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Palestinian homeland

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ed Poor (talk | contribs) at 13:17, 8 April 2002 (Plan #1, Arab-ruled Palestine replaces Israel + fixed faulty para break). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

A Palestinian homeland is the stated goal of Arabs originating from the Middle Eastern region historically known as "Palestine". Control of this area is currently divided among Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan.

Various proposals for a Palestinian homeland have been advocated.

  • One plan, with wide support in the Arab world, is to establish a new Arab (or Islamic) nation called "Palestine" on the shores of the Mediterrenean Sea and bordering on Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. This new Palestine would incorporate Gaza and the West Bank, while the current state of Israel would be dissolved. Some Arab groups publish maps that depict the proposed nation as already existing.
  • Another plan is to create a Palestinian State with only Gaza and the West Bank, but with its capital in Jerusalem. This would require Israel to renounce any claims to East Jerusalem in favor of the new nation. This long-extant idea now forms the basis of a peace plan put forward by Saudi Arabia in March 2002. Many more limited plans for a Palestinian state have also been put forward, which would see parts of Gaza and the West Bank which have been settled by Israelis or are of particular strategic importance remaining in Israeli hands. The status of Jerusalem is particularly contentious; some groups, such as the Catholic church, favour giving the city a special international status independent of either Israel or a Palestinian state.
  • An option advocated by some groups in Israel is for the country's Arab neighbours to absorb and resettle all Arab refugees, giving them full citizenship. Israel would annex Gaza and the West Bank, giving Israel control of land which formed part of the ancient kingdom of Israel in biblical times. Control of the strategic land of the West Bank would also make it easier to defend Israel, which it is argued could make the military situation more stable. This plan has virtually no support in the Arab world, and is regarded as racist by much of the Arab world as well as significant parts of Israel's Jewish population.
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