No land inherently belongs to anyone.  Land belongs to whichever group can take & hold it.  This has been the rule since civilizations began 10,000 years ago.  Virtually all areas of the globe have had some “indigenous” tribe come into it & settle the area, then have been displaced by a political faction within it or by another tribe or army from elsewhere. Virtually all of our modern countries are now occupied by governments, tribes, political groups or armies that took control at some point from a previous government/army.

English settlers took land in America from the American Indians, then took the land from England & called themselves Americans, then took (or bought) land from more Indians & also Spain & France to create the contiguous USA 48 states.  We Americans own this land & we’re not giving it back up to people who were here before us. However, this is what Palestinians want in the Middle East, but with a major caveat — they’ve never owned or controlled it ever.

The various tribes that lorded over Europe, Asia & Africa all had the same fights & struggles to acquire & hold land.  Those lands now belong to the countries which currently hold & defend them.  Right now, Ukraine is fighting Russia to keep them from taking their land.  Whoever wins that fight will hold the land.  Ukraine has no inherent right to their land.

The Palestinians have the same problem with the facts.  They believe that because they’ve lived in the area once called Palestine (now mostly called Israel as much of it was called 3,000 years ago) from about 600 A.D. (when they took it from those who had prevously taken it from the Jews) that they now inherently own it, which is a fallacy.  Various Arabs, Jews, Romans, and even Alexander the Great controlled the area called Palestine throughout its existence, and Arabs were not the original inhabitants or controllers of the land.

The name Palestine was legally conferred upon the area by the British Mandate in 1920 after WW1. The origin of that name comes from the name “Syria Palestinia” given to the area by the Roman emperor Hadrian as a punishment against the Jews who lived there & who had called it the Judea (the remnant of the earlier Kingdom of Judah). The word “Palestine” is alleged to derive from the Philistines who temporarily lived in the area for a time, but that etymology is disputed. Interestingly, everyone who lived in Palestine between 1925 & 1948 were issued passports that called them Palestinians whether they were Arabs, Jews or Chrisitians or anything in-between. It was from only 1948 that being Palestinian meant being an Arab only.

The area has been controlled by various factions for thousands of years, most recently by the Ottoman Empire (the Turks) who controlled all of the Arabian Peninsula & Middle East as of the end of WW1 in 1918. The countries of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine & Iraq were created by the Allies after WW1 by breaking up the Ottoman Empire in retaliation for their support of the Germans in WW1. Jews have lived in the region and had their own states/kingdoms (Israel & Judah ) long before any Arabs controlled the area. The Jewish kingdoms were destroyed in 720 B.C. & 587 B.C. respectfully, but the Jews continued to live there until they were mostly displaced over the succeeding centuries.

At what point do we say that all the lands of the world should be free from takeover by an indigenous faction or invasion by foreign forces, that whoever is in power now should stay in power forever, and should the United Nations defend all borders?  There would be no USA if that were the rule 250 years ago.  Political takeovers, invasions & land acquisition has been occurring for centuries.  Virtually every country is currently held by a group who took it from another, even if it’s indigenous tribes who have been fighting politically rather than foreign invaders.  It’s up to the current governments to control their countries from other political factions and to hold their land to keep other countries from taking it.  Should we give back all lands & their wealth to indigenous people who first ruled the land?

When America should get involved is when our interests are being compromised, not simply to protect another country’s land or government when it has no effect on America.  The ownership of Ukraine’s pipeline that ferries Russian oil and the natural resources Ukraine has is what that war is really all about.  Does it matter to America if Russia owns the entire length of the pipeline? Or that we & our allies benefit from it regardless of ownership? Arab states own the lion’s share of oil, and we have no problem with them owing the land under their pipelines.

World Peace is a nice idea, but not practical. Humans have always fought to acquire more land & wealth than they have or for power & control of an area & its people, and that will continue as long as there are humans, and after that, the various species of plants & animals remaining (if any) will do the same. Survival of the fittest is the true rule of law.