On November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted to divide the Middle Eastern land called Palestine into two independent nations, one Arab and one Jewish. On May 14, 1948, a new nation was born: Israel. The Jews of Israel and the world celebrated with joy and gladness, for for over two thousand years they had hoped to return to the land of their inheritance. (Silverman, 1) However, with the return of Jews from all over the world to Israel, the Arab residents of this land were forced into exile. The rebirth of Israel marked the beginning of conflict, violence, and peace treaties between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East. Tensions between Jews and Arabs have been present since biblical times in the Middle East. In 132 AD, when Israel was under Roman rule, the Jews rebelled and fought for independence. In 135 AD the Romans put down the Jewish revolt and expelled almost all of Israel's Jews. The Romans then renamed Israel-Palestine, so as to eliminate any link between the land and the Jewish people. (Tessler, 12) The Jews never forgot their homeland and prayed three times a day to return to Israel and the holy city of Jerusalem. In the 7th century, a new religion, Islam, arose in the Middle East. The Muslim Arabs conquered Palestine from the Byzantines and began to colonize the land. They built the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem, where they believed the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven to receive parts of the Quran. (Goldschmidt, 46) In the early 1500s, Palestine was conquered and placed under Turkish rule. During World War I, the Turkish government placed severe restrictions on the daily lives of Jews, because the Turks believed that Jews were plotting with their enemies. In December 1917, the British army under the command of General Edmund Allenby defeated the Turks and conquered Palestine. Four hundred years of Turkish rule were over. Just six weeks before the annexation of Türkiye and Palestine, the Jews learned of a British document called the Balfour Declaration. It was one of the most important documents ever written regarding the Holy Land. It announced that the British Government was in favor of the creation of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine and would do everything possible to make this happen. Meanwhile, all over the world, but especially in Europe, Jews were being persecuted and murdered. In...middle of paper......b-Israeli conflict. Both sides feel that Israel/Palestine belongs to them. Since the partition of Palestine by the United Nations in 1947 and the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948, there have been four major Arab-Israeli wars (1947-49, 1956, 1967 and 1973) and numerous intermittent battles. (Goldschmidt, 280) The Arabs still thirst for revenge, which is denied when the Israelis prevail once again. These problems still rage today and have fueled many armed conflicts between the two developing nations. WORKS CITED: Benvenisti, Meron. INTIMATE ENEMIES. Jews and Arabs in a shared land. United States of America: University Of California Press, 1995. Cozic, Charles, P. ISRAEL: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1994.Goldschmidt, Arthur, Jr. A Concise History of the MIDDLE EAST. United States of America: Westview Press, 1999.Hiro, Dilip. Sharing the Promised Land: A Story of Israelis and Palestinians. Canada: Olive Branch Press, 1999.Silverman, Maida. ISRAEL: The founding of a modern nation. New York, NY: Dial Books of Young Readers, 1998. Tessler, Mark. A HISTORY of the ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT. United States of America: Indiana University Press, 1994.