Who Are The Palestinians?

After the creation of Israel in 1948, over 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes and housed in temporary refugee camps. Under UN Resolution 181, the 1947 partition plan divided the land into the proposed Jewish state (55%), Arab state (45%) and for Jerusalem to be administered internationally. However subsequent to the 1948 war, the State of Israel was founded upon 78% percent of the territory, pushing the Palestinians back to a mere 22% of their original land, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

This is referred to as al-Nakba or “the Catastrophe” 60 years on. The refugee camps still exists and the Palestinians have been denied their right to return.

During the Six Day War in 1967, the Israel Defence Forces seized and subsequently occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, commonly referred to as the Occupied Territories. These territories have remained under an illegal Israeli occupation ever since, severely affecting the every day life of the Palestinians. Since the occupation, extensive settlement building in the Occupied Territories has been undertaken by Israel, which cuts deep into the remaining Palestinian land and brings a greater military presence, Jews-only bypass roads and hostilities.

“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, are illegal and an obstacle to peace and to economic and social development [... and] have been established in breach of international law.”
International Court of Justice Ruling, July 9, 2004