Pal·es·tine (p l  -st n ) Often called "the Holy Land." A historical region of southwest Asia at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea and roughly coextensive with modern Israel and the West Bank. Occupied since prehistoric times, it has been ruled by Hebrews, Egyptians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, and Turks. A British League of Nations mandate oversaw the affairs of the area from 1920 until 1948, when Israel declared itself a separate state and the West Bank territory was occupied by Jordan. The West Bank was subsequently annexed (1950) by Jordan and occupied (1967) by Israel. In 1988 the Palestine Liberation Organization under Yasir Arafat declared its intention of forming an Arab state of Palestine, probably including the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Arab sector of Jerusalem. The Palestinians achieved limited self-rule in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank with the signing of the Oslo accords (1993, 1995). Negotiations stalled in 2000 when fighting broke out between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces. Pal es·tini·an (-stn - n) adj. & n. |
Palestine [ˈpælɪˌstaɪn]
n
1. (Placename) Also called the Holy Land Canaan the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea in which most of the biblical narrative is located
2. (Historical Terms) the province of the Roman Empire in this region
3. (Historical Terms) the former British mandatory territory created by the League of Nations in 1922 (but effective from 1920), and including all of the present territories of Israel and Jordan between whom it was partitioned by the UN in 1948
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  Palestine - a former British mandate on the east coast of the Mediterranean; divided between Jordan and Israel in 1948al-Asifa, al-Fatah, Fatah - a Palestinian political and military organization founded by Yasser Arafat in 1958 to work toward the creation of a Palestinian state; during the 1960s and 1970s trained terrorist and insurgent groups; "al-Fatah carried out numerous acts of international terrorism in western Europe and the Middle East in the 1970s" Al Nathir - a Palestinian terrorist organization formed in 2002 and linked to Fatah movement of Yasser Arafat Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, DFLP, PDFLP, Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine - a Marxist-Leninist group that believes Palestinian goals can only be achieved by revolutionary change; "in 1974 the DFLP took over a schoolhouse and massacred Israeli schoolchildren" Abu Nidal Organization, ANO, Arab Revolutionary Brigades, Black September, Fatah Revolutionary Council, Fatah-RC, Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims - a Palestinian international terrorist organization that split from the PLO in 1974; has conducted terrorist attacks in 20 countries; "in the 1980s the Fatah-RC was considered the most dangerous and murderous Palestinian terror group" Forces of Umar Al-Mukhtar, Umar al-Mukhtar Forces - a little known Palestinian group responsible for bombings and for killing Israelis; seeks to defeat Israel and liberate southern Lebanon, Palestine, and Golan Heights Harakat al-Jihad al-Islami al-Filastini, Palestine Islamic Jihad, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, PIJ - a militant Palestinian terrorist group created in 1979 and committed to the creation of an Islamic state in Palestine and to the destruction of Israel; smaller and more exclusively militant that Hamas Palestinian Hizballah - a little known Palestinian group comprised of members of Hamas and Tanzim with suspected ties to the Lebanese Hizballah; responsible for suicide bombings in Israel PFLP, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - a terrorist group of limited popularity formed in 1967 after the Six-Day War; combined Marxist-Leninist ideology with Palestinian nationalism; used terrorism to gain attention for their cause; hoped to eliminate the state of Israel Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO - a political movement uniting Palestinian Arabs in an effort to create an independent state of Palestine; when formed in 1964 it was a terrorist organization dominated by Yasser Arafat's al-Fatah; in 1968 Arafat became chairman; received recognition by the United Nations and by Arab states in 1974 as a government in exile; has played a largely political role since the creation of the Palestine National Authority |
| 2. |  Palestine - an ancient country in southwestern Asia on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea; a place of pilgrimage for Christianity and Islam and JudaismJudaea, Judea - the southern part of ancient Palestine succeeding the kingdom of Judah; a Roman province at the time of Christ Samaria - an ancient city in central Palestine founded in the 9th century BC as the capital of the northern Hebrew kingdom of Israel; the site is in present-day northwestern Jordan Philistia - an ancient region on the coast of southwestern Palestine that was strategically located on a trade route between Syria and Egypt; important in biblical times Asia - the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population; it is joined to Europe on the west to form Eurasia; it is the site of some of the world's earliest civilizations Jordan, Jordan River - a river in Palestine that empties into the Dead Sea; John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan chebab - a Palestinian juvenile 10-15 years old who fights against the Israelis |
Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
| ?Page tools | ||
|---|---|---|
|