Editor's Note: Dr. Davis has had extensive contact with the Arab world and Islam through his participation in 10 archaeological expeditions to the Middle East. He is the author of 17 books and is professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake. He also writes the weekly column, "Outdoor Scene," for the Times-Union.

To whom does the land of Palestine belong? Should it be called Israel rather than Palestine?

Why has this relatively barren, rocky and desolate land been the object of such passionate debate - and war?

These and hundreds of similar questions swirl above the landscapes of this tiny strip of land that borders the east side of the Mediterranean Sea.

To understand the furor of the current conflict, several things need to be remembered. First, passions over territory run much deeper in the Middle East than elsewhere because the very identity of a people is inseparably related to their ancestral homeland.

Second, both Jews and Arabs have a long history of occupation in the land. They are both descendants of Abraham, who visited the land first in 2090 B.C., and both claim historic rights to that land.

The Arabs are the descendants of Ishmael, who was the son of Abraham by the Egyptian maid, Hagar (Gen. 16:1-4,16). Ishmael's descendants were promised to be numerous and great people (Gen. 16:10-12).

The Jews, on the other hand, are the descendants of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham by his wife, Sarah (Gen. 21:1-8). It was to him the land of Canaan was promised by covenant (Gen. 17:19 cf. 13:15, 17; 15:7) and reaffirmed in promises to King David (2 Sam. 7:10-16).

The "land of promise" was to encompass all the territory from the "River of Egypt" to the Euphrates River (Gen. 15:18; Josh. 1:4). Never did the Hebrews ever occupy all the land and many biblical scholars have concluded that prophecy will be fulfilled in the future.

Joshua's Conquest

In 1405 B.C. the Hebrew armies under Joshua conquered vast portions of the land after 7-1/2 years of war. Thus, Jews will argue that Palestine is their land by both covenant and conquest.

But the Hebrews were defeated by two enemies later and many of the people were taken captive. In 722 B.C. Assyrian soldiers crushed Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, after a three-year siege.

Jerusalem, the capital of the southern kingdom, fell to the Babylonians in 586 B.C. and many Jews were taken captive to Babylon.

While some returned from exile 70 years later, their presence was but a shadow of the past.

Israel as a political entity had come to an end, but the land of Israel (later called Palestine) continued as their homeland. In the centuries that followed, however, they suffered under the military and political power of the Persians, Greeks and Romans.

When Jerusalem fell to the Romans in A.D. 70, the land of Israel as a true homeland came to an end. Jews since have been scattered among the nations, an event commonly referred to as the Diaspora. Some Jews, of course, remained in the land and their descendants have survived to the present day.

The land fell to Byzantine control from A.D. 324 to A.D. 638. This was followed by the sweeping conquests of the Muslim Arabs, who dominated the land from A.D. 638 to A.D. 1456.

The Ottoman Turks held sway in Palestine from A.D. 1456 until the end of World War I (1918). From 1922 until 1947 Palestine was under the British Mandate.

As you can see, this strip of land has been contested for three millennia and the end is not in sight!

The Balfour Declaration

At the outbreak of war in 1914, Zionists (whose goal it was to establish a homeland in Palestine) began to put pressure on the British to establish a state for them in Palestine. They eventually enjoyed some success when Lord Balfour wrote the following to Lord Rothschild on Nov. 2, 1917: "His Majesty's Government views with favour the establishment in Palestine a national home for the Jewish people and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."

This declaration had the blessing of the British Cabinet as well as that of President Wilson. Later, France and Italy gave their approval.

The Arab world, however, angrily denounced the declaration and vowed to prevent any such thing from occurring. Thus began the Middle East problem!

The declaration sparked Zionist fervor in Europe and many Jews began to immigrate to Palestine. British governors, working under the Mandate, attempted to mediate what was a rapidly growing problem between resident Arabs and the large numbers of immigrant Jews.

Even though under a British Mandate, the Muslim Arabs considered Palestine as their land, which they had conquered in A.D. 638.

The seeds of the modern conflict over the land were sown at this time. Jews purchased large portions of the land and by 1947 had significant holdings in the Jezreel Valley in the north as well as land along the Mediterranean. Serious conflicts broke out between Jews and Arabs, so the General Assembly of the United Nations voted on Nov. 19, 1947, to partition Palestine, giving the Jews a small portion of the land. On May 14, 1948, Israel was declared a nation.

The Arabs in the land fiercely resisted this move. War broke out, and Jewish fighters seized additional land. This led to the displacement of many Arabs.

The Arab attacks on Israel in 1967 and 1973 were attempts to end the Jewish state and drive the Jews off the land completely. Both attempts failed and many more Arab refugees were created, especially when the West Bank was captured from Jordan in 1967.

These thousands of Arab refugees have not been assimilated into surrounding Arab lands but have been kept in large refugee camps supported largely by United Nations funds. It is in these camps that bitter hatred of Israel has been fostered, and it is here that the various terrorist organizations have had their most successful recruitment.

Right to the Land

The right to the land of Palestine has been variously argued. The Jews say the land was promised to their father Abraham, it was conquered by the Hebrews under Joshua and has been occupied by various numbers of Jews ever since.

The Arabs remember the great Muslim conquests of A.D. 638 and their presence in the land since that date. They too argue they are the descendants of Abraham and therefore have land rights.

Of course, much of the intellectual battle centers over who was there first. Jews trace their earliest presence there in the person of Abraham, which would go back to 2090 B.C.

Not to be outdone, Arab revisionist historians and archaeologists are now claiming that the Palestinian Arabs are really descendants of the Canaanites, who, of course, were there before Abraham arrived in 2090 B.C.

Archaeologist Jala Kazzouh, for example, has been digging at Tel Sofar near the modern city of Nablus. He found Middle Bronze I (2100-1800 B.C.) Canaanite ruins at the site and declared, "... This establishes our roots in the land. We're saying these are our ancestors and these are our roots."

Neat, but no sale! No competent historian or archaeologist would take seriously the notion that the modern Arabs in the land are descendants of the Middle Bronze Age Canaanites. Arab roots are in Arabia, not Palestine.

When you hear the phrase, "Palestinian Arab," it merely means the individual was born in the land of Palestine. Many of the Arabs living in the land, however, are not Palestinian Arabs, but Jordanian, Syrian or Egyptian Arabs by birth.

Present Situation

There is serious unrest among the Arabs in the West Bank and most harbor a bitter hatred for Israel (and the United States). Almost daily there are vicious attacks on Israelis by Islamic terrorists. Israel, in good old-fashioned Middle Eastern tradition, responds with military power and usually at a greater scale. ("We pay back with interest," one Israeli explained to me.)

Death, carnage and heartbreak are, therefore, part of everyday life on both sides of the border. Terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hizballah, Al-Jihad, Fata, The Palestine Liberation Front, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Palestine Islamic Jihad are active all along the West Bank and in Lebanon.

Islamic radicals in the West Bank and elsewhere have been willing to commit suicide for their cause and this practice has raised questions about its acceptability in light of the Quran's teaching.

According to clerical interpretation of the Quran, suicide is forbidden and implies a lack of trust in God. When a Muslim commits suicide, he declares that he does not believe that God knows about his sufferings.

However, Muslim clerics are quick to point out that there may be occasions when suicide is acceptable. If a legal Jihad has been declared and a suicide bomber is fighting as a part of "war" against an "oppressor," then he is not really a disobedient follower but a martyr who will receive quick access to heaven.

It is interesting that Arab extremists, like Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and many living in the West Bank, have now moved away from making this conflict one for Arab land. It is now a battle for Islamic land and these groups claim they are attempting to recover the territories from the infidels (the U.S. and Israel).

The purpose of these proclamations is to involve more of the Muslim world in the conflict. Only 18 percent of the Muslims in the world are Arab; the rest represent a wide variety of nationalities.

Unless something very unusual occurs, the bitterness, violence, distrust and hatred are likely to continue.

What are the immediate chances for true peace in the region? Virtually nonexistent.

What can Americans do in light of this tragedy in the land of Jesus' birth? The Psalmist give us the best advice: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Psalm 122:6). [[In-content Ad]]