A Brief Look at the West Bank and Gaza Strip

By Dr. Bill Jones

Common “News” Names
The West Bank and the Gaza Strip are mentioned frequently by the news media when reporting on events taking place in the Middle East.

Most people, however, are uncertain as to what they are. They know that these 2 pieces of land are linked to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, but don’t know in what capacity. To know that, permit me to take you back to the period of time right after World War II.

Jewish Settlement
Jews in large numbers were returning to the ancient land of Israel. European Jewry had lost families, possessions, property, and livelihood. They were left with a burning desire to return to the land. The Arabs opposed their entry into Palestine, as it had come to be known. The Middle East was basically ruled by Great Britain, which obtained control form the Ottoman Turks (who ruled from 1517-1917) during World War I.

The Balfour Declaration – ratified in England in 1918 – opened (what was commonly referred to as) Palestine to Israeli settlement. Only a few thousand Jews took advantage of this Declaration. By the end of World War II, the land was largely vacant and unused. There were a few Jewish settlements and some nomadic Arab people there. The British, violating their own mandate for the return of the Jewish people, sided with the Arabs because they had been allies during the 2nd World War. This began a conflict over the return of the Jews to their biblical homeland.

The right of the Jews to return was settled with passage of the United Nations’ Resolution 181. Approved by a majority vote in 1948, this gave the British 6 months to prepare for the transition and pull their troops out. On the appointed day, Israel officially became a nation. Palestine was partitioned into a Jewish and Arab state. It is interesting to note that nowhere in Resolution 181 is the term “Palestinian state” ever used. Rather, it is always called the “Arab State.”

Never in history has there been a Palestinian, culture, or language.

Division of the Land
Jerusalem was to be an international city under international control. The Israelis accepted the U.N. resolution even though it gave them much less land then they had originally been promised.

The Arabs totally rejected the resolution.

Within 24 hours of Israel’s declaration of statehood, the armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq – in direct violation of Resolution 181 – invaded the tiny new nation.

These invading nations had previously warned the Arab settlers living  in that was to be the new state of Israel, to flee into the neighboring Arab countries. Those who fled were promised that once the Jews were driven into the Mediterranean Sea, they could return to their property. In addition, they could divide among themselves what would be taken from the Jews.

Birth of the “Palestinians”
Fifteen months later in 1949 a cease-fire was declared. Israel had captured a major portion of the land originally designated for the Arab state. The large area north and south of Jerusalem, referred to as Judea and Samaria in the Bible, would come to be known as the West Bank. It came under Jordanian rule since the Arabs living there chose not to form a new nation. The Gaza Strip, on the Mediterranean coast, came under the administration of Egypt, and Jerusalem was divided, with Israel controlling the western sector and Jordan the eastern part.

The Arab refugees who chose to flee what was to be the Jewish state settled in the West Bank in 1948 and numbered about 600,000. The world at-large – except for the Arab states themselves – took pity on them. World charities fed and clothed them. They now number over 3 million. These are the “Palestinians” for whom the Arabs demand a homeland in the tiny land of Israel. The large Arab states refuse to assimilate them.

The Scenario Changes
In 1967, everything changed once again. Egypt, Jordan, and Syria all prepared to invade Israel. On June 5, the Israelis launched a preemptive strike against all 3 nations. At the end of 6 days, all of the land and all of Jerusalem were in Jewish hands.

How, then, did the idea of a Palestinian state come to pass? In 1964, a group of Arab leaders met in Jordan. It was there that the idea of forming a Palestinian entity was born. It was afforded little support or publicity until after the 1967 war. When the world’s attention was focused on Israel’s stunning victory, the Arab world made the concept of a Palestinian state prevalent in the world’s thinking.

The area called the West Bank and Gaza Strip has been Israeli-occupied territory since the 1967 War. The conflict for the past 5-plus decades has been about possession of those territories. The Arabs want it all returned to the Palestinians. Israel has agreed to return 90 percent in exchange for total peace.

This peace includes a refrain from all terrorist activities and removing the language from the Palestinian Charter that demands the total destruction of Israel. Although the Palestinians have agreed several times to do this, the fulfillment of these promises has never occurred.

The Name “West Bank”
Interestingly, the name “West Bank” was coined in 1971 by the U.S. Board of Geographic Names. It approved the terminology for official use by the United States as an area separate from Israel. To this day, their legal right to assign this name is still debated.

Until 1971, the area was labeled on maps as Judea and Samaria. The media and Arab countries quickly picked up the term. It, along with its false implication of being separate form Israel, became the status quo. It remains that way today.

Why is this land so strategic to Israel? Why not just give it to the Palestinians? The West Bank has total command over the flat coastal plain that constitutes Israel’s heartland. The Gaza Strip is in close proximity to several major Israeli cities and ports, including Tel Aviv. These lands, under the control of hostile enemies, constitute a major military threat to Israel.

Total withdrawal would cause a fivefold increase in danger to the Jewish people. As long as the West Bank is in Israeli hands, Arab foes are deterred from even attempting to attack from the eastern border.

No wonder the Jewish people demand an enforceable peace treaty before surrendering such important territory.

Dr. Bill Jones was a longtime teacher / writer with Zion’s Hope.