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West Bank Gaza Strip
First posted on March 28th 2007, last revised on January 13th 2008






The PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) was established in 1964. For many years it undertook acts of terrorism directed against the State of Israel, often launched from outside Palestine. In 1970 the PLO and the refugee Palestinians were demed by the government of Jordan as a threat to the country's political stability, militarily defeated and ousted. The PLO established a state within a state in Southern Lebanon, from where she continued to launch attacks against Israel. The PLO activities in the Lebanon were a major factor in the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War 1975-1991, until they were ousted by an Israeli invasion in 1982. The PLO headquarters moved to Tunisia, where it was bombed by the Israeli Air Force in 1985, when many Palestinian refugees returned to Lebanon.

In 1988 King Hussein of Jordan renounced his country's claim on the West Bank (since 1967 occupied by Israel). Yasir Afarat, head of the PLO, in the same year recognized Israel's right to exist; the PLO turned from a primarily military organization into a political organization.
Negotiations between Israel and the PLO began, with the object of establishing a Palestinian State. In 1994 the Palestinian National Authority was established; certain areas were placed under PNA administration (Area A, Area B), and later reoccupied by Israel. So far, several attempts to reach a negotiated settlement have failed. In September 2005, Israel withdrew her forces from the Gaza Strip, now under the administration of the PNA.
Among the points disputed are the Israeli settlements on the West Bank (which the Palestinians want dismantled), Israeli territorial demands on the West Bank, the Israeli claim for an undivided Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel (while the Palestinian side demands East Jerusalem to become part of the Palestinian State) and the right of the Palestinian refugees to return, to that part of Palestine where they/their ancestors came from.

Historical Atlas, Palestine Page

Students' Paper : Choi, Jungyun, The Political Structure of the Continuation of the Israeli-Palestine Conflict (2008)






WEB-BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . EXTERNAL FILES
Country Profiles Article West Bank, from Wikipedia, from Encyclopedia of the Orient; The State of Palestine, from Palestine History
Links, General from BUBL (on Palestine)
Category : West Bank, from Wikipedia
Links, on History Category : Palestinian History, from Wikipedia
Historical Dictionaries
Historical Maps WHKMLA Historical Atlas, Israel, Palestine
Atlas of Palestine, from Wikimedia Commons
Timelines Timeline of Palestinian History, from Palestine Center
Accounts of History from Thekrin
Historiography Refugee Studies Centre : Palestine Online - An Emerging Virtual Homeland ? , 2005, from Forced Migration Online
Politics Articles Palestinian National Authority, PLO, Fatah, Hamas, Politics of the PNA, Category Palestinian Politics, from Wikipedia
Israel/Occupied Territories Profile, from International Crisis Group
Military Wars of Palestine, 1919-1999, from ACED
Palestine Military Guide, from Global Security
Economy & Finances Article : Economy of the Palestinian Territories, from Wikipedia
Ethnography Languages of the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza (4), from Ethnologue
Forced Migration Online Research Guides : Palestinian Refugees in Egypt, Palestinian Refugees in Jordan, Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon, Palestinian Refugees in Syria, Palestinian Refugees in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Palestinian Territories, from Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
Religion
History of Cities History of Jerusalem (Zion, al Quds), from Wikipedia, from Encyclopedia of the Orient, from Al Quds University
History of Ramallah, from Wikipedia
History of Hebron, from Wikipedia
History of Nablus, from Wikipedia
History of Qalqiliya, from Wikipedia
Palestinian Refugee Camps Listing, from Palestine Remembered
Institutions A Brief History of Radio in the Country, from Israel Radio, begins with Palestine Broadcsting Service (1936)
History of Palestinian Airlines
History of Al Quds University
Palestine, from Airline History
Bibliographies Datenbasis Internationale Beziehungen und Länderkunde (Data Base on International Relations and Country Studies), keywords Palästina, Palestine (site in German, most titles listed in English; hundreds of entries; publications mostly since 1970)
Bibliography Palestine and the Palestinians, from Mideast Web
Saliba Sarsar, Bibliography on Palestinian Women
Bibliography Law and Society in Palestine, from Birzeit University
Biographies List of Palestinians, from Wikipedia
Chinese Ambassadors to Palestine, from PRC MOFA
Others Online Publications on the History of Palestine Architecture, posted by ArchNet

WEB-BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . EXTERNALLY POSTED DOCUMENTS
Statesmen from World Statesmen (Palestinian National Authority; scroll down for governors of the West Bank)
Population Figures, Demographics Historical Population Statistics, Palestine : West Bank and Gaza Strip, from Population Statistics at Univ. Utrecht
City Population : Palestinian Territories, from City Population
Historical Abortion Statistics, Gaza Strip, from Johnston's Archive
Document Collections from Palestine History, from Cyberus, from Vinnie's Home Page
Fatwa of Religious Scholars 1935, Regarding the Sale of Land to Jews, posted by muslim-lawyers.net
Archive Editions : The Survey of Western Palestine (1880), Palestine & Transjordan Administration Reports 1918-1948, Political Diaries of the Arab World : Palestine and Jordan, 1920-1965
New York Times, click : archive 1851-1980, archive since 1980, search
Constitutions of Palestine, from Wikisource
UN General Assembly 3rd Session 1948-1949, Resolution No.194, 212
Peace Agreements Digital Collection : Israel-Palestinians, from United States Institute of Peace
Nakba's Oral Interview Listing, from Palestine Remembered
Pictures of Palestine before and after Nakba, from Palestine Remembered
Elections Article Elections in the PNA, from Wikipedia
Category Elections in Palestine, from PNA
Election Results, from Psephos
Archives, Musea, Libraries Israel Archives Association
UNESCO Archives Portal, State Archives, scroll down for Israel
Scientific Libraries of Palestine, from CIRS
Stamps A Short Introduction to the Philately of Palestine : Occupation 1948-1967, from Zobbel Homepage
Others

PRINTED REFERENCE
General Accounts Ilan Pappe, A History of Modern Palestine, Cambridge : UP 2004, KMLA Lib.Sign. 956.9405 P218h
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, Macropaedia, Vol.22, pp.134-147 Article Israel. KMLA Lib. Call Sign R 032 B862h v.22
Specific Topics Chapter 7 : Post-War Unsettlement, pp.105-113, in : Peter Mansfield, The Ottoman Empire and its Successors, London : MacMillan (1973) 1976 [G]
Salman Abu Sitta, Palestine Right of Return, Sacred, Legal, and Possible (2007), posted on Palestine Remembered
Document Editions Walter Lacqueur, The Israeli-Arab Reader. A Documentary History of the Middle East Conflict, London : Penguin (1969) 1991, KMLA Lib. Call Sign 956 L317i
Atlasses Correspondents of the New York Times, Israel. The Historical Atlas, NY : MacMillan 1997 [G]
Historical Dictionary Philip Mattar, Encyclopedia of the Palestinians, NY : Facts on File 2000 [G]
Bernard Reich, Historical Dictionary of Israel, Metuchen N.J. : Scarecrow 1992 [G]
Yearbooks Article Palestine, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1950 pp. 531-532 (on events in 1949) [G]
Article : Israel : West Bank, Gaza Strip, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1989-1990 p.733, 1993-1994 p.806 [G]
Article : Israel : Palestinian-Administered Territories, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1994-1995 p.799, 1995-1996 pp.795-796, 1997-1998 pp.750-752, 1998-1999 pp.805-806, 2000 pp.924-925, 2001 pp.900-902, 2002 pp.936-938, 2003 pp.938-940, 2004 pp.942-945, 2005 pp.947-950, 2006 pp.944-946 [G]
Article : Palestine, in : Americana Annual 1957 pp.605-606, 1961 p.572, 1962 p.580 [G]