israel or palestine

Fatah• A branch of the former Palestinian Liberation Organization and rivals

of Hamas.

Hamas• Rivals of the Fatah, that is willing to support terrorist tactics.

Mahmoud Abbas• Fatah Palestinian President that quickly signed a cease-fire with Israel

that effectively ended the intifada.

Yassir Aratat• Palestinian President and former PLO leader that was blamed by Israel

and the U.S. for blocking the "Roadmap to Peace".

"Roadmap to Peace"• Outlined a set of goals to achieve peace in the Israel region by the

international community.

Ariel Sharon• Israeli Prime Minister that approved construction of a wall to be built

between the Palestinian West Bank and Israel in order to protect Israelis against suicide attacks.

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)• A group dedicated to reclaiming the land lost and establishing a

Palestinian state.

Intifada• An on and off movement that sometimes uses terrorism against

Israeli citizens in an attempt to either destroy Israel or force it into withdrawal from the occupied territories.

Six Days War• War between Israel and Arab countries that resulted in total victory

for the Israelis, taking control of the West Bank from Jordan, the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria.

West Bank• Land on the west bank of the Jordan River, formerly in the hands of

Jordan, but captured by Israel in the Six-Day War.

Arab-Israeli War• War between Muslims from six Arab countries and Israel that Israel

shocked them by defeating them.

David Ben-Gurion• First Prime Minister of Israel.

Pogroms• Anti-Semitic mobs in Palestine.

Balfour Declaration of 1917• Explicitly stated by Arthur Balfour the right for a home in Palestine for

the Jews, but also stated that it should no way displace the Palestinians who currently live there.

Zionists• Jewish nationalists that wanted a homeland in Palestine.

Camp David Accords• A peace treaty between Israel and Egypt issuing from talks at Camp

David between Egyptian President Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Begin.