Palestinian people

From Wikinfo

[[de:Pal�stinenser]]

The Palestinian people are the Arabs whose origins are in the region historically known as Palestine. They are in conflict with Israel over the creation and independence of a Palestinian state in their former homeland, the British Mandate of Palestine which after Zionist immigration during the events leading up to the creation of Israel in 1948 and its subsequent expansion as the result of a series of wars with neighboring Arab states is occupied by Israel except for the portion of the British Mandate east of the Jordan River which is the independant state of Jordan.

During the creation of Israel many Arabs fled Israeli forces to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and other countries, today there are 8 million Palestinian refugees, one part still living in refugee camps in neighboring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt, with the rest spread all over the world, living a life of diaspora as displaced persons. Few Palestinians have assimilated to their host countries. Most feel a strong sense of identity with their Palestinian nationality. Palestinians, the Arab minority, within Israel hold Israeli citizenship.

The Palestinians have been represented in their struggle by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, (PLO) and now by the Palestinian Authority which has jurisdiction over the West Bank and Gaza Strip and is engaged in negotiations with Israel over creation of a Palestinian state and establishment of peace.

See, History of Israel

Further Reading

• Wendy Pearlman and Laura Junka, Occupied Voices: Stories of Loss and Longing from the Second Intifada, Thunder's Mouth Press, Nations Books, 2003, trade paperback, 257 pages, ISBN 1560255307.

Fiction about Modern Palestine

• Jean Genet. 1986, 2003. Prisoner of Love. New York: New York Review Books. Trans., Barbara Bray. Introdution by Adhaf Soueif. ISBN 1590170288.

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Palestinian" http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian August 20, 2003