Palestine

The term Palestine is used to refer to a geographic region in the Middle East between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, at a crossroads between Europe, Asia, and Africa. Historically, the region has been controlled by a succession of different peoples and powers, among them the ancient Philistines, Egyptians, Israelites, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. Later, the area was ruled by the Byzantines, various Muslim dynasties, and, until its dissolution at the end of World War I, the Ottoman Empire. The League of Nations awarded Britain a mandate over Palestine in 1922, which ended with the declaration of the independent state of Israel in 1948.

In May of that year, Sir Alan Cunningham, Britain’s high commissioner for the Palestine Mandate, removed the Union Jack ...