The End Time Bible Commentary

During the Six Day War in 1967, Israel captured Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the West Bank including East Jerusalem from Jordan, as shown below.

Sinai was returned to Egypt in 1982 as a result of the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.

Between 1978 and 2000, Israel also occupied parts of southern Lebanon.

In 1993, Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo Peace Accord as a step towards achieving a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This brought the West Bank under the internal control of the newly established Palestinian Authority run by Fatah, and partial Israeli military control.

In 2005, Israel withdrew unilaterally from Gaza, dismantled Israeli settlements, and handed over its administration to Fatah. In elections in 2006, Hamas (the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine) defeated Fatah, leading to a bitter power struggle between the two rivals. By 2007 they had driven Fatah out of Gaza. Hamas is an Islamist organisation, committed to driving Israel completely out of Palestine by means of jihad warfare. Consequently, Israel imposed a tight blockade upon Gaza, controlling its borders, shoreline and air space.

Meanwhile, Israel has expanded its building of settlements in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem. Israel claims this is necessary for its own security. Israel's critics accuse it of ethnic cleansing and of attempting to Judaize all of Palestine.

On 14 May 1948, Britain ended its Mandate for Palestine. On the same day, the Jews declared their independence and the establishment of the State of Israel. The following day, Israel was attacked by its Arab neighbours, starting Israel's War of Independence. The Map below shows the 1949 Armistice lines compared with the 1947 UN Partition plan. After 1949, blue areas that had been designated as Jewish land remained part of Israel. Peach coloured areas had been designated as Arab land in the UN Partition Plan but were also won by Israel. The area of Gaza shown in green was occupied by Egypt, and the West bank area in green was controlled by Jordan, along with East Jerusalem which is shown in purple.

By 1947, Britain wanted to withdraw from Palestine and turned to the UN for a solution. This partition plan was adopted on 29 November 1947 as Resolution 181 (II). The following day, civil war broke up between the Jews and Arabs.

Palestine, as it was then known, was part of the Ottoman Empire. During World War I, Britain defeated the Turks with the help of an Arab Uprising.

The Romans invaded Judea in 63 BC, which was under Hasmonean rule. In 37 BC they imposed their rule and installed Herod the Great as king.

After the successful Jewish revolt (167 to 141 BC) against Seleucid rule, led by Judas Maccabeus, Israel became an autonomous kingdom ruled by the Hasmoneans.

The northern ten tribes of Israel broke away from Judah during the reign of Solomon's son Rehoboam. The history from Solomon onwards, up until the fall of Jerusalem and of the southern kingdom of Judah to the Babylonians in 586 BC, is covered in the books of 1 and 2 Kings. By that time, the northern kingdom of Israel had already fallen to Assyria in 722 BC.

The map below shows the approximate division of the land after the Israelites conquered Canaan during the time of Joshua.