Before WWI, NONE Of the nations of the Middle East east of the Suez existed. They were all part of the Ottoman Empire. Everything there is a false western construct. Remember that when you complain about the British creating Israel.
The League of Nations Mandate of 1920 looked like this
The British altered that mandate in 1923, to create a Palestinian nation and a Jewish nation. The Palestinian nation was Transjordan, the Jewish nation was Palestine:
After WWII the UN partitioned the land again. It was partitioned to match population concentrations, and to make as few people move from one place to the other as possible. Additionally, Jerusalem was an international city, available to all worshipers:
This is what the UN ultimately voted on:
The day Israel, in full accord with the UN partition, declared its independence, it was attacked by all the surrounding Arab countries. It damn near lost and got wiped off the map. But it didn't. However, Jordan took over Jerusalem. From 1948 to 1967, Jews were not allowed to visit their most holy sites. They were not allowed into the city. Ancient Jewish grave stones were used by the Jordanian Army to build latrines along the Wailing Wall.
Israel took Jerusalem, the Gaza, the Western Bank, and the Golan Heights in '67. By the way, and in response to the fantasy the UN would protect Israel, UN "peacekeepers" heeded Nasar's demand they leave the buffer zone in '67, in anticipation of an attack. Israel, in response, attacked first. So much for the UN. When Moshe Dayan entered Jerusalem one of the first things he did was order the control of the al Aqsa (sp?) Mosque returned to the Imams. From that time on Muslims were allowed in. Further, many Palestinians within Israel proper are Israeli citizens. In '73, the Arabs attacked again, once more intent upon the utter destruction of the Jewish State. They failed. Israel took the Sinai peninsula and both sides of the Canal. A few years later, when Egypt entered into a real peace treaty, it gave it back.
So, where does that leave us? For one thing, it leaves the obvious question, what is so sacrosanct about the '67 boundaries? Not a damn thing.
For another thing, it leaves us with the question, what are the obstacles to peace? Well, there are many, but they come down to a few simple facts. First, and foremost, the sides don't trust each other. But even more, and I know many won't like this, the Palestinians simply aren't prepared for peace. What do I mean? After the Oslo accord, the Palestinian Authority was supposed to start preparing its people for peace, including putting Israel in its textbooks, and stopping the nationally supported calls for eradication of all Jews. They did not do it. In the meantime, Israel elected Barak, because they thought peace was possible. I know there is a lot of debate about the actual offers at Camp David, but the bottom line is Arafat refused to negotiate. Why? Because if he had, his own people would have killed him. I could write for a long time, but really don't want to. I want you to have some sense of history, to prevent many of the misimpressions abounding.
Ultimately, there will be peace. There will be peace when the Palestinians prepare their people for peace, and when the Israelis sense that peace is a real possibility, and vote out the Likudniks and in the peace makers. They did it before with Barak (and isn't that a huge and significant difference?), and they will do it again. Or there will be peace when Israel decides they just don't want to play any more, announce they recognize Palestine as a new nation located on the Gaza and the West Bank, and tell them that they're on their own, but will be held as responsible as any other civilized nation for attacks upon neighbors citizenry. The latter is actually a realistic possibility, and COULD, if the Israelis give up the settlements and the Palestinians control the terrorists, lead to later negotiations on final borders, but instead would probably be seen by the world as aggression by Israel, merely for reserving the right to self defense. Hell, people right here seem to be applauding the idea of stripping from Israel, and only Israel, that right.
Jerusalem remains an enormous problem, but was originally to be an international city. Right now it is the hands of the only country to hold it since the partition and allow worshipers of all religions access. Given the sordid history under the Jordanians, and the Palestinian's propaganda that the Western (or Wailing) Wall is NOT part of the Second Temple and therefore not a sacred site to the Jews, it is hard to argue that it should change hands soon.
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