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A Style Sheet on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
God. Supreme Being worshipped by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, and known in Arabic as Allah and in Hebrew as G-d or YHWH. Arabic-speaking Christians and Muslims both use the term Allah. Devout Jews do not pronounce the ineffably sacred name of God, Yahweh, or Jehovah, thus the Hebrew spellings above. Golan Heights. Portions of the hilly plateau of southwestern Syria occupied by Israel in 1967. Additional land was seized in 1973. In December 1981, Israel unilaterally annexed the Golan Heights. Under international law the Golan Heights are considered part of the occupied territories. See: Occupied Territories. Green Line. Line drawn up by the 1949 Rhodes armistice agreement separating Israel from the West Bank. Since 1967, the green line provides the boundary between Israel and the occupied West Bank, which together with the occupied Gaza Strip, comprises 22 percent of pre-1948 Palestine. When Palestinians signed the Oslo Accords and modified their charter in 1996, they agreed to recognize Israel within the green line, thus conceding 78 percent of historic Palestine to the Jewish state. In some areas, such as north of Bethlehem, Israel has further extended its control, leading to the use of the phrase “creeping green line.” See: Borders; “Generous Offer”. Hamas (Acronym for Islamic Resistance Movement). Established in 1987 as an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine. Engages in social-communal activities as well as armed struggle against Israel’s occupation. Led by Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and concentrated in the Gaza Strip and a few West Bank areas. Membership includes tens of thousands of supporters and sympathizers. Hebron. The largest city in the West Bank with approximately 125,000 Palestinian residents. Although 80 percent of Hebron is currently under Palestinian administration (designated H1 in the Hebron Protocol to the Oslo Accords), Israel controls the main access routes. The Old City of Hebron (H2), also under Israeli military occupation, is home to an estimated 35,000 Palestinians, as well as 400 settlers who are protected by 1,200 Israeli soldiers. The traditional burial site for Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah, located in the Old City, is known among Palestinians as the Ibrahimi Mosque and to Jews as the Cave of Machpela. Parts of the mosque were built by Herod the Great sometime prior to 4 B.C. Much of the present structure was built by Crusaders about 1115. The worship area at the burial site was divided by Israel in 1994-95 following the massacre of 29 Muslims at prayer by Baruch Goldstein, a settler with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Two outside observer groups are present in H2: the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH) and the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) organized by three U.S. peace churches, the Mennonites, Brethren, and Friends. Hebron is some 45 miles south of Jerusalem. [www.cpt.org] See: Crusades, Holy Land, Holy Places; Oslo; Settlers; West Bank. Hezbollah. An Islamic political movement and party, active mainly in Beirut, the Beqa’ Valley, and South Lebanon. Starting in 1983, Hezbollah carried out attacks against Israeli forces occupying South Lebanon, which led ultimately to Israel’s withdrawal in May 2000. Holy Land, Holy Places, Holy City. Popular designation for Israel, the West Bank, and portions of Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, where the biblical events and Prophet Muhammad’s visit to Al Aqsa Mosque took place. Jerusalem itself, especially the Old City, is regarded by Jews, Christians, and Muslims as uniquely significant and is referred to as the Holy City. Certain sites are known as Holy Places, generally those identified with the lives and activities of King David, the Hebrew prophets, Jesus, Mary, and the disciples, and Prophet Muhammad. The Western Wall is regarded by Jews worldwide as the focus of liturgical life, and thus of enormous significance. Christians consider the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City, the Garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives, and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem as of major importance. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is believed to have been constructed over the places where Jesus was crucified and where he rose from the dead. The Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque on Al Haram al Sherif comprise the third holiest place in the Muslim world. Some sites are revered by members of all three faiths, e.g., the burial place of Abraham in Hebron, the tomb of Joseph in Nablus, and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem. [www.Al-Bushra.org] See: Al Haram al Sherif; Western Wall.
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