Portal:Palestine

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Palestine Wikiportal

The State of Palestine (Arabic: دولة فلسطين, transliteration: Dawla Filasṭīn) was proclaimed on November 15, 1988 by the Palestinian National Council, the legislative body of the PLO, in Algiers, by a vote of 253-46, with 10 abstentions. The declaration invoked the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) and UN General Assembly Resolution 181 in support of its claim to a "State of Palestine on our Palestinian territory with its capital Jerusalem". It became the most diplomatically successful of a number of efforts to create a Palestinian state, despite the fact that, because the State of Palestine did not have control over any territory at the time, it did not fulfill the typical requirement of an autonomous state — being in possession of sovereign territory. Currently, the Palestinian National Authority, along with the European Union and the Arab League, envision the establishment of a State of Palestine to include all or part of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, under a democratically elected and transparent government.

More about Palestine

Selected article edit

Hamas (Arabic: حركة حماس‎; acronym: Arabic: حركة المقاومة الاسلامية‎, or Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya or "Islamic Resistance Movement"; the Arabic acronym means "zeal") is a Palestinian Islamist organization that currently (since January 2006) forms the majority party of the Palestinian National Authority.^[1]

Created in 1987 by Shaikh Ahmed Yassin of the Gaza wing of the Muslim Brotherhood at the beginning of the First Intifada, Hamas is known outside the Palestinian territories for its suicide bombings^[2] and other attacks directed against Israeli civilians, as well as military and security forces targets. Hamas' charter (written in 1988 and still in effect) calls for the destruction of the State of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.^[3]^[4]^[5] The charter states: "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad."^[6]

Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by Australia,^[7] Canada,^[8]^[9] the European Union,^[10] Israel,^[11] Japan,^[12] the United Kingdom,^[13] and the United States,^[14] and is banned in Jordan.^[15] According to the US State Department, the group is funded by Iran - which is Shia and similarly funds the Shia Hezbollah, Palestinian expatriates, and private benefactors in Saudi Arabia and other Arab states.^[14] In a 2002 report, Human Rights Watch stated that Hamas' leaders "should be held accountable for the war crimes and crimes against humanity" that have been committed by its members.^[16]

Selected picture edit

The Fatah official emblem shows two fists holding rifles and a hand grenade superimposed on a map of historic Palestine (i.e. British Mandate borders, including present-day Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip)

History, people, placesedit

The history of the region of Palestine stretches back more than 6,000 years.

Newsedit

January 30, 2007

Hamas restates its commitment to the truce between it and Fatah despite continued factional violence.

(Jerusalem Post)

June 25, 2006

Palestinian forces respond to the detention of the Muamar brothers on June 24 by abducting Gilad Shalit in a cross-border raid. The incident blew up into the 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict.

June 24, 2006

Israeli forces detain Osama and Mustafa Muamar in Gaza and take them to an undisclosed location.

July 20, 2005 (Wednesday)

Palestinian Authority Civil Affairs Minister Mohammed Dahlan and others claim that Hamas is trying to carry out a military coup to replace the PA.

(Haaretz)

July 20, 2005 (Wednesday)

23 Palestinians are wounded in Gaza clashes between Hamas and Fatah

(Arabic News)

July 20, 2005 (Wednesday)

The US reports that it is planning an International Summit to discuss the future of Palestine following the Gaza disengagement.

(Haaretz)

Did you know... edit

... that Al-Muqaddasi, born in Jerusalem, was a leading medieval geographer?
... that Khaled Mardam-Bey, the creator of mIRC, is half-Palestinian?
... that Antonio Saca, president of El Salvador, is of Palestinian descent?

Culture, arts, cuisine edit

Palestinian culture is closely related to the culture of other Levantine countries but is distinct in its own way. Palestinian Arabic is easily recognizable. Famous Palestinians include the poet Mahmoud Darwish and the scholar Edward Said. Palestinian music is well-known throughout the Arab world.