A historic area in the Middle East on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, also called the ‘Holy Land’ because of its links with Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It has seen many changes of frontier and status in the course of history, and contains several places sacred to Christians, Jews, and Muslims. In biblical times Palestine comprised the kingdoms of Israel and Judaea. The land was controlled at various times by the Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, and Roman empires before being conquered by the Muslims in 634 ad. It remained in Muslim hands, except for a brief period during the Crusades (1098–1197), until World War I, being part of the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1917, when Turkish and German forces were defeated by the British at Megiddo. The name ‘Palestine’ was used as the official political title for the land west of the Jordan mandated to Britain in 1920. Jewish immigration was encouraged by the Balfour Declaration of 1917, and increased greatly in 1948 when the State of Israel was established. The name Palestine continues to be used, particularly in the context of the struggle for territory and political rights of Palestinian Arabs displaced when Israel was established. A Palestinian National Authority was established in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1993–95; Gaza has been under the control of the militant organization Hamas since 2007. In December 2012 the UN General Assembly recognized Palestine as a ‘non-member observer state’ and in April 2015 Palestine became a member of the International Criminal Court. Over 130 countries now recognize the State of Palestine, including, from May 2015, the Vatican.