there is no Palestinian representation from the
occupied territories.
Israel’s population is estimated to be 7.1 mil-
lion, including nearly 383,000 Israelis living in
West Bank settlements, East Jerusalem, and the
Golan (2008 estimate). It is 76.4 percent Jewish,
mostly native-born, and 23.6 percent non-Jewish,
mostly Arab (2004). Judaism is the religion of the
majority, 16 percent are Muslims, about 2 percent
are Christians, and 1.6 percent are followers of the
drUze religion (2004). Although many of Israel’s
citizens are practicing members of their religious
communities, many have secular worldviews. The
combined population of the West Bank and Gaza
is approximately 3.5 million (2004 estimate).
Islam is the religion of most citizens of the Pales-
tinian Authority: 90.1 percent in the West Bank
and 98.7 percent in Gaza (2007 estimate). Most
are Sunni Muslims historically affiliated with
the hanaFi legal school. The size of the Arab
Christian population has been declining steadily
since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. They make up
less than 10 percent of the population in the
West Bank and Gaza and belong to a number of
different denominations, including Greek, Syrian
and Armenian Orthodox, Greek Catholic, Roman
Catholic, and Protestant.
The land where modern Israel is now located
was the setting for many of the stories and events
related in the Bible. It lies at a major crossroads
for the peoples of the Mediterranean region, the
Nile Valley, Arabia, and beyond. The ancient Isra-
elites were but one of several different groups that
lived there. They established kingdoms during
the first half of the first millennium b.c.e. known
as Samaria and Judah. The former, the Northern
Kingdom, was destroyed by the Assyrian Empire in
721 b.c.e. Judah (later Judea), the Southern King-
dom, was brought to an end by the Babylonian
Empire in 586 b.c.e. The Babylonians took Judah’s
rulers into exile in Mesopotamia and destroyed
the temple in Jerusalem. It was after this time that
many of the books of the Hebrew Bible (Old Tes-
tament) were compiled. The religion of Judaism
is also said to have appeared in this period, when
it replaced ancient Israelite religion. Cyrus II (r.
539–530 b.c.e.), Achaemenid emperor of Persia,
defeated the Babylonians and allowed the captive
Jews to return home. He also gave them permis-
sion to rebuild the Second Temple in Jerusalem. In
the following centuries, the region became either
a province or client of several powerful empires,
including those of aleXander the great and his
successors (333–67 b.c.e), Rome (67 b.c.e–330
c.e.), and Byzantium, the continuation of the
Roman Empire in the East (330–640).
Byzantine control over the province of Pales-
tine came to an end when Arab Muslim armies
defeated the Byzantines in a series of battles
between 632 and 637. Taking greater Palestine
and Syria, where there were several large Arab
tribal confederations, had been one of mUham-
mad’s top priorities, but it was not until the reign
of the caliph Umar ibn al-khattab (r. 634–644)
that the Muslim conquest occurred. In 638,
he went to Jerusalem personally to accept the
peaceful surrender of the city. Historical sources
indicate that the new Muslim rulers did not
encounter serious opposition, for the local popu-
lace and the region’s economy prospered. Jews
were able to move back to Jerusalem after having
been previously banned and restricted to living
in the Galilee by the Romans and Byzantines.
Both the region’s Christian majority and the Jews
were obliged to accept dhimmi (protected) status,
which granted them legal rights under Muslim
law as long as they paid taxes and did not revolt,
slander the Islamic religion, or attempt to convert
Muslims.
From the qUran, Muslims knew Israel more
as a people rather than a land or kingdom. Jacob
was a biblical figure who was also known as
Israel. He is mentioned once in the Quran by
this name. His offspring, the children of Israel,
are mentioned 42 times as recipients of the
torah of Moses. Kings david and Solomon are
both mentioned, but more as prophets than as
rulers of a holy land. Later Quran commentariesK 380 Israel