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There were no such thing as Palestinian Arabs. They were considered first, Ottomans, but more locally as Syrians.

Ah! That's what I thought, but wasn't sure about.

I had read about the Haganah. Wasn't it that group that bombed the King David Hotel where the British were located, just before or after the UN decision? I think I read about that in the book "O, Jerusalem". I just requested that from our local library. Are there any other books you can recommend about the 19th and 20th century history of Palestine and Israel? By the way, what was it called before the British took over the place? Had it been called Palestine before then?

I believe that the bombing was either the Irgun or possibly the Stern Gang, which used terrorism against British troops. The hagannah was more a militia.

The term Palestine was used by the Romans, after they destroyed the Temple and exiled the Jews in the first and second centuries AD. It is derived from Phillistines, the folks the early Israelites defeated under King David. It is a geographical term, and included everyone living in the area, whether Muslim Arab, Christian Arab, or Jew. Then the partition was derived to divide Palestinian Arabs, from Palestinian Jews. The leaders of the Palestinian Jews chose the name Israel for their state. The Palestinian Arabs refused to accept the partition, and insisted on sole control. Their leaders left the country, the neighboring Arabs attacked, Israel won.

The name Palestine was applied to this area after the failed Bar Kochba revolt. It comes from the administrative region of Syria Palestinia (the area was divided into three Palestinia's or administrative zones that came from the Romans and held in place during the Byzatine Empire.)

To the Muslims and to the Ottomans, it was just part of the Empire, but the locals were called Syrians to designate their place in the vast empire.

The Etzel (known as the Irgun) bombed the King David Hotel. It should be noted that the Palestinians use the bombing as the justification for their modern use of terror saying the are only copying the Jews. I reject that out of hand.

The King David Hotel, which served as headquarters for the British government offices. Ninety-one people died in the blast. The Etzel claimed that a telephone warning was issued and ignored. The British denied receiving a warning. At the official inquest, testimony was given by the Palestine Post operator that she had received the warning and telephoned the duty officer at the police station. Located next door to the King David was the French Consulate. The consulate staff testified that they had been warned that a blast was impending at the hotel, and they should open their windows in order to reduce casualties as well.

The definition of terrorism is the deliberate targeting of civilians to inspire fear or panic in hopes that the populace will force the government to capitulate to either the terrorists’ political, ideological, or religious demands.

O Jerusalem is a great book. I would also recommend Benjamin Netanyahu's A Durable Peace. If you like historical fiction, then Herman Wouk's The Hope and The Glory (2 separate books) are excellent reads and very factual.

The Haganah later became the IDF.