Abstract
The origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been the subject of numerous debates. The complexity of their development over centuries has led historians to consider events as early as the biblical enmity between Abraham's two sons, Isaac and Ishmael to be an appropriate starting point. The present state of Israel encompasses a substantial portion of what was once called Palestine. The names 'Israel' and 'Palestine' derive from two people who entered the region at approximately the same time, in the twelfth century before the Christian era. Palestine refers to Philistine, a person of Greek origin who settled in the coastal plains of the area at about the same time the Jews took over the country in the interior. The Jews, who called themselves Bnei Israel, 'the tribe of Israel', believed that the land had been given to them by God. After two hundred years, they succeeded to defeat and subjugate the people of Palestine. As a consequence, the first kingdom of Israel was established about 3000 years ago. Saul and David, its early sovereigns, led the Jews to the conquest and capture of Jerusalem which became a religious sanctuary, sacred to all who worshipped Yahweh. The period of political unity lasted only seven years from about 1000 B.C to 927 B.C, but the northern kingdom of Israel survived until 722 B.C, until it was conquered by the Assyrians. The southern kingdom of Judah resisted until it was absorbed into the Babylonian Empire in 586 B.C. Jews stayed in Palestine after their defeat but they became a minority whose conditions of life were made difficult.
