Politricks

• In 1948, Israel was granted her independence from the British.
• The British held the land since 1917 when General Allenby captured the area from the Ottomans.
  
• The Ottomans held the land since 1517, when they captured it from the Mamluke Sultanate.
  
• The Mamluke captured the land from the Crusaders in 1291 (Acre, the last Crusader foothold fell)
• The Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099 from the Seljuk Turks forming the Kingdom of Jerusalem. This was perhaps the last time Palestine was independent. (Debate exists as to whether or not it was truly independent.)
• The Seljuk Turks were one of numerous caliphates to hold the Palestine after defeating the Byzantine Empire in 638. The various caliphates ruled from Cairo, Damascus, and/or Baghdad.
• The Byzantines held Palestine from 395 when the Roman Empire split. (except from 614-629 when the Persians held it.)
• The Roman Empire captured Palestine in 37 BCE when King Herod was placed as King of Israel (a Roman provincial puppet state)
• Before the Romans held Palestine, it was an independent kingdom, the Hasmonean Dynasty for 103 years from 140-37 BCE--a Jewish state.
• Before the Hasmonean Dynasty Palestine was ruled by the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt from 323 BCE. Before then it was Alexander's from 332 BCE.
• Before Alexander Palestine was ruled by the Persians from 539 BCE.
• In 597 Nebuchadnezzar II captured Judea (Southern Kingdom) for Babylon.
• 720 BCE, the Northern Kingdom falls to the Assyrians.
  
• 930 BCE, the Kingdom of the Israelites was divided into two independent nations.
  
• 1000 BCE, David captures Jerusalem. Birth of the Kingdom of the Israelites.
  

This is a very long answer, but it shows that in the last three thousand years, the area of the Middle East known now as Palestine has only been independent a handful of times (Either 383 or 575 years depending on whether or not you consider the Kingdom of Jerusalem as truly independent). Also, none of the times the area has been truly independent has it been a Islamic nation. Every time it was independent it was either Christian or Jewish. The UN Partition would have changed all that and actually given the Palestinian Arabs a nation of their own, but they, and the Arab League, were greedy and wanted it all.