PALESTINE

1. Geographic Localization

Western Asia

Known as the Middle East, this region comprises the

territories of Cyprus, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel,
Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Arab Emirates,
Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the
Palestinian Territories. Places characterized by their
aridity.

Palestine is located on the east coast of Mediterranean

Sea, located to the west of Jordan and south of
Lebanon. The territory of Palestine covers almost
10,435 sq miles which includes 10,163 sq miles of
land area and the rest consists of water. The Dead
Sea, Huleh Lake, Tiberia Lake are the main water
bodies. The diverse topography consists of coastal
and inner plains, the mountains and hills and the
southern desert. The geographical coordinates of the
location of Palestine are 32° North latitude and 35°
15" East longitude.

Geography

The geography of Palestine is characterized

by its diverse topography and terrain. The
climate of Palestine in general is pleasant.
The winter months from mid December to
mid March are severe. The cool
Mediterranean Sea breeze has a cooling effect
on the very hot summers.

Rivers flowing through in Palestine

There are many Rivers of Palestine. The
Rivers of Palestine are used by the people for
various purposes in Palestine. Some rivers are
used for drinking water some are used for
irrigation and many other purposes.

The main rivers at Palestine are as follows are

as follows:
• Jordan River
• The Kanah
• The Cherith
• The Besore
• The Geena
• The Shichor-Libnath
• Kodron
• The Kishon
• Siloa
 2. Government and Politics

Official Name: Estate of Palestine.

Capital: East Jesusalem.
Location: Palestine border extends from Rafah in the south till Taba and the Gulf of al-Aqaba in the north.
Area: 27,000 sq. km.
Official Languages: English, Hebrew and Arabic
National Flag: The flag has three horizontal bands of color and a red arrow on the hoist side of the flag.
Government: Parliamentary democracy
President/Chairman of Executive Committee: Mahmoud Abbas
Speaker of Parliament: Salim Zanoun
Legislature: National Council

The current Palestinian flag was officially effective from 1964 and in 1988 the same flag was declared as the
flag of ' State of Palestine'. He original designer of the national flag Palestine is Sharif Hussein.

The entire Palestinian populations, which mostly compose of the Arabs is represented by the national flag of
Palestine.

3. History

Palestine is a state that was proclaimed in exile in Algiers on 15 November 1988, when the Palestine Liberation
Organization's (PLO) National Council (PNC) adopted the unilateral Palestinian Declaration of Independence.

The history of Palestine has also been full of turmoil and change. The formation of Palestine Liberation Army
was a significant event in shaping the country's history. This army was set up with the sole mission of fighting
Israelis. The Palestine Liberation Army was controlled by several ruling governments. Today the members
serving this army have become an integral part of Palestinian Authority's National Guard. Through World War
2, the United States had emerged as the top imperialist power in the world; and the U.S. was eager to replace
Britain as the main power in the Middle East. In November 1947, the U.S. helped push through a UN resolution
partitioning Palestine into a Zionist state and an Arab state. At that time, the Palestinians still outnumbered
Zionist settlers two to one and owned 92 percent of the land. But the partition gave Israel 54 percent of the land.

On May 14, 1948—after the Palestinians and the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition—the
Zionists proclaimed the state of Israel and launched a war against Palestinians. At the village of Der Yassin,
Israeli forces massacred 250 defenseless villagers, including 100 women and children. Israel used this atrocity
to spread terror among the Palestinian people, and many fled their homes in panic. When the war ended in
January 1949, nearly 800,000 Palestinians—two-thirds of the population—had been forcibly driven into exile in
Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Gaza, and the West Bank. Israel had seized 77 percent of the land. (Chomsky, p. 95)

After the 1948 war Israel began systematically destroying Palestinian society —its towns and villages, its
historical and cultural sites, its social infrastructure. By 1988, Israel had destroyed 385 of the 475 Palestinian
villages inside the 1948 borders. ( Middle East Reports 5/6/88). Israeli leader Moshe Dayan admitted, "There is
not a single Jewish village in the land which was not built on the site of an Arab dwelling place." (Sin, p. 15)
In 1967 the Israelis launched the so-called "Six Day War," aimed at grabbing more land and establishing Israel
as a regional power. Israel seized the remaining 23 percent of historic Palestine—the West Bank, Gaza, and
East Jerusalem—along with Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and Syria’s Golan Heights.

The 1960s saw a powerful revolutionary upsurge among Palestinians. Many were influenced by the war of
liberation waged by the Vietnamese against the U.S. and Mao Tsetung’s teachings on people’s war. Palestinian
guerrilla organizations launched an armed struggle against Israel in 1965, with the aim of creating a democratic,
secular (non-religious) state throughout Palestine. In March 1968 Palestinian fighters held off a major Israeli
attack at Karameh, Jordan—an inspiring battle that showed the potential for a people’s war against Israel. (
Roots , p. 9) Yasser Arafat and his armed Al Fatah organization emerged as a respected leadership within this
early armed struggle.

After the 1967 war, the UN passed Resolution 242, calling on Israel to withdraw from all areas seized during
the war, in return for Arab recognition of Israel. Instead of withdrawing from those newly seized territories, the
Israelis, with U.S. backing, began to build heavily armed Zionist settlements on those areas and to incorporate
them into Israel.

Since 1967, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have lived under harsh military occupation, with basic
freedoms suspended and their economy under siege. By 1988 Israel had confiscated over 52 percent of the West
Bank and 30 percent of Gaza for its military and settlers, while destroying thousands of Palestinian homes.
Israeli troops have used extreme brutality and armed reprisals against Palestinian protesters—as in the "intifada"
(uprising) of the late 1980s and the current clashes in the West Bank and Gaza.

Since its founding in 1948, Israel has carried out many vicious assaults on the masses in the region and around
the world. In 1956 Israel aided the U.S. in the war for control of the Suez Canal. In 1976 Israel invaded
Lebanon to prevent the government from being controlled by forces that the U.S. and Israel opposed. Israel
invaded Lebanon again in 1982 and killed over 20,000 Lebanese and Palestinians. Israel seized the southern
part of Lebanon through that invasion and held the territory until the year 2000. In 1982, Israeli warplanes
bombed a nuclear reactor in Iraq; and in 1991 Israel supported the U.S. in the Persian Gulf War against Iraq.
Israeli agents have trained torturers from Guatemala to South Africa and sold weapons to reactionary pro-U.S.
governments all over the world. ("Fort Apache," Chomsky)

4. Typical food

In Palestine, musakhan is a favorite dish amongst Palestinians. The dish is simple to make and the ingredients
needed are easily obtainable, which may account for the dish’s popularity. Many of the ingredients used: olive
oil, sumac and pine nuts, are widely grown on Palestinian land and frequently found in many forms of
Palestinian cuisine.

Musakhan is a dish that one

typically eats with one’s
hands. It is usually presented
with the chicken on top of the
loaf, and could be served with
soup. The term ‘musakhan’
literally means “something
that is heated.”

Ingredient

Chicken cut four pieces

Arabic bread

Five warheads onions and

chopped large wings

Laurel leaves, cinnamon

sticks (to cook chicken)

3 tbsp sumac
 5. Sports

Palestinian football as a sport in enjoyed, liked and played by everybody.

The First Phase of Palestine sports is generally the

stepping stone in the path of Palestinian sport. Under the
Turkish influence the common traditional sports were,
horse race, running, field and track games like wrestling
and swimming and other games. The British influence
helped to introduce sports in the Palestine schools.
Different sports clubs in Palestine were established.
Palestinian football gained maximum popularity during
this period. In spite of the unstable political situation in
the country and lack of proper training facilities, these
clubs tried their best to develop various kinds of field and
track games. Games like boxing, weight lifting,
wrestling, football, basket ball, ping pong and tennis
became popular.

Outstanding sports club were established in Jerusalem,

Jaffa and Haifa. The Al Dajani club, the Orthodox clubs,
Al Ahli club and the Young Men Christian
Association (YMCA) were popular clubs. The
formation of Palestinian Olympic Committee in 1934
was a significant landmark in the sporting history of
Palestine. Braving all the odds and obstacles, Palestine in Olympics have been able to to make a mark in the
Summer Olympics of 1996, 2000 and also 2004.

6. Important people
Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel
Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa Arabic: ‫محمد ياسر عبد‬
‫ ;الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات‬24 August 1929 – 11
November 2004), popularly known
as Yasser Arafat

was a Palestinian political leader. He

was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004
and President of the Palestinian National
Authority (PNA) from 1994 to
2004.[3] Ideologically an Arab nationalist, he
was a founding member of the Fatah political
party, which he led from 1959 until 2004.
 7. Culture and art
Kamal Nasir, Palestinian poet, killed by an Israeli death
squad on April 10, 1973 during a time when 1570
Palestinian educators, doctors, and professionals were
deported from their homeland as well as assasinated and
maimed in botched assasinations. Their
crimes: intellect, resistance, leadership This poem was
written in 1961.

It is the story of the suffering group

Who stood for ten years in hunger
In tears and agony
In hardship and yearning

I will tell you a story It is a story of people who were misled

A story that lived in the dreams of people Who were thrown in the mazes of years
A story that comes out of the world of tents But they defied and stood
Was made by hunger and decorated in the dark nights Disrobed and united
In my country, and my country is a handful of refugees And went to light, from the tents
Every twenty of them have a pound of flour The revolution of return
And promises of a relief...gifts and parcels in the world of darknes

8. Tourist sites
The most disputed city on earth is also one of the most beautiful The scope of its history is astonishing, and its
vital place in the traditions of the three monotheistic religions has led to it being freed continuously throughout
the centuries This is the heart Of the Holy Land; Where the Jews raised the First Temple to keep the Ark of the
Covenant safe where Jesus was crucified and resurrected and where Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven to
receive the word of God

1 Haram Al-Sharif (Temple Mount) 2 Wailing Wall and Jewish 3.Quarter Church of the Holy Sepulchre

9. Conclusions
The struggle of the Palestinian people for their liberation is just, I think we should support this struggle and one
way to do that is to recognize and oppose genocide by the State of Israel.