On November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted to divide the Middle Eastern land called Palestine into two independent nations, one Arab and one Jewish. On May 14, 1948, a new nation was born: Israel. The Jews of Israel and the world celebrated with joy and gladness, for for over two thousand years they had hoped to return to the land of their inheritance. (Silverman, 1) However, with the return of Jews from around the world to Israel, Arabs residing in that country were forced into exile. The rebirth of Israel marked the beginning of conflict, violence and peace treaties between the Arabs and Jews of the Middle East. Tensions between Jews and Arabs have been present since biblical times in the Middle East. In 132 AD, while Israel was under Roman rule, the Jews revolted and fought for independence. In 135 AD, the Romans crushed the Jewish revolt and expelled almost all Jews from Israel. The Romans then renamed Israel-Palestine, so as to remove any link between the land and the Jewish people. (Tessler, 12 years old) The Jews never forgot their homeland and prayed three times a day to return to Israel and the holy city of Jerusalem. In the 7th century, a new religion, Islam, appeared in the Middle East. Muslim Arabs conquered Palestine from the Byzantines and began colonizing the land. They built the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem, where they believed the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven to receive parts of the Quran. (Goldschmidt, 46) In the early 1500s, Palestine was captured and placed under Turkish rule. During World War I, the Turkish government imposed severe restrictions on Jewish daily life because the Turks believed that the Jews were plotting with their enemies. In December 1917, the British army under the command of General Edmund Allenby defeated the Turks and captured Palestine. Four hundred years of Turkish rule were over. Just six weeks before the annexation of Turkey and Palestine, Jews learned of a British document called the Balfour Declaration. It was one of the most important documents ever written concerning the Holy Land. He announced that the British government was in favor of establishing a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine and would do everything in its power to achieve this. Meanwhile, all over the world, but particularly in Europe, Jews were being persecuted and murdered. Middle of paper ......b-Israeli conflict. Both sides feel that Israel/Palestine belongs to them. Since the partition of Palestine by the United Nations in 1947 and the creation of the modern state of Israel in 1948, there have been four major Arab-Israeli wars (1947-49, 1956, 1967 and 1973) and numerous intermittent battles. (Goldschmidt, 280) The Arabs still crave revenge, which is denied as the Israelis win again. These issues still rage today and have fueled numerous armed conflicts between the two developing countries. WORKS CITED: Benvenisti, Meron. INTIMATE ENEMIES. Jews and Arabs in a shared land. United States of America: University Of California Press, 1995. Cozic, Charles, P. ISRAEL: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1994. Goldschmidt, Arthur, Jr. A Concise History of the MIDDLE EAST. United States of America: Westview Press, 1999. Hiro, Dilip. Sharing the Promised Land: A Story of Israelis and Palestinians. Canada: Olive Branch Press, 1999. Silverman, Maida. ISRAEL: the founding of a modern nation. New York, NY: Dial Books of Young Readers, 1998. Tessler, Mark. A HISTORY of the ISRAEL-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT. United States of America: Indiana University Press, 1994.