History
The State of Israel was founded in 1948. This followed a brief civil
war between Arab Palestinian and Jewish communities after the November
1947 UN vote to partition the former British mandate of Palestine.
British forces withdrew in 1948 and the State of Israel declared
independence.
Since the late 19th century, Jewish people had
been emigrating to the Holy Land, influenced by Zionist calls for a
Jewish homeland. Migration continued when Britain took over from the
former Ottoman Empire after World War 1, and increased after the Nazi
Holocaust and UN vote for partition. Palestinian Arabs had mostly been
native to the Holy Land. The civil war and subsequent 1948-49 regional
Arab-Israeli war led hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to flee and
become exiles from their homes.
Without effective governing
institutions in the former mandate, remaining areas of Palestine came
under control of Jordan (the West Bank) and Egypt (the Gaza Strip) until
their capture by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. A subsequent
United Nations resolution (Resolution 242), calling for withdrawal of
Israeli forces from newly occupied territories, and for recognition for
states (including Israel) to live in peace within secure, agreed
boundaries has been central to attempts to settle the Arab-Israel
conflict.
‘The Holy Land’ has remained turbulent for over 60 years.
Palestinians resent the loss of homes and land and aspire to have their
own independent national status. Israelis, meanwhile, have felt
threatened by those Arab states like Syria, which remain hostile to its
existence, and fearful of violence by Palestinian militants. Since
1993’s ‘Oslo Accords’, agreed between Israel and the Palestine
Liberation Organisation (PLO), Palestinians have begun to take steps
towards self-rule in Gaza and the West Bank. However, progress has been
held up by clashes and divisions between the Fatah party-dominated
Palestinian Authority, governing the West Bank, and the militant Islamic
Hamas movement currently controlling the Gaza Strip.
Government
The Israeli government is a parliamentary democracy in which Zionist
parties dominate and are split between social democrats, conservatives
and Jewish religious parties. Israel transferred security and civilian
responsibility for many Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and
Gaza Strip to a new Palestinian Authority (PA) between 1994 and 1999.
The PA has a democratically elected president and elected government in
the West Bank. However, agreement between Fatah and Hamas has so far
proved impossible and led to Hamas’ seizure of government institutions
in Gaza in 2007.
Social Issues
Social unrest is dominated by the tensions between Palestinians and Jews
and wider regional tensions, such as frequent rockets attacks since
2006 by the Lebanon-based militant Hezbollah party. Another issue has
been the remaining settler communities on land claimed by Palestinians
and their freedom to come and go without the military restrictions
Palestinians experience. The lack of access to land for Palestinians,
including restrictions caused by Israel’s security barrier, add to their
economic difficulties. Unemployment rates contrast sharply with those
for Israelis. In the Gaza Strip, some 38% of people are estimated to
live below the poverty line.1
SAT-7 Viewership
SAT-7’s broadcasts are watched by Arabic speakers in the Holy Land but precise viewing figures are unknown.
Religion
Religious affiliation in Israel is split between Judaism (75%), Islam
(16.9%), Christian (2%), Druze (1.7%) and others (3.8%). In the West
Bank, Muslims (mostly Sunni) comprise 75% of the population, Jews 17%
and Christians and others 8%. In the Gaza Strip, 99.3% of the population
is Muslim (mainly Sunni) and Christians 0.7%. 2
Prayer Points
- Give thanks for the faithful witness of Christians, despite the social, religious and political pressures they often face.
- Pray for progress towards peaceful, just self-rule in Gaza and the
West Bank, and for just policies on behalf of the Israeli government
towards Palestinian and Jew.
- Pray that Palestinian Christians in Gaza and the West Bank will not
be targeted by militant factions but will be able to model just and
peaceful responses to their struggles.
- Pray for those Arab Christians and Messianic Jews in Israel who seek
to work together as people of reconciliation and pray that they will be
able to promote understanding and united witness.
1. CIA World Factbook
2. CIA World Factbook
