Until the First World War, the territory including Palestine was part of the Turkish Empire. As Turkey was defeated in the war, Britain took over the region. Since the Jews helped Britain in the war, then British foreign secretary Arthur Balfour declared the establishment of a Jewish nation in West Asia as a reward. It is known as Balfour Declaration.
Zionism is an international movement with an objective of the establishment of a homeland for the Jews. We have already discussed the assault and cruelty of Hitler towards the Jews. This intensified the demand for a separate Jewish state. In 1948, the nation Israel was formed. Consequently, many wars broke out between Israel and the Arab nations. Israel seized Palestine, expelling the Palestinians from their homeland.
The Palestinian refugees migrated to various Arab countries. In this context, with an objective of establishing a nation for the Palestinians, a movement called Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded with Yasser Arafat as the President. After a series of bloodshed’s and massacres, Israel agreed in principle to recognize Palestine as a free nation. This agreement mediated by the US is called the Oslo Pact (1993). But, the provisions in the pact are yet be implemented.
