It is impossible to synopsize a history going back 20,000 years without gaps, omissions, or controversy but here’s the shortest possible of the area now known as Israel and called “Palestine” by the Greeks and Romans in reverse chronological order (most recent first):
| Controlled by | Period |
| Jews | 1948 to present |
| British | 1917-1948 |
| Ottoman Turks | 1517-1917 |
| Mamluks | 1291-1516 |
| Misc. Crusader period | 1095-1291 |
| Various Arab caliphates | 636-1095 |
| Rome | 63BCE-636AD |
| Greeks | 330-63 |
| Persians | 539-330 |
Earlier than that it gets very fuzzy. We can say confidently that Babylonians, Assyrians, and Egyptians occupied the area in various periods. Precise dates and periods are pretty hard to determine.
I think it’s fair to say there have always been Arabs in the land that has been known as Israel, mostly nomadic Bedouins. I think the Hebrews have been in the land of Israel since at least three millennia ago. The “Canaanites”, who appear to be most closely resembled by Lebanon’s Maronites today, have probably always been there, too.
As you can the land has changed hands a lot. I’ll conclude with a rather inflammatory remark made by Winston Churchill:
That the dog is in the manger does not mean that the dog owns the manger or has any particular right to it.
