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 Background
Until the last century, Palestine had been the territory of foreign powers for hundreds of years. At the outbreak of World War I, Palestine was a part of Turkey . Turkey backed the losing side and this resulted in her losing the land that is now Israel . As with other boundary issues, the settlement of what should happen to the land was decided by international treaty. This placed Palestine under the mandate of Britain
The Balfour Declaration
First, there was the 1917 Balfour Declaration drawn up when Britain gained the mandate over the land during the First World War. Extensive consultation was carried out before this declaration was made. At the same time the Jewish population of the land was growing. From a human point of view, the idea of the founding of a Jewish state was largely developed in the late 19th century by a man named Theodor Herzl who wrote a book called ‘The Jewish State’.
After the Balfour Declaration, long and detailed consideration was given to a division of the land between Israel and the Palestinians. For example, a commission looked into this and reported without bias. This report shows that the Jews had a legitimate claim to part of the land. Then the UN voted in favour of partition in 1947. Subsequently there were four wars because the Arabs chose to ignore the UN. Israel won all these wars after which some Arab states made peace but others have not.
 The current situation
The international perception of Israel is not good at the moment. Israel is frequently spoken of in very critical tones. This is perhaps less so in the United Kingdom and the USA but even in these countries Israel has her critics. The situation in Israel is very serious. Israeli-Palestinian discord is such that it seems impossible for a lasting solution to be found without the intervention of the Almighty.
Current events demonstrate the sheer intransigence of the Palestinians. Israel has made mistakes but the majority of Palestinians are clearly challenging Israel 's right to exist in any shape or form. It is a view held more strongly today than at any time since the idea of the State of Israel was first suggested. The Palestinians reject the so-called ‘two state’ solution whereby the State of Israel would coexist with a Palestinian nation, although this has been accepted by many Arab states including Egypt , Jordan and Saudi Arabia .
There is an increasing blind acceptance right across the globe that the Palestinians' challenge is legitimate. This challenge has the strategy of attempting to refute the right of Israel to be in the land at all. It condemns her policies and actions. It also masterminds terrorism. The Palestinians contend that Israel has no historical right to the land. Although quick to grasp any UN resolution censoring Israel, they do not accept the solid international agreements on which the State of Israel was founded. These were not casually concocted by one nation - they were based on a proper international consensus.
The problem is that the Palestinians forget that they never had a state of their own. Whether we like it or not, the world's boundaries have been redrawn many times in history. That is why, for example, cities like Metz and Strasbourg are now part of France whereas before World War II they were in Germany . Even if one could put the clock back it would not favour the Palestinians. If national territories are to be debated in this way, how many nations would escape? Many nations have a weaker basis than Israel . The enemies of Israel claim ancestry from the Canaanite peoples driven out by Joshua. They contend that Jews were a minority in the area and the land was unfairly allotted to them in 1947.
More information
Anti-Semitism
The only real solution
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