Crossword Dictionary
Palestine
Palestine - n
an ancient country in southwestern Asia on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea; a place of pilgrimage for Christianity and Islam and Judaism
Palestine is a small region of land that has played a prominent role in the ancient and modern history of the Middle East. The history of Palestine has been marked by frequent political conflict and violent land seizures because of its importance to several major world religions, and because Palestine sits at a valuable geographic crossroads between Africa and Asia. Today, Arab people who call this territory home are known as Palestinians.
Following the 1918 fall of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Palestine typically referred to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Much of this land is now part of present-day Israel.
Today, the region known as the Palestinian Territories includes the West Bank (a territory that sits between modern-day Israel and Jordan) and the Gaza Strip (bordering Israel and Egypt). These areas have been under Israeli military occupation since 1967. However, control over this region is a complex and evolving situation. There is no international consensus concerning the borders—28 United Nations member countries currently do not recognize Israel at all—and many areas claimed by the Palestinian Territories are also claimed by Israel.
More than 135 United Nations member countries recognize Palestine as an independent state, but Israel and some other countries, including the United States, don’t make this distinction.