Imtiaz Mahmood @ImtiazMadmood
A little history for American Uni students wanting to ‘restore Palestine’. see map
1. Before Israel, there was a British mandate, not a Palestinian state.
2. Before the British Mandate, there was the Ottoman Empire, not a Palestinian state.
3. Before the Ottoman Empire, there was the Islamic state of the Mamluks of Egypt, not a Palestinian state.
4. Before the Islamic state of the Mamluks of Egypt, there was the Ayubid Arab-Kurdish Empire, not a Palestinian state.
5. Before the Ayubid Empire, there was the Frankish and Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem, not a Palestinian state.
6. Before the Kingdom of Jerusalem, there was the Umayyad and Fatimid empires, not a Palestinian state.
7. Before the Umayyad and Fatimid empires, there was the Byzantine Empire, not a Palestinian state.
8. Before the Byzantine Empire, there were the Sassanids, not a Palestinian state.
9. Before the Sassanid Empire, there was the Byzantine Empire, not a Palestinian state.
10. Before the Byzantine Empire, there was the Roman Empire, not a Palestinian state.
11. Before the Roman Empire, there was the Hasmonean state, not a Palestinian state.
12. Before the Hasmonean state, there was the Seleucid, not a Palestinian state.
13. Before the Seleucid empire, there was the empire of Alexander the Great, not a Palestinian state.
14. Before the empire of Alexander the Great, there was the Persian empire, not a Palestinian state.
15. Before the Persian Empire, there was the Babylonian Empire, not a Palestinian state.
16. Before the Babylonian Empire, there were the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, not a Palestinian state.
17. Before the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, there was the Kingdom of Israel, not a Palestinian state.
18. Before the kingdom of Israel, there was the theocracy of the twelve tribes of Israel, not a Palestinian state.
19. Before the theocracy of the twelve tribes of Israel, there was an agglomeration of independent Canaanite city-kingdoms, not a Palestinian state.
(The Kingdom of David – historic map for those wondering how the region looked over 2000 years ago, and how deep the roots of the Jewish people run in these lands)
In reality, there has never been a Palestinian state. Never. The term “Palestine” was a general name for the area and actually derives from the Philistines, who originated in the East Mediterranean and invaded the region during the 11th and 12th centuries B.C. It’s a region in the Middle East that is, ironically, more directly tied to the ancestors of the Jews and current-day Israel. In all, the nations that have occupied the region over the years have included the Kingdom of Israel, the Kingdoms of Israel and Judea, the Babylonian Empire, the Persian Empire, Alexander the Great, the Seleucid Empire, the Hasmonean State, the Roman Empire, the Sassanids Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Umayyad and Fatimid Empires, the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Ayubid Empire, the Islamic State of Mamluks of Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate, and now, Israel. What’s missing? Yep, a Palestine. None of these were ever a Palestinian State. There have never been people known as “Palestinians” nor has there ever been a birthright nation to call home.