The Canaanites were the earliest known inhabitants of Palestine, dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE. This group became urbanized and eventually developed an alphabet from which other writing systems were derived.

The religion of the Canaanites later became a major influence on the beliefs and practices of Judaism, and therefore on Christianity and Islam as well. During the 2nd century BCE, the Canaanite autonomy which had spread across Palestine was constantly challenged, but the Canaanites were able to defeat and absorb these invaders, creating a state numbering near 200,000 people.

After the 14th century BCE, new invaders appeared; the Hebrews, a group of Semitic tribes from Mesopotamia. The Israelites, a large group of Hebrew tribes, eventually defeated the Canaanites circa 1125 BCE, but remained in conflict with a group of Aegean people; the Philistines. The Philistines had already begun to inhabit parts of Palestine and had an advantage in military organization and weaponry. After severely defeating the Israelites around 1050 BCE, the Philistines and Israelites united and established a monarchy. Over time though, David, King of the Israelites was able to defeat the Philistines and eventually assimilate his group with the Canaanites. David created a large independent nation with Jerusalem as its capitol, but after his death in 922 BCE the nation was divided, half falling to Assyria and the other half to Babylonia at which point the Jews inhabiting Jerusalem were exiled. Over a period of time, the land changed hands once again and their Jews returned to their homeland.

Political strife continued to be a theme in Israel until the Ottoman Turks of Asia Minor claimed the land in 1517 and were able to hold it, nearly uninterrupted, until 1917. During the 17th century, the state of Palestine had begun to decline and continued on this trend well into the 19th century.

With a rise of European nationalism in the 19th century along with the intensification of anti-Semitism during the 1880s, European Jews began to seek haven in their "Promised Land" of Palestine. In 1897, Theodor Herzl founded the World Zionist Organization to solve Europe's "Jewish Problem", thus resulting in the immigration of more Jews to Palestine.

In the winter between 1917 and 1918, a struggle occurred over the land of Palestine, tearing it away from the long ruling Ottoman Turks. With the help of the Arabs, the British swept the state and, in doing so, had promised the Arabs the independence of their countries. However, at the same time, the British had made contradictory agreements to the Jews of Palestine and to Russia and France.

The British only ruled the state for a short period of time, from 1922 to 1948, but during this time their oppositional promises caught up with them, making it difficult to appease the Jews, Arabs, France, and Russia.

This dilemma reached a climax in 1933 when Jewish immigration skyrocketed due to the installation of the Nazi regime in Germany. This rise in the fear of Jewish domination caused the Arabs to revolt sporadically in the years between 1936 and 1939. At this point, Britain was forced to restrict Jewish immigration, as they had had to do before.

Over the years, the struggle for the land of Palestine waxed and waned.

During World War II there was a decline in interest in the region, but as the World War abated, war over the land again resumed. In 1945, even with the remembrances of the Holocaust and the poor treatment of Jews held in mind, the British refused to allow many Jewish survivors into the Promised Land. In April of 1947, Britain finally turned the "Jewish Problem" over to the United Nations, an action which furthered the distrust between the Jews and the Palestinians. Over the course of many months, there was much strife within the country and, although the Palestinians outnumbered the Jews, they were eventually defeated after a period of military struggle and terrorism.

On May 14 of 1948 the state of Israel was established but was immediately attacked by Arab armies who sided with the Palestinians. Israel, however, was again the victor, and even managed to increase its land size in the struggle that followed. Many Palestinians were left as refugees to flee the country. These Palestinians immigrated to nearby countries where they were able to keep their national identity and their love for their homeland.

Though the Palestinians lost the struggle and their land, they have never lost their hope. To this day, fighting continues over the area known as Israel, as each group tries to place their claim over the Promised Land.

---->On to Israel's Past Decade