Issue of Palestine: A Background
The present history of Palestine begins in 1948 in the days of the British Empire when Palestine was divided under the terms of the Balfour Declaration. According to this division, less than half of the land of Palestine was given for settlement to the Jews of the Diaspora, and more than half was given to the Arabs who inhabited that land.
The Jews were given this right between the First and Second World Wars under the limited quota system. The expansion of Israel, which took place later on, was not the result of the Balfour Declaration but was the outcome of the wrong policy followed by the Arabs.
For instance, the unilateral termination of the lease of the Suez Company in 1956, which in any case was going to expire in 1968, according to the pact, naturally had grave consequences. The selling of land to the Jews by the Palestinian Arabs at high prices had similar results.
Who are the Jews or Israelis? They are the descendants of the Israelites, the progeny of Prophet Jacob, and the grandsons of Prophet Abraham. More specifically, today’s Jews are the descendants of Juda, the fourth son of Prophet Jacob (also known as Israel, which in Hebrew means ‘God’s servant’).
The history of Abraham goes back four thousand years. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. Ishmael, the elder, was the son of Hagar, and Isaac, the younger, was the son of Sara. By the command of God, Abraham settled Ishmael in Arabia and Isaac in Palestine. Isaac had a son called Jacob. He was also called Israel, the progenitor of the Children of Israel. Thus, Palestine came to be the homeland of the Israelites, just as Arabia came to be the homeland of the Ishmaelites.
As the Jewish religion is in direct line with its ancestors, Isaac and Jacob, the common land of all Jews, regardless of which part of the world they inhabit, is Palestine. The homeland of the Ishmaelites was always and still is Arabia. Both were settled in these lands by the command of God.
The ancient times were marked by intolerance in religious matters, which meant that the Jews had to face unpleasant experiences repeatedly. Over the centuries, wave after wave of them left Palestine, their homeland, in large numbers to go into exile. It is this spread of Jews living outside Palestine which is called the Diaspora. It was under the Balfour Declaration that it was decided that the Jews who were living in the Diaspora would return to Palestine.
After 1948, when a number of these Jews who were living in different countries came to Palestine, the Arabs demonstrated a strong adverse reaction to them. The greatest organization of Arabs, Al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun (Muslim Brotherhood), was formed due to these hostile feelings for the Jews. At that time, the slogan of the Arab leaders was ‘We will drive the Jews into the sea.’
The settlement was strenuously opposed by Arab and non-Arab Muslim leaders alike, to the point where the entire Muslim world had turned against the Jews. All kinds of violence, including suicide bombing, were held to be lawful against them. But all these activities targeting the Jews proved to be counterproductive.
Muslims and Jews both have equally incurred the loss resulting from violent activities. In such cases, the Quran states, ‘If you have suffered a wound, they too have suffered a similar wound. We bring these days to men by turns’ (3:140). In other words, according to the divine scheme of things, Allah himself gives every nation political power by turns to test them.
