Thank you both. Expanding the history, here's a very Cliff Notes version of what I could find over the course of about 15 minutes.
Pre-Iron Age: Canaanites
Iron Age (BC): Israel rules most of it, Canaanites a little of it
300 BC: Alexander The Great (Greek gods)
50BC: Romans vs Jews (culture is a mix of "Greek culture, Roman law, and the rights of Jews in the Empire"
4th century: "Roman Empire christened, Palestine became a center of Christianity"
5th century: "Muslim conquest of the Levant (Syria)" - rule the area for hundreds of years.
11th century: First Crusade (Christians) take the area from Islamic rule, establish Jerusalem.
12th century: Egypt (Muslims) take it back.
16th century: Ottoman Empire takes it.
In 1516, the Ottoman Turks invaded and occupied Palestine, an occupation that lasted for 402 years (1516-1918), except for the 9 years between 1831 and 1840, when the Egyptian Governor Muhammad Ali sent his troops to capture Palestine under the command of his son Ibrahim Pasha.
20th century: Britain takes it in 1920s, creates Jewish state in 1940s.
During World War I, it was captured by the United Kingdom as part of the Sinai and Palestine campaign. The League of Nations gave Britain mandatory power over Palestine in 1922. British colonial rule and Arab efforts to prevent Jewish migration into Palestine led to growing sectarian violence between Arabs and Jews, eventually causing the British government to announce its intention to terminate the Mandate in 1947. The United Nations General Assembly recommended partitioning Palestine into two states; one Arab and one Jewish. However, the situation in Palestine had deteriorated into a civil war between Arabs and Jews. The Arabs rejected the Partition Plan, the Jews ostensibly accepted it, declaring the independence of the State of Israel in May 1948 upon the termination of the British mandate. Nearby Arab countries invaded Palestine, but Israel not only prevailed but also conquered far more territory of the Mandate than envisioned by the Partition Plan. After the war, only two parts of Palestine remained in Arab control: the West Bank (and East-Jerusalem), annexed by Jordan, and the Gaza Strip (occupied by Egypt), which were conquered by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967. Despite international objections, Israel started to establish settlements in these occupied territories.
Summary: What a mess!