The land located between the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River has been known as Palestine for over 2000 years. Its inhabitants, the Canaanites, were Semites - people who spoke Semitic languages, including Assyrian, Aramaic, Arabic, Babylonian, Hebrew, and Phoenician. They included the Philistines, who lived around Gaza ; Jebusites around Jerusalem ; Hebrews around Hebron and Nablus ; Nabateans around southern Jordan/Palestine; and Phoenicians around Galilee .

Throughout history this land has been ruled by many peoples, including the Egyptians for 1150 years; Hyksos for 160 years; Hittites for 60 years; Philistines for 539; as well as the Babylonians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, and Arminians for various periods of time. The kingdoms of David and Solomon lasted for a total of 73 years (1000 to 927 BC), after which the kingdom of Judah lasted 341 years (927 to 586 BC), while the kingdom of Israel lasted 205 years (927 to 722 BC).

By the time the Romans conquered Jerusalem in 63 BC, Palestine was mainly inhabited by Aramaic-speaking Arab Canaanites and a small number of Hebrew-speaking Jewish Canaanites. The Persians reconquered Jerusalem in 614 but were defeated by the Byzantine Empire in 628. In 638, the Islamic Empire took over Jerusalem and lasted for over 1000 years. Most of the population became ‘Arabized'; adopting the Arabic language, culture, and Islam as their religion. Muslim rule ended when the British defeated the Ottomans (Turkish Muslim Empire) in 1919 and captured Palestine .

In 1897 the World Zionist Organisation was formed in Europe . It embarked on a mission of establishing a Zionist state in Palestine . Several thousand Ashkenazi (European) Jews mainly from Russia began to migrate to Palestine . At the time, the total population of Palestine was about 600,000 (97% Arabs- Muslim and Christian; 3% Jews). Jews owned only 0.5% of the land.

In 1917 the Balfour Declaration was made; Britain agreed to support “ the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”.

In 1922 the League of Nations (forerunner to the UN) approved the British mandate over Palestine , Jordan and Iraq . Tens of thousands of Jews continued to migrate to Palestine . Within 10 years, the Jews had increased their numbers in Palestine to 175,000 (20% of the total population of Palestine ).

In 1948 the state of Israel was declared. In the lead-up to and aftermath of this declaration, the Israeli military forced 750,000 Palestinians (half the population) from their land. At the time, the Jews owned only 6% of the land in Palestine . Today Israel extends over 78% of what used to be known as Palestine .

•  The act of removing Palestinians and permitting Israelis to occupy the land is a direct violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits population transfer.

•  On 11 December 1948 the UN passed Resolution 194, which affirms the right of the Palestinians to be allowed to return to their land. Israel has continued to ignore this Resolution for over 50 years.

•  UN Resolution 273, that admitted Israel as a member-state of the UN, was conditional on Israel 's acceptance of certain UN Resolutions, including 194.

In 1967 Israel attacked Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, capturing the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) from Jordan, Golan Heights (from Syria), and the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula (from Egypt). Israel has continued to illegally occupy the Golan Heights, West Bank, Jerusalem , and Gaza Strip (until September 2005).

•  On 22 November 1967 the UN issued Resolution 242, which declares Israel 's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip illegal and demands Israel withdraw. Israel continues to violate this Resolution.

Since 1967, Palestine (referred to as the ‘ Occupied Territories ') has been under an illegal Israeli military occupation. What Palestinians demand as their state consists of the Gaza Strip and West Bank (22% of what was Palestine before 1948). Israel , however, does not even permit them access to all of this land:

•  There are over 400,000 Israeli ‘settlers' illegally occupying West Bank . This territory, Palestinians are not permitted to reside in or even pass through;

•  Gaza Strip: was one of the most densely populated and impoverished areas in the world - 7000 Israelis occupied one-third of the land, leaving 1million Palestinians the remaining two-thirds (5,000 people/Km ² ) . In September 2005 Israel withdrew its settlements and military from the Gaza Strip, partially fulfilling a requirement under international law that is 38 years overdue;

•  West Bank: 2million Palestinians are crowded into 4 isolated enclaves (50% of West Bank territory);

•  Electric fences and military posts surround Palestinian villages and refugee camps in both Gaza and the West Bank . Israeli military checkpoints control the entry and exit of Palestinian into their own towns, while each are separated by Israeli bypass roads and ‘security' zones.

Since 1948 the UN Security Council has adopted over 60 Resolutions concerning Palestine , particularly the situation in the Occupied Territories , including Jerusalem ; illegal Israeli practices; and Israeli attacks on Palestinians. Israel has continued to violate most of the Resolutions with impunity. With the exception of the US , Israel has had little support in the UN. But it is the support of the US (with its veto power) that has allowed Israel 's reign of terror to continue.

The Howard government consistently failed to condemn Israel for its acts of state terrorism against the Palestinian people and, along with the US and Israel , adopted a position of disregard for human rights and international law. On 9 July 2004, the World Court ruled that the wall Israel is constructing on Palestinian land in the West Bank is illegal and called for its removal. On 21 July 2004 , the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding Israel comply with the World Court decision with a vote of 150 to 6. Shamefully, Australia was one of the six nations that voted against the Resolution along with the US , Israel , Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau .

Israeli Oppression / Palestinian Suffering:

•  Killings and Injuries : Since September 2000, over 3000 Palestinians have been killed; 26,000 have been injured to the point of being made blind, crippled, and maimed by bullets, bombs, missiles, and gas used by the Israeli military and security forces.

•  Imprisonment and Torture : Since January 2001, Israeli security forces have detained over 4000 Palestinians; it is estimated that 85% of those detained are tortured.

•  Curfews and Closures : The Israeli military routinely closes off Palestinian towns and villages and subjects Palestinian residents to curfews that often continue for weeks at a time. People are prevented from going to work, children are prevented from going to school, and even those needing medical attention are denied access to health services.

•  Demolition and Destruction : In May 2004 alone, thousands of Palestinians were made homeless as hundreds of homes were bulldozed to the ground. House demolition has been used by the Israeli military as a collective punishment for resistance to the occupation. The practice constitutes a war crime under international law.

•  Hunger and Thirst : Palestinians are subject to severe water restrictions (in the West Bank 85% of the water is allocated to the Israeli settlers), while closures, the destruction of Palestinian farms and businesses, and the prevention of food and humanitarian aid reaching Palestinians have resulted in 9.3% of Palestinian children suffering from malnutrition (17.5% of children in Gaza suffer from chronic malnutrition) and 13.2% chronically under-nourished.

•  Military Checkpoints : Palestinians are prevented from moving in and out of their own towns without passing through Israeli checkpoints. It is common to be delayed for hours and short journeys can take a whole day to complete. Since 2002, 52 women have given birth at Israeli military checkpoints. Between September 2000 and December 2002, 19 women and 29 newborn babies had died at Israeli military checkpoints.

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READING

Marwan Bishara , Israel / Palestine : Peace or Apartheid- Occupation, Terrorism, and the Future

Norman Finkelstein, Image and Reality of the Israel Palestine Conflict

David Hirst, The Gun and the Olive Branch

Greg Philo & Mike Berry, Bad News from Israel

John Quigley, The Case for Palestine : An International Law Perspective

Mazin Qumsiyeh, Sharing the Land of Canaan : Human Rights and the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle

Tanya Reinhart, Israel/Palestine: How to End the War of 1948

http:///www.fairgoforpalestine.org (informative Australian-based site)

http://www.ajds.org.au/ (Australian chapter of International Solidarity Movement- www.palsol.org )

http://www.nkusa.org/ (Jews united against Zionism)

http://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/ ( Jewish movement for peace and justice in the Middle East )

http://www.btselem.org/ ( Israeli Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories )

http://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-israel.html (information on boycotting Israeli products campaign)

http://electronicintifada.net (site dedicated to news on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict)

http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage (alternative news site)