Palestine

Historic geographical area at the eastern end of the Mediterranean sea, also known as the Holy Land because of its historic and symbolic importance for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Early settlers included the Canaanites, Hebrews, and Philistines. Over the centuries it became part of the Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Macedonian, Ptolemaic, Seleucid, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Ottoman, and British empires. Today it comprises parts of modern Israel and Jordan.

The 1993 Oslo Accord marked the beginning of the Israel–Palestine peace process, under which interim Palestinian self-rule was introduced in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho. In 1994 a Palestinian National Authority, led by Yassir Arafat, the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), was formed to govern these areas. Further agreements introduced more extensive Palestinian autonomy, but with the resumption of the Palestinian Intifada in September 2000, and the election of right-wing Likud leader Ariel Sharon as Israeli prime minister in February 2001, the peace process stalled.