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Begin, Menachem

(Encyclopedia)Begin, Menachem mĕnäˈkhĕm bāˈgĭn [key], 1913–92, Zionist leader and Israeli prime minister (1977–83), b. Russia. He became (1938) leader of a Zionist youth movement in Poland, where he also...

Sinai campaign

(Encyclopedia)Sinai campaign: see Arab-Israeli Wars. ...

Hussein I

(Encyclopedia)Hussein I ho͝osānˈ, –īnˈ [key], 1935–99, king of Jordan; educated in England at Harrow and Sandhurst. He ascended the throne (1953) after his grandfather Abdullah I had been killed (1951) by ...

Middle East

(Encyclopedia)Middle East, term traditionally applied by western Europeans to the countries of SW Asia and NE Africa lying W of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. Thus defined it includes Cyprus, the Asian part of T...

West Bank

(Encyclopedia)West Bank, territory, formerly part of Palestine, after 1949 administered by Jordan, since 1967 largely occupied by Israel (2005 est. pop. 2,386,000), 2,165 sq mi (5,607 sq km), west of the Jordan Riv...

Lod

(Encyclopedia)Lod lōd [key], city (1994 pop. 51,200), central Israel. It is also known as Lydda. Its manufactures include paper products, chemicals, oil products, electronic equipment, processed food, and cigarett...

Golan Heights

(Encyclopedia)Golan Heights, strategic upland region (2003 est. pop. 10,500), c.500 sq mi (1,250 sq km), SW Syria. It borders S Lebanon, NE Israel, and NW Jordan. It takes its name from the ancient city of Golan an...

Ibn Saud

(Encyclopedia)Ibn Saud (Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud) ĭˈbən säo͞odˈ [key], c.1880–1953, founder of Saudi Arabia and its first king. His family, with its regular seat at Riyadh in the Nejd, were the traditional lead...

Gaza Strip

(Encyclopedia)Gaza Strip gäzˈə [key], rectangular coastal area, c.140 sq mi (370 sq km), SW Asia, on the ...

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