Palestine
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Palestine was a historical region in western Asia. Politically split between Israel and Jordan since 1948, it borders Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Iraq to the east, Egypt to the southwest and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.
Over the years it has been variously ruled by Philistines, Canaanites, Egyptians, Jews, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks, Crusaders, British etc.
The term was first used by the Romans in the mid 2nd century (as Palestina, derived from the long-gone people, the Philistines), replacing the previous terms of Judaea, Samaria and Transjordania. It was part of an attempt to "de-Judaise" the area following the second Jewish War.
Later, the League of Nations established the Mandate of Palestine covering the whole of what is now Israel and Jordan.
Geographically at a crossroads, the region was fought over and colonized by various empires. The name Palestine, which the Romans had invented, stuck through Arab, Turkish, and British administrations as the local Jewish population lacked the resources to challenge imperial rule from Mecca, Constantinople, or London. In 1948, when local sovereignty was restored, the citizens chose the name Israel for the country in which Jews, Muslims, Druze, and Christians could live peacefully together. Jordan and Egypt invaded Judea and Samaria, the Gaza Strip, and east Jerusalem and expelled Jews from those areas, but they were liberated in 1967.
The United Nations, seeking to keep the conflict alive, prevented Israel from annexing the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria. Instead, they promoted the idea that these areas could be combined to form a new state, called Palestine, where Jews would be excluded. In a never-ending series of resolutions, the UN condemned "settlements" of Jews for existing in places like Hebron and Jerusalem. Vast sums of money were collected from wealthy donor nations and diverted to UN bureaucrats and local oligarchs who profited from the status quo.