension, contention, warfare, disturbance,  and genocide.

 

Palestine and the
Historical Truth

It is considered easy to acquire accurate information
substantiated by documented resources about the history of Palestine dating
back to thousands of years till our contemporary time, and that because of the
abundance of resources and studies that tackled this history, on top of the
places that secure such information is the Palestinian Authority, and that to
make sure that the information is free of any distortion or twisting, and in
order for the coming generation, whether Palestinians or not, never to forget
this history. On such basis, the Palestinian National Information Center
working under the General Institute for Information, which in turn is
affiliated to the Palestinian Authority, provides full historical
information  corroborated with
studies and researches.

Prehistoric Palestine

The name of Palestine:

Palestine was known since ancient history as Kan’an
land, where it was mentioned in the reports of one of the army leaders to King
Mary. In addition, this name is found inscribed clearly on the obelisk of
Adrimi, who was the king of Alkha (Tal Al-A’tshenah) during the middle of the
fifth century before Christ. The origin of the word Palestine, as it was
mentioned in the Assyrian records during the era of the king of Assyria
(Addizary III) around the year 800 B.C. comes from the word Philsta, where he
had inscribed on his obelisk that in the fifth year of his reign, his forces
had submitted Palastu under his control, and compelled its people to pay taxes.
Also the word Palestine was mentioned by Herodotus on Aramean basis, as we find
him using it in referring to  a
place on the south part of Syria or (Palestinian Syria) nearby Finithya  till the Egyptian boundaries. Moreover,
the Romanian historians, like Agathar Chides, Strabo, and Diodoru had used such
naming.

During the Romanian era, the name of Palestine used to
be called on all the sacred land, then it developed to be the official name of
this district since the era of Hadrian, thus this name grew to be widely used
in the Christian church, where they used to refer to it quite often in the
Christian pilgrims reports. On the other hands, Palestine used to be a part of
Bilad Al-Sham during the Islamic era.

The fecundity of the Palestinian land, in addition to
its distinguished position had made it habitable since ancient times, where it
played an important role as a cultural junction between different places around
the world, by virtue of its central position, which rendered it historically
recognizable since ancient times.

The Ancient Stone Age

According to what the archeological discoveries have
revealed, scientists agreed that man lived on the Palestinian land, he is known
as man of erect stature,. Those ancestors were primarily hunters, who traveled
in search of different herds of animals. Worth mentioning that prehistoric man
during that period had passed through different development phases, where he
began to develop his hunting maneuvers and his tools made of stone. During the
third phase of the Stone Age, the thinking man appeared, where the knife made
of long blades, constituted the primary tool used in this period. Remnants of
that man was discovered inside caves in Palestine, like Al-Amira cave, Irc
Al-Ahmar, Al-wad, Kubarah and other places in Negev desert. This phase marks
the beginning of human gatherings, that represented a developed social form,
despite the fact that such groups remained surviving on hunting and the gathering
of provision.

17000 – 8000 B.C.: Shifting
from Gathering to Production

During that phase man progressed from the phase of
gathering to that of production, where he started to search for the spots of
water to settle around, and collect the seeds of small plants like wheat,
barley to plant them, in addition to practicing hunting. Thus that phase from
the Stone age was distinguished by stability, and development of the means of
life and production, especially after man discovered pottery, and used it in building
and manufacturing of tools.

8000 – 4000 B.C.: appearance of
agricultural communities

Man during that phase depended on fishing and
cultivation of some cereals, but he had not yet known breeding of animals. In
addition to such activities, there were commercial connections between
Palestine and Turkey, as tools made of Obsidian that Turkey used to export were
found in Ariha and other countries, in return Ariha used to export raw
materials, like tar, salt from Dead Sea. Then in subsequent phases man learned
how to breed animals.

4000 – 2000 B.C.: The Closing
of the Fourth millennium before Christianity

That period witnessed a clear change in the economic,
social, architectural aspects in Palestine. Probably the most distinguished
thing in that period is the appearance of a large number of cemeteries that are
engraved inside the rocks in Palestine. During the subsequent periods, the
usage of metals were discovered, where man started to manufacture from it tools
and vessels. This period also witnessed the emergence of temples, which the
excavation processes had unveiled their presence in many Palestinian cities and
villages. As for the development of the industrial and commercial level, it
pinpointed the demographic growth, together with the increase of the standard
of living and the progress of agriculture.

 

Semites

According to the archeological discoveries in Egypt
and Iraq, the Semites are considered the most ancient known nations, who  lived on the Palestinian soil since the
fourth millennium before Christ. They used to inhabit the eastern shore of the
Mediterranean sea. As for the religious aspect, the Semites are considered
-  originally – the tribes
descending from Shem, the eldest son of Noah (peace be upon him). What is
confirmed, is that the original ancient inhabitants of Palestine were all Arab,
who migrated from the Arabic Peninsula following a drought that stroke it. Thus
they  lived in their new native
country “Canaan” for more than two thousands years before the appearance of the
Prophet Moses (peace be upon him) and his followers.

Canaanites

According to the documented assessments, the famous
Canaanites migration from the Arabic Peninsula occurred during the mid-third
millennium before Christ. Though a group of the researchers have deduced that
the Canaanites had settled in the country since the beginning of the third millennium,
basing their assumption on the Egyptian Archeological discoveries. While others
believe that the presence of the Canaanites dates back to seven thousands years
ago, and that through tracing the monuments in their ancient cities, the most
ancient of which is “Ariha” that stands erect till our day, and which is
considered the most ancient city on earth. Although assessments of the precise
beginning of the Canaanite presence has oscillated, what is unanimously agreed
upon is that they were the first to inhabit this region among the ancient
nations that were present at that time, and they were the first to erect on the
soil of Palestine a civilization. It was mentioned in the Hebrew writings that
Canaanites are the original inhabitants of the country, and it is also
mentioned in Torah that they were the Amorite people. One of the most ancient
cities that exist till our day is Ariha, Jericho, Asdod, Acco, Gaza, Al-Majdal,
Jaffa, Askelan and Bisan. There are also many cities and villages, some of which
still remain till our day, and others have perished. The metropolis of Canaan
was  Shekeem.

The Canaanites were renowned for cultivation and
industry, they had excelled in mining, manufacturing of pottery, glass,
clothes, and textile. In addition, they excelled in the art of architecture.
Music and literature come on the top of the Canaanite’s civilization, where no
other Semite population had ever cared for art and music like the Canaanites
did, as they had quoted a lot from the music of the different nations, which
took of the ancient Near East a home to them. As music constituted one of the
worshipping rituals for Canaanites, thus their music rhythms, and instruments
had spread all over the region. No one can gainsay that art and literature are
the epitome of civilization. Thus there is no wonder when we trace the Israeli
writings, we discover the great effort exerted by the Israelis to delude the
whole world into thinking that they were the erectors of that grand
civilization, and the composers of hymn, songs, and chanting. They had
succeeded in making of this falsehood a fact in the eyes of many. But the great
trusted historians like “Bristed” described the flourishing Canaanites city
when the Hebrews entered it, as a city that contained luxurious and comfortable
houses, a city that knew industry, trade, writing, and temples, thus it had a
civilization, which the primitive Hebrew shepherds had emulated, hence they
deserted their tents, and imitated them in building houses. Moreover, they took
off the leather that they used to wear in the desert, to put on colorful wool
clothes, and as time lapsed, it became hard to differentiate between the
Canaanites and the Hebrews in the outward appearance. Then after the coming of
the Palestinians from the seaside, and the Israelis from Jordan, the land of
Canaan was split among three nations. Henceforth the Canaanites no longer
became the sole masters of the country. Nevertheless, the Canaanite language
remained the prevailing one. Since the dawn of recorded history, namely five
thousands years ago, till the British mandate in the year 1920, Palestine had
known only three languages: Canaanite language in the first place, then Aramean
language, which was the language of Christ (peace be upon him), and thirdly the
Arabic language.

2000 B.C. – 1200 B.C.

At the beginning of the second millennium B.C., cities
had started to witness a certain vivacity, and new modes of architecture and
cemeteries appeared, in addition to creation of new forms of pottery and
weapons. Moreover, this phase was distinguished by developed commercial and
political relationships with most of the ancient Eastern regions, particularly,
Egypt, Bilad Al-Sham, north of Syria, and east of Turkey. Besides, such phase
was marked by the development of pottery manufacturing and the way of selecting
the clay and mixing it, then molding it into shapes by means of a speedy wheel,
thus producing elegant and versatile vessels. On the other hands, this phase
was distinguished by a thorough Egyptian hegemony over Bilad Al-Sham during the
reign of the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties, who  conquered the last of the Hixos kings around the year 1567
B.C., and that through the campaigns embarked by Thutmose III on Bilad Al-Sham
around the year 1480 B.C., also it is characterized by the disappearance of the
strong fortresses backed up by compact layers of mud that were built by the
Hixos. Worth mentioning here, that during that period, Palestine had witnessed
a state of turmoil that affected the region from the northern and middle
districts with the beginning of the reign of the eighteenth dynasty, and that
after the expulsion of the Hixos from Egypt and their chasing them away till
Sharohin in the north of Palestine. Such events were recorded in detailed
manuscripts since the era of Thutmose III, among such manuscripts, one relating
the battle of Megiddo that was under leadership of King of Megiddo and King of
Qadish on the Syrian part, who formed a coalition, to which more than one
thousand and twenty cities entered. Such event was also mentioned in one of
Thutmose’s III topographical manifests, also such scripts where found inscribed
in one of the obelisks that were erected in Karnak and Memphis.

1200 – 550 B.C.: Era of
Kingdoms (Iron Age):

During that period the Palestinians considered
themselves the legitimate successors to the Egyptian authority in Palestine,
thus they held sway over most of its parts. They are usually referred to as the
inhabitants of the Palestinian coast, where they established a number of the main
cities, like Gaza, Askalan, Asdoud, A’qir, Tal As-Safy, and others. The
Canaanite impact had manifested itself over the Palestinians, such effect can
be traced in the names of their deities, like Dagon and A’shtartout, also the
religious life of the inhabitants of the Palestinian coast has its Canaanite
origin, in addition to their religious edifices, most prominent of which is the
consecutive series of temples in Tal Al-Kasilah that was built according to the
fashion of Canaanite temples, with a touch of Egyptian architecture. On the
other hand, there were claims made by the Israeli archeologists concerning the
origin of some archeological discoveries and architectures, which they
attributed to the old Israelis, and which was known in the foreign sources as
“collared-rimjar”.