But it goes deeper...

YHWH first promised the land to Abraham and his descendants at the end of the part of Genesis we call "The Binding of Isaac"... at the time, Abraham's tribe (extended family) were traveling through what is now the Levant (Palestine, Israel, the Holy Land, take your pick). You may recall the story: at first, YHWH instructed Abraham to sacrifice his son and heir; when it was seen that Abraham was perfectly loyal and obedient, he was stopped at the last second and rewarded accordingly.

What is often forgotten is that Isaac had another son; Jacob who was renamed Israel (derived from "wrestles with God", and for good reason) had a half-brother: Ishmael. Ishmael is the legendary ancestor of the Canaanites and "the other -ites", as my rabbi calls them, whose later descendants became, among others, the modern Palestinians.

That is: the land was promised to them, too.

E'