Sumud
Palestine, before 1947 and after
How did Palestine get here? Begin with life under Ottoman rule, follow the upheavals of the twentieth century, and read about the people and culture beyond the headlines.
From Ottoman rule to the present
Seven chapters, in order. Start at the beginning or choose a period you want to understand.
- Until 1917Ottoman PalestineFor four centuries Palestine was a province of the Ottoman Empire: a mixed, mostly agrarian society of Muslims, Christians and a small Jewish minority.
- 1917–1947The British MandateBritain took Palestine from the Ottomans and, through the Balfour Declaration, promised a 'national home for the Jewish people' in a land it did not own. Three decades of immigration, land sales and revolt followed.
- 1947–1949Partition and the NakbaThe UN voted to partition Palestine. War followed. More than 700,000 Palestinians were driven from or fled their homes, and some 500 villages were destroyed. Palestinians call it the Nakba, the catastrophe.
- 1949–1967Exile and military rulePalestinian refugees built new lives in camps across the region. Those who stayed inside the new state of Israel lived for nearly two decades under military rule. In 1964 the PLO was founded.
- 1967–1993Occupation and the IntifadaThe Six-Day War put the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem under Israeli military occupation. Settlement building began almost immediately. In 1987 a mass uprising, the First Intifada, broke out.
- 1993–2007Oslo and its unravellingThe Oslo Accords promised a path to statehood but delivered fragmented self-rule under continued occupation. A second, bloodier intifada followed, then Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and, within two years, a blockade.
- 2007–presentSiege, war and the presentGaza has lived under blockade for close to two decades and endured repeated wars. Since October 2023 it has faced the most destructive of them. This chapter carries the story to today.
Culture and practical help
Culture and sumud
Food, embroidery, poetry and film, and what sumud means in daily life. Explore the culture
Take action
Find humanitarian aid and human rights organisations working in Gaza, the West Bank and with refugees. Visit their own sites to check their work and ways to support it. Find organisations
We have on this land that which makes life worth living.