Gaza+and+West+Bank+(Israel)

= ** GAZA AND WEST BANK (ISRAEL)** = ==

= = == == = = = **__Background Info:__** = = = = = -State Name: Israel -Established: May 14, 1948 -Previously Ruled by: Ottoman Empire, British Empire -Capital: Jerusalem -Languages: Hebrew, Arabic

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= = = **__Geography:__** = -Located in Western Asia on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. -Borders the countries Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. -Temperate, mild winters with hot and dry desert areas to the south and east. -GDP per capita - 42,400 (1900) -Negev Desert in the south, low coastal plain, mountains in the central regions.

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= = = = = = = **__Pre-Imperialism:__** = -The land has fallen under Assyrian, Babylonian , Persian , Greek , Roman , Sassanian , and Byzantine rule between the ancient Israelite kingdoms and the 7th century Muslim Conquests. -While the land was under Muslim control, the land was attacked and passed to the Crusaders over six centuries. -This land was known as holy land for both the Jewish and Islamic religions and has ties to Christianity.

== == = = = = = = = **__Western Country:__** = = = -The Ottoman Empire had control from 1517 to 1917. During their rule, Israel became a part of the province, Syria. -In 1922, The League of Nations granted the United Kingdom a mandate over Israel. -Britain saw Gaza and West Bank's geopolitical importance. They Ruled as a protectorate using the British Mandate of Palestine. -Britain had imperialized Gaza and the West Bank so they could control its oil manufacturing, look over the Suez Canal and manage Jewish settlements. -Britain used direct control and colonized Israel.

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= = = = = **__Imperial Effects:__** = = = -Created tension between the Jewish population and the Palestinians. -In 1947 the country was divided into two states; one Jewish and one Arab, with Jerusalem as an international city. -The Arab League rejected this offer and on Dec.1st.1947 attacked the Jewish population. The Jewish population reacted with speed and 250,000 Palestinian-Arabs fled or were ejected from the country. --The British Empire had divided up the area in the Middle East that they had conquered up into 2 states. One contained Gaza and West Bank, which was renamed, "Palestine" and the other state, containing some regions that previously belonged to the Ottoman empire that are located around Baghdad, "Mesopotamia," now know as modern-day Iraq.

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= = = = = **__Independence Struggle:__** = = = -Jewish resistance against the British had begun after World War II, when most of the Jews that had survived the Holocaust wanted to migrate to Palestine and the British empire had opposed the survivors and the organizations helping them as well. -The British crushed uprisings of nationalistic Palestinians, forcing some into exile, or prison. -Became Israel on May 14 1948

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= = = = = **__Country Today:__** = -Today Israel is a stable Parliamentary Democractic Republic with suffrage for all adult citizens. -Led by Prime Minister Binyamin NETANYAHU -The country is made up of 2 main ethnic groups; primarily Jewish (75.4%), with 20.6% Arab, and 4% being minority groups. -Israel is occupied with a population of about 7.5 million people, around 5.7 million of them being Jewish, making them the world's most predominant state of Jews.

== = = = = = = = **__Extra Info:__** = -//Eretz Yisrael// translates to, "The Land of Israel," in Hebrew -Cohen and Levi are the 2 most common family surnames in Israel -The concept of voice mail was first developed in Israel.

== = = = = =__**Citations:**__= "Israel." //Wikipedia//. 8 April 2010. Web. 8 April. 2010. 

"Middle East: Israel." //The World Factbook.// 23 March 2010. Web. 6 April 2010. 

"Empire and Imperialism - Middle East - British Mandates: Iraq And Palestine." //Science Encyclopedia//. 2010. Web. 7 April. 2010. "