D

Do the Arabs have a right to the

land of Israel?
Issue article www.Christianview.org

by Philip Rosenthal 1 December 2000

INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................................................1
THESE ARGUMENTS MUDDLE UP DIFFERENT RACE GROUPS ...........................................................................................1
PALESTINIAN IDENTITY IS A RECENT PHENOMENON......................................................................................................1
ARGUMENTS BASED ON DESCENT FROM ABRAHAM AND ISHMAEL ................................................................................2
CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................................................2

Introduction
Some argue that the 'Palestinian' Arabs living in Israel have a political right to the land based on
historic occupation going back thousands of years. Some claim this started with Ishmael; others with
the Canaanites; others with the Philistines.

These arguments muddle up different race groups

Arguments for a long history of the Palestinian Arabs in the land of Israel tend to mix up Beduin
Arabs, Canaanites, Samaritans and Palestinian Arabs, which are different races and thus gives
present Palestinian Arab political land claims an unjustified long history.

The Bedouin Arabs may or may not be the descendants of the Ishmaelites. The connection was only
made about 600 AD by Mohammed - possibly influenced by Jews exiled in Saudi Arabia. No
historical or direct biblical evidence exists of a lineage from Abraham to Mohammedan Arabs.

The Ishmaelites and Canaanites are not the same. Ishmaelites are descendants of Abraham and
Hagar. Canaanites are not. They are descendants of Noah's grandson Canaan.

Modern Palestinian Arabs are not the same as the Bedouin Arabs of Jordan and Saudi Arabia (which
may include Ishmaelites and other races). Palestinian Arabs are a mixture of Greeks, Turks,
Assyrians, Egyptians, Edomites, European crusaders and various other races that occupied the land
since the Jewish exile. They speak Arabic that was forced on them as a result of the Islamic
conquest, but very few are racially the same as the Saudi Arabs.

The Ishmaelites lived in Saudi Arabia and the Sinai desert, which means they may possibly be
ancestors of the Bedouin Arabs, but not the Palestinian Arabs - most of whom are of an entirely
different race. Genesis 25:17-18 "Altogether, Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He
breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people. His descendants settled in the area
from Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt, as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility
toward all their brothers." This last point 'hostility' - a characteristic of many Moslem nations is
something which has caused some to associate them with Ishmael.

Palestinian identity is a recent phenomenon

The 'Palestinian people' have only existed as a discrete entity since the creation of the state of Israel
in 1948. Before that, they were always part of some other country and merged with that identity.
Their identity is very new and not definitely not 3500 years old. Arafat and friends are now trying to
cultivate a myth of ancient right to the land to compete with that of Israel.
 Arabs don't have a historic right to the land of Israel 2

The name 'Palestine' was invented by the Romans at the time of the AD 70 exile to irritate the Jews
and wipe out their association with the land. It is based on the Philistines, who had since
disappeared. The mixture of peoples living in the land in the twentieth century have adopted this
name. We should avoid using the name 'Palestine' as a place, as it has never existed except as a
province of the Roman and British empires. The biblical term is Canaan for the pre-Joshua period
and 'Land of Israel' after that. (The word 'Israel' alone refers usually to the people or the state rather
than the land.) The use of 'Palestine' to refer to the West Bank and Gaza is even more recent (mainly
post-1967 as partition was never accepted in 1948). A more accurate biblical name for the West
Bank and Gaza is 'Judea and Samaria'. Israelis call the West Bank and Gaza by the Hebrew acronym
for Judea and Samaria: 'Yesha'. Gaza is part of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah, although it was
at one time occupied by the Philistines.

Prior to the return of the Jews, the land of Israel was a sparsely populated area (Witnessed by
travellers of nineteenth century). As they returned, the economy revived and large numbers of job
seekers came from neighbouring countries to swell the 'Palestinian Arab' population. Also since
their return, first world healthcare has reduced Arab infant mortality and contributed to their
population growth.

Arguments based on descent from Abraham and Ishmael

Any Palestinian Arab claim to land rights based on descent from Abraham is not accurate. Jews and
Palestinian Arabs are both Semites (common descent from Shem), but it is going a bit far to call the
Israel/Palestinian contest a 3500-year-old blood feud.

Some portray the conflict as a 'family squabble', which would then imply that we should stand back
and be neutral - leaving the Arabs and Israelis to 'sort it out'. On the contrary, Christians should take
the side of Israel in its political claim to all and not just part of the land of Israel in accordance with
God's promises in the Bible.

Even if it were accurate that Palestinian Arabs were descended from Abraham, this would still not
give them rights to the land of Israel, because Abraham passed this right on to his grandson Jacob
(Israel) only and not any of his other sons or grandsons.

Conclusion
Israel has over the millennia had to contend with many other groups for the land of Israel:
Canaanites, Philistines, Greeks, Romans, Turks, Arabs, Samaritans etc. All of them have vanished
into history or become tiny minorities or moved or merged in with some other population group.
The Jews alone have been preserved by God as a discrete people and brought back to the land after
two dispersals in accordance with Gods promises. We should therefore support their political claim
live anywhere in the land including the Judea/Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza, while respecting the
private property and civil rights of those Palestinian Arabs who live in Israel.

Please do copy and distribute this article. Comments and questions welcome.
by Philip Rosenthal
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Do the Arabs have a right to the land of Israel (Dec 2000).doc 27 August, 2002