Next week, Prime Minister Mark Carney and his foreign minister will attend a United Nations meeting in New York. During this event, Carney's government plans to officially recognize a Palestinian state. However, the concept of a Palestinian state remains contentious and complex.

The term "Palestine" has historical roots that date back thousands of years. Its origins can be traced to at least the fifth century BC, long before the arrival of Muslim armies in the region. Historian David Jacobson noted that the name Palestine, derived from the Greek term Palaistine, referred to the land of the Philistines and was also a translation of the name Israel.

The term was not used in an official capacity until the Romans renamed the province of Judea to "Syria Palaestina" as a punishment for Jewish revolts against the Empire. Following the Arab conquest in the seventh century, many Byzantine place names, including Palestine, were adopted. The Al-Aqsa mosque was built on the site of the destroyed Jewish Temple, establishing a religious conflict that persists today.

In the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire took control of the region. Despite previous expulsions, a Jewish presence remained, and efforts to return Jews to their homeland began in the 1700s, gaining momentum in the 19th century. Although the term "Palestine" had not described a political entity since the fall of the Roman Empire, it was commonly used to refer to the area south of Syria, divided by the Jordan River.

In 1917, as World War I neared its end, Britain’s foreign secretary issued the Balfour Declaration, which promised the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. After the war, European powers divided the Middle East, with the United Kingdom receiving a Mandate for Palestine from the League of Nations. This mandate aimed to create separate homelands for Jews and Arabs, the latter of whom began to be referred to as "Palestinians" in the early 20th century.

In 1946, a Palestinian state known as Transjordan (now Jordan) was established. In 1948, Jews declared the State of Israel. However, neighboring Arab countries opposed the existence of a Jewish state and launched attacks. By the time an armistice was signed in 1949, Transjordan had occupied the West Bank, while Egyptian forces controlled Gaza.

Israel regained these territories during the 1967 Six-Day War, after which Egypt and Jordan relinquished their claims. This moment was pivotal for Yasser Arafat, who sought to unify Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza as a distinct nation. Arafat's narrative often distorted historical facts to promote a Palestinian identity.

In a 1977 interview, PLO member Zuheir Mohsen stated, "The Palestinian people does not exist ... there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. ... Just for political reasons we carefully underwrite our Palestinian identity. Because it is of national interest for the Arabs to advocate the existence of Palestinians to balance Zionism."

Despite these complexities, the Six-Day War allowed Arafat’s movement to adopt a more politically acceptable stance, advocating for a Palestinian state in territories previously controlled by Egypt and Jordan.