The Palestinian Problem: Israel existed in 2000 BCE and was the nation of Jewish people. Islam was founded in 610 CE. How can the land of Israel belong to the Muslims?

The question of who owns the land of Israel is like asking who owns the Mona Lisa.

Sure, you can say that it belongs to the Louvre Museum in Paris, but that does not mean that other people do not have a claim to it. Maybe Leonardo da Vinci’s descendants want it back, or maybe the Italian government thinks it should be in Italy, or maybe some art thief wants to steal it and sell it on the black market. The point is, there is no simple or definitive answer to who owns the Mona Lisa, just like there is no simple or definitive answer to who owns the land of Israel.

The history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is very long and complicated, and I cannot explain it all in one message. But I can give you some basic facts that might help you understand the situation better. The land of Israel, or Palestine, as some call it, has been inhabited by different peoples and civilizations for thousands of years. Before the arrival of the Israelites, the land was home to various indigenous groups, such as the Canaanites, the Philistines, the Amorites, the Edomites, the Moabites, and the Ammonites. Some of these groups were assimilated or subjugated by the Israelites, while others remained as their enemies or allies.

The Jewish people trace their origins to this land, and they established a kingdom there around 1000 BCE.

However, they were conquered and exiled by various empires, such as the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, and the Byzantines.

The Muslim people trace their origins to the Arabian Peninsula, where the prophet Muhammad founded Islam in the 7th century CE. He and his followers spread Islam through conquest and conversion, and they reached Palestine in 638 CE.

They ruled the land for several centuries, until the Crusaders from Europe invaded and captured Jerusalem in 1099 CE. The Crusaders were eventually driven out by the Muslims, who regained control of the land until the Ottoman Empire took over in 1516 CE. The Ottomans ruled the land until World War I, when they were defeated by the British and the French, who divided the Middle East into different territories.

The Zionist movement, which sought to establish a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine, emerged in the late 19th century, in response to the persecution and discrimination that Jews faced in Europe and elsewhere. The British government supported this idea, and issued the Balfour Declaration in 1917, which promised to facilitate the creation of a Jewish national home in Palestine. This led to an increase in Jewish immigration to the land.

Of course this caused resentment and resistance among the Arab population, who also considered the land as their homeland. The British tried to balance the conflicting interests of the Jews and the Arabs, but they failed to satisfy either side.

After World War II and the Holocaust, the international community decided to partition Palestine into two states, one for the Jews and one for the Arabs, with Jerusalem as an international city. The Jews accepted this plan, and declared the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. The Arabs rejected this plan, and launched a war against Israel, with the support of neighboring Arab countries. The Arabs were like an unlucky stock trader who failed to put a stop loss, and ended up losing more than they bargained for. The war ended with Israel expanding its territory, and creating a large number of Palestinian refugees, who fled or were expelled from their homes. The conflict continued with several more wars and uprisings, and numerous attempts at peace negotiations, but no lasting solution has been reached.

So, as you can see, the land of Israel does not belong to the Muslims, or to the Jews, or to anyone else. It belongs to the people who live there, who have a history, a culture, and a connection to the land. It is not fair to say that one group has more right to the land than another, based on their religion or their ancient history. That would be like saying that America belongs to the Christians, because they colonized it and converted most of the native population. But America also belongs to the Native Americans, who were there before the Europeans arrived, and to the African Americans, who were brought there as slaves, and to the immigrants, who came there seeking a better life. The land of Israel, like the land of America, is a diverse and multicultural place, where different people have to learn to live together in peace and harmony. That is the only way to end the conflict and achieve justice for all.

Credit: Quora