Palestine (
Arabic: فلسطين,
romanized: Filasṭīn), officially the State of Palestine (دولة فلسطين, Dawlat Filasṭīn), is a country in the
southern Levant region of West Asia. It encompasses two disconnected territories — the
West Bank and the
Gaza Strip, collectively known as the
Palestinian territories — within the larger
region of Palestine. The country shares its borders with Israel to north, west and south, Jordan to the east and Egypt to the southwest. It has a combined land area of 6,020 square kilometres (2,320 sq mi) while
its population exceeds five million people. Its
proclaimed capital is
Jerusalem while
Ramallah serves as its administrative center and
Rafah is currently its largest city.
Arabic is the official language. The majority of Palestinians
practice Islam while Christianity also has a
significant presence.
The
region of Palestine has played an important part in world history. The
Canaanites,
Israelites,
Assyrians,
Babylonians,
Persians,
Greeks,
Romans and
Byzantines all left their mark on the land. In addition to its historical significance, Palestine holds profound religious importance for
Judaism,
Christianity and
Islam. Throughout history the region has experienced periods of coexistence and conflict between different religious and ethnic groups. Notably, during the Middle Ages, when Jewish communities faced
persecution, they found refuge and protection under
Muslim rule and the wider
Islamic world. The
Ottoman Empire, which
controlled Palestine from the 16th century until its
collapse at the end of
World War I, provided a sanctuary for Jews fleeing persecution in Europe. The end of the Ottoman rule marked a new chapter in Palestine's history. Following World War I, the British Empire assumed control of the region under the
League of Nations mandate. The
British Mandate for Palestine, established in 1920, brought significant changes to the political and social landscape of the area, setting the stage for
the conflicts and struggles that would follow.
Nablus is a
Palestinian city in the northern
West Bank, approximately 63 kilometers (39 mi) north of
Jerusalem, with a population of 126,132. Located in a strategic position between
Mount Ebal and
Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the
Nablus Governorate and a Palestinian commercial and cultural center. Founded by the
Roman Emperor
Vespasian in 72 CE as Flavia Neapolis, Nablus has been ruled by many empires over the course of its almost 2,000-year-long history. In the 5th and 6th centuries, conflict between the city's
Christian and
Samaritan inhabitants climaxed in a series of Samaritan revolts against
Byzantine rule, before their violent quelling in 529 CE drastically dwindled that community's numbers in the city. In 636, Neapolis, along with most of
Palestine, came under the rule of the
IslamicArab Caliphate of
Umar ibn al-Khattab; its name
Arabicized to Nablus. Following its incorporation into the Ottoman empire in 1517, Nablus was designated capital of the Jabal Nablus ("Mount Nablus") district. After the loss of the city to British forces during
World War I, Nablus was incorporated into the
British Mandate of Palestine in 1922, and later designated to form part of the Arab state of Palestine under the 1947
UN partition plan. The end of the
1948 Arab-Israeli War saw the city instead fall to
Jordan, to which it was unilaterally annexed, until its
occupation by
Israel during the 1967
Six-Day War. Today, the population is predominantly
Muslim, with small Christian and Samaritan minorities. Since 1995, the city has been governed by the
Palestinian National Authority. In the Old City, there are a number of sites of archaeological significance, spanning the 1st to 15th centuries. The city is known for its kanafeh, a popular sweet throughout the Middle East, and
soap industry.
Our basic aim is to liberate the land from the Mediterranean Seas to the Jordan River. We are not concerned with what took place in June 1967 or in eliminating the consequences of the June war. The Palestinian revolution's basic concern is the uprooting of the Zionist entity from our land and liberating it.
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