Palestine is the name applied since ancient times to the territory that extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, limited to the north by the Litani River, which separates it from Lebanon and by the Golan Heights, which mark the border with Syria, and to the south by the Sinai peninsula, which delimits the border with Egypt. Currently 78% of its territory is occupied by the Jewish state of Israel, which maintains a genocidal treatment against the Palestinians.
Geography
Palestine is located in Asia, its borders are: to the north Syria and Lebanon, to the south the Gulf of Aqaba and the Sinai Peninsula, to the east Jordan and to the west the Mediterranean Sea.
The geographical coordinates of Palestine are: latitude 34 ° 15 ‘and 35 ° 40’; longitude 29 ° 30 ‘and 33 ° 15’. West Bank: 32 ° 0 ‘north and 35 ° 15’ east. Gaza 31 ° 25 ‘north and 34 ° 20’ east.
Area it occupies
The area of historic Palestine is approximately 27,023 km², including lakes Tiberias, Al Hula and half of the Dead Sea. Israel keeps 78% of these territories occupied, leaving the Palestinians an area of only 6,335 km² which are divided into: the West Bank with 5,970 km² and the Gaza Strip, which has an area of 365 km².
As a country located in Middle East according to ITYPEAUTO.COM, Palestine has 430 km from north to south. of extension. In the north, the width ranges between 51 and 70 km, in the center it is between 72 and 95 km, in the Jerusalem area, while in the southern part it reaches approximately 117 km between Ráfah, Ján Yúnis and the Dead Sea..
Climate
Mediterranean climate, characterized by long, dry summers and short, rainy winters. About 17 percent of the annual rainfall occurs between November and February in violent storms. In the interior areas of the country, rainfall is greater than the annual average rainfall of 550 mm and it snows occasionally.
Place names
The name of Palestine derives from Filistin, the land of the Philistines, a people probably originally from the Aegean Sea (the so – called peoples of the sea), who settled in this territory from approximately 1200 BC. n. and. But before being Palestine, this territory was known as Canaan, which means purple in the Assyrian language, one of the Semitic languages. The Canaanites, a people identical to the Phoenician, were Semites, understanding by Semitic a people of the Semitic linguistic trunk, since there is nothing similar to a Semitic race, that is, a descendant of Shem, one of Noah’s sons.
Semitic languages are Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, Canaanite or Phoenician, Assyrian and Babylonian, and for this reason all these peoples are called Semites. In the Old Testament, Palestine is designated as the Land of Canaan. Canaan, never totally abolished, was thus the first name of this land, all other designations being subsequent to it.
The 1968 Palestinian National Convention defines as Palestinians all those individuals who were born in Palestine and lived in Palestine until 1947, as well as their descendants by paternal line. Like other nationalities, Palestinian citizenship can be acquired by marriage and ancestry. In reality, Palestinians were never given the opportunity to exercise full nationality as there is no legally constituted Palestinian state as such. The Palestinian Diaspora comprises refugees and all Palestinians living abroad. Consequently, the descendants of Palestinians in refugee camps or in other countries are Palestinians in their own right.
History
Main article: History of Palestine.
The History of Palestine begins in the year 3000 BC to the present day, passing through the periods of Egyptian, Persian, Greek, Roman, British and currently Israeli occupation.
Demographic data
Until the end of 2002, there were 9.3 million Palestinians in the world, according to a report delivered by the Palestinian National Office, which were distributed as follows:
- 70 million in Jordan
- 30 million in the West Bank
- 30 million in the Gaza Strip
- 00 million (approximately) in Israel
- 58 million in various Arab countries
- 42 million in Syria
- 40 million in Lebanon
- 29 million in other countries of the world
- 23 million in the United States
- 06 million in Egypt
The report also says that Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories will need 19 years to double their number. The Palestinians of Israel would do so in 21 years, while in other parts of the world it will take 22 years to reach 18.6 million residents.
Politics
The Palestine Liberation Organization was created in 1964, in Jerusalem. It encompasses all Palestinian political parties and organizations, except Hamas and Islamic Jihad. All Palestinians are natural members of the PLO. He is the sole representative of the Palestinian people, both within Palestine and abroad. She was recognized as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people by the UN General Assembly on October 14, 1974, and also by the League of Arab States on October 28. 1974. Has observer status at the UN.
The President of the Palestinian Authority is the commander-in-chief of the security forces and the police, and appoints the following positions:
- Attorney General
- Prime Minister, who must be approved by a vote of confidence of the Palestinian Legislative Council, or Palestinian Parliament. Within the Palestinian National Authority, the main agencies are:
- The Council of Ministers (selected by the Prime Minister), with a maximum number of 24, exercises governmental functions.
- Palestinian National Council, or Palestinian Parliament, with 88 members democratically elected by Palestinians from the occupied territories, does not represent refugees or the Palestinian diaspora.
- Presidency of the Palestinian Parliament, elected by the Palestinian National Council, is composed of a Speaker, a Secretary General and two deputy spokespersons.
Gaza
Gaza. It is the largest and main city in the Gaza Strip, sometimes referred to as Gaza City to distinguish it from the Strip itself. Its population is about 409,680 residents, according to the 2006 census. It is currently governed by the Palestinian organization Hamas.
Among the main buildings are the Great Mosque of Gaza, built on the ancient temple of Marnas that later was a Greek Orthodox church, then a mosque, then a Norman church during the crusades, and then a mosque; the Fort of Napoleon (Qasr El-Basha), where the great French general performed during his occupation in 1799 ; the Church of San Porfirio, which was built in the 4th century, where Saint Porfirio died and was buried (420). It is still in use by a Greek Orthodox community; the Al-Sayed Hashem Mosque, located in Al-Daraj, tomb of Hashim ibn Abd Manaf, Muhammad’s grandfather, who died in the city while traveling.
There is an international airport in Gaza, opened in 1998, which is currently out of service as its runways and facilities were destroyed by the Israel Defense Forces shortly after the start of the Intifada, in September 2000.
