An overview: Distinguished moments in the history of Israel’s occupation in Palestine

Since the exodus at the end of the World War II until Israel’s Independency, the Palestinian territory has suffered reductions. Palestine has devolved from being an independent country to be a territory divided in two nations, and not only that; what once was an Arab majority today is a Jewish majority. Currently, Palestine is mainly a territory teared apart between Israeli and Palestinian people, in the autonomous Palestinian areas of Cisjordan, the Gaza Strip, and Jordan.

To put this into perspective, from a geographical point of view, the Palestine’s region comprises the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River valley (from west to east), and the territory between Litani River and Neguev, without including Sinai (from north to south). The region of Middle East is located in south-western Asia and it limits with Turkey at north, Iran to east, Saudi Arabia and the Arabian ocean shore at south, and with Egypt at west.

Palestine is divided in four geographic areas: from west to east we have the coastal plain, the hill and mountain of Galilea; Samaria and Judea; the Jordan River valley, which separate Cisjordania from Transjordania; and the eastern plateau at the east. In the very southern areas is founded the Néguev desert.

The historical extension of Palestine is 27,023 km² approximately, including the Tiberiades Lake, Al Hula and half of Dead Sea. Israel occupies 78% of these territories, giving to the Palestinians a total area of only 6,335 km², which is divided in: Cisjordania with 5,970 km², and the Gaza Strip, which has an extension of 365 km².

Palestine has from north to south 430 km of extension. The north has a width that oscillates between 51 and 70km; in the centre is 72 to 95 km, in the Jerusalem area; meanwhile, in the southern area is 117km, approximately, between Ráfah, Jan Yçunis and the Dead Sea.

Geography throughout history

1. After World War I, the League of Nations created the Mandatory Palestine, which worked until 1948, when the ONU decided to agree with the distribution of the territory into a Jewish State and an area just for Arabian

.

2. After years of conflict, it has been created a separation plan approved by the world powers to declare Jerusalem an international area.

3. Palestine has become an occupied territory, leaving only a 22% of the historical surface for Palestinians

4. The Palestinian National Authority (1994) has been created to control the national securityof urban and rurals areas in time of war.

Throughout history, Palestine has suffered many geographical changes that had caused the loss of a big part of its territory. Unfortunately, this loss has been bound the  belic fighting since the beginning, because this territory have always been in dispute for many reasons, mainly geographical and religious ones. We thought that the geographical changes that had suffered the Palestine’s territory had been the main motive of its political, economic and social standstill, which hampered the development on the rights that belongs them as a nation.

Finally, we believe that the only way for the Palestinian people to accomplish their development, is to recuperate their territory that had been expropriated by the Israeli side, and thus finally to achieve the ceasefire; and therefore an stop to the civilian casualties that this discord had caused to these two nations.