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Overview

Introduction

The Palestinian Territories constitute the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, two separate, unconnected areas under Palestinian control. Gaza is ruled with an iron fist by the hard-line Islamist militia Hamas. The West Bank is under the control of Fatah, a more moderate secular organization. The two organizations are violently opposed to each other; they have experienced a civil war in Gaza in 2007, in which Fatah was defeated.

The political future of these territories is uncertain, as negotiations over a final status agreement with Israel, intended to result eventually in the establishment of an independent Palestinian entity, have stalled because of years of violence and terrorism.

A number of sticking points have made a peaceful solution elusive. Palestinians regard Jerusalem, or at least its eastern half, as their future capital, but for Israelis the united city is the capital of Israel and has been the focal point of Jewish identity and worship for thousands of years, and therefore this remains the most perplexing issue on the negotiations agenda.

In the meantime, the territories are subject in part to Israeli security controls. Travel to the Palestinian Territories is not recommended at this time because of the security situation, although Bethlehem is usually feasible. The U.S. Department of State continues to issue a travel warning urging American citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

This dangerous situation is unfortunate, as there are many biblical and historical sites on the West Bank, and a completely undeveloped seafront offers future tourism potential in Gaza. Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, and Jericho, possibly the oldest inhabited city on Earth, are both located on the West Bank. The Tomb of the Patriarchs is located in the Gaza Strip in Hebron, a city known for its lush grape vineyards, pottery and glassware. And there's also Ramallah, "The Bride of Palestine," which hosts many dance and folklore festivals during the summer.

Israel staged a unilateral withdrawal of civilians and military forces from the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2005, and as a result that area is under total Palestinian control by Hamas. Palestinian towns on the West Bank are under Palestinian civilian control by Fatah; however, Israel retains overall security control there. Territorial sovereignty on the West Bank remains contested, and the area is pockmarked by both Palestinian towns and Israeli settlements. At this point it is nearly impossible to foresee a politically negotiated solution acceptable to both sides that will resolve the ongoing violent conflict.

Geography

The Palestinian Territories are two separate areas, unconnected geographically and separated by Israel. The West Bank refers to the landlocked western bank of the Jordan River. This kidney-shaped landmass, slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Delaware, is located between Israel and Jordan.

The Gaza Strip is a narrow piece of land running along the Mediterranean coast, with Israel to its north and east, and Egypt to the south. Because of the stalled political negotiations, the permanent and final boundaries of Israel and the Palestinian entity have yet to be determined.

History

The history of the Palestinian Territories is intertwined with the history of modern Israel. Muslims and Jews look back to the patriarch Abraham as having granted them inalienable territorial rights to the land known in biblical times as Canaan. But whereas Israelis trace their ancestry from Abraham's son Isaac, Muslims believe that the true inheritor of Abraham's seed was his son Ishmael. Throughout the centuries, this small patch of land hugging the Mediterranean has served as a corridor for conquering powers moving between Africa, Europe and Asia.

Extensive Roman writings describe Israel and the Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Roman conquest and Jewish rebellions. Archaeologists also use the Bible as a literary guide to their work, but physical evidence of the early Israelite kingdoms of David and Solomon has not been found. Many Palestinians deny the possible existence of the holy temple in Jerusalem constructed originally by Solomon and later rebuilt by Herod. Islam's connection with Israel is Muhammad's "Night Journey," a dream in which he flew to Temple Mount on a winged horse, and thence up to Heaven, before reawakening.

Palestinians trace their origins to the Philistines, a seafaring people who lived on the coastal shores in biblical times from Gaza in the south to parts of Lebanon in the north. The Philistines fought numerous battles with the Israelites living in Canaan, eventually falling to David as he enlarged his empire. The Philistines vanished from the region following the invasion of the Assyrians, and later the Philistine cities came under the control successively of the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans.

The Roman emperor Hadrian drove the remaining Jews out of Jerusalem in AD 135 and reestablished the city as Aelia Capitolina. The name given to this Roman province was Provincia Syria Palaestina, and this was the origin of the modern name Palestine.

In the year AD 638, six years after the prophet Mohammed's death, the Arabs seized Jerusalem and established a religious connection to the land. The Dome of the Rock was constructed in AD 691 over the spot where they believed Mohammed's Night Journey led him into heaven. The El Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest shrine to Muslims after Mecca and Medina, was built nearby in the following century.

In the 11th century, the Crusaders arrived in Palestine and established a short-lived kingdom in Jerusalem, only to be driven out by Saladin of Egypt in 1187. Christians and Muslims continued to fight over the land until the Mamelukes took control in the 13th century. The Ottomans annexed Palestine in 1516, and Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilt Jerusalem's walls into their present form circling the Old City.

In 1917, in response to the Zionist Movement's call for the reestablishment of a Jewish homeland, the Balfour Declaration supported Palestine as the location of the homeland. Shortly afterwards, the British defeated the Turkish army and the League of Nations granted them a mandate to rule Palestine.

Following World War II and the Holocaust in Europe, Jewish immigrants flooded to Palestine, many of them illegally. In 1947, the United Nations adopted a Partition Plan that would create separate Jewish and Arab countries and an internationally controlled Jerusalem; the State of Israel was established in May 1948.

The Palestinian Arabs and the surrounding Arab countries rejected partition and the new state, and the young country of Israel was immediately invaded on all sides. The War of Independence resulted in Israel's firm control over its territories, but the West Bank and the eastern half of Jerusalem, including the holy sites in the Old City, fell under Jordanian rule. At the outbreak of war, Arab rulers called on the Palestinian residents to flee their homes, creating a refugee problem that would remain unresolved decades later. Palestinians refer to Israel's creation as the Nakhba, the day of their "catastrophe."

In 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization was founded as an umbrella organization for political and military groups determined to replace Israel with a secular Arab Palestine. Together with nations of the Arab League, the PLO prepared to launch an all-out attack on Israel from all sides in 1967.

After a stunning military victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel took control of the West Bank and reunited the city of Jerusalem. Israel also secured control over the Gaza Strip, a band of desert that once was administered by Egypt, and annexed the strategically important Golan Heights, which had been Syrian.

These lands were collectively known as the Occupied Territories. Many Israelis argued that control of the areas was vital for their national survival, and Palestinians protested Israeli settlements and sought autonomy on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.

Over the years, PLO members and other extremist Palestinians, urged on by PLO leader Yasser Arafat, staged a number of spectacular and bloody terror attacks in efforts to focus world attention on what they regarded as the plight of the Palestinian people. Smoldering Palestinian resentment broke out in the 1980s with the First Intifada, a grinding, on-again, off-again rebellion that lasted for more than six years.

At the same time, a diplomatic peace process was in operation with international involvement. The struggle between Palestinians and Israelis took a dramatic turn in 1994, with the signing of a peace agreement between the two sides. The Palestinians agreed to recognize Israel, and Israel agreed to turn over the West Bank towns and the Gaza Strip to Palestinian autonomous control (with the status of the Jewish settlements in those areas to be decided later).

The peace process was dealt a blow with the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. A new round of violent altercations began in the fall of 2000 after Arafat, in his position as Palestinian authority chairman, rejected the major concessions offered by then Israeli Premier Ehud Barak at the Camp David summit. Following Ariel Sharon's election as Israel's prime minister in 2001, Palestinian violence intensified; Israeli civilians were targeted with suicide bombings and indiscriminate shooting attacks. Harsh Israeli military retaliations led to loss of life on the Palestinian side as well.

Even after Arafat's death in 2004, Israelis and Palestinians failed to resume negotiations. Determining that he had no partner in the peace process, Sharon embarked on a controversial unilateral move to set Israel's borders. Israeli troops and civilians withdrew from the Gaza Strip and a portion of the northern West Bank in August 2005.

In January 2006, diplomatic moves stalled even further after the Islamic militant group Hamas swept to victory over the long-dominant Fatah party in Palestinian parliamentary polls. Israel immediately ruled out talks with any government involving Hamas.

After taking control of Gaza, Hamas launched hundreds of missiles into southern Israel. In December 2008, Israel responded with Operation Cast Lead, a massive air and ground offensive against Gaza. Nevertheless, Hamas remains firmly in control of Gaza, and continues its campaign of firing missiles at communities in southern Israel.

In 2014, violence escalated once again when three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and murdered in the West Bank. Israeli military forces conducted thousands of house-to-house searches for the perpetrators in Gaza and made hundreds of arrests of Hamas followers. It eventually led to a ground war with air strikes into Gaza and Hamas shooting missiles into Israel.

Despite the violence, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu has vowed to keep negotiating for separate Israeli and Palestinian states.

Snapshot

The main attractions of the Palestinian Territories are the religious and historical sites in Bethlehem, Hebron and Jericho. Unfortunately, because of continued violence, visitors will be wise to adhere to travel advisories and defer unnecessary visits to these towns, except in organized groups with proper security permits. Visits to the Gaza Strip should be avoided altogether for the foreseeable future.

Ramallah in the West Bank is probably the most international of the cities because of the large number of foreign embassies posted there. It's also the most liberal and near several Palestinian Christian villages. But visitors tend to be there for political, business or humanitarian reasons, not for a leisurely vacation.

Potpourri

Jericho is not only the oldest city in the world, but at 853 ft/260 m below sea level, it is also the lowest city in the world.

The Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem is said to be the oldest continuously used church in the world.

Christmas Eve is marked in Bethlehem by a procession of marchers, bagpipe bands and officials riding Arabian horses. The solemn procession makes its way across Manger Square to the Basilica of the Nativity where local Christians and tourists attend a midnight Mass bringing in the holiday.

Overview

Introduction

Although Tinian now has a 400-room hotel and casino, it's still a much quieter place than Saipan. The best sights on the island will appeal to nongamblers as well, including several beautiful Shinto shrines built by the Japanese during their occupation of Tinian. You can also visit the former U.S. Air Force base from which the B-29 Enola Gay took off to bomb Hiroshima: The runways and bomb pits are still there.

Tinian has some great beaches, including the beautiful white-sand Taga Beach, where local people go on Sunday. In San Jose, the small (and only) town on the island, you can visit Taga House with its 12 mammoth stones (the stones were traditionally used to support Chamorro structures). Outside of town, you can visit the Taga Stone Quarry to see giant stones that were cut but never taken out of the ground. You can see all the sights of the island and get in some swimming and gambling in a two-day, one-night visit. 3 mi/5 km south of Saipan.