Is Palestine’s map actually shrinking?

The story of the land between the river and the sea is more complicated than most visuals show. Over time, control shifted between the Ottoman Empire, the British Mandate, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority. Borders changed, proposals were rejected, and sovereignty was disputed. What some call “shrinking Palestine” ignores treaties, peace offers, and the first moments Palestinians gained self-rule. Understanding the real history reveals a far more complex and nuanced reality. 00:00 Introduction 01:00 The First Map 02:15 Land Ownership in 1947 03:13 The Second Map and Partition 05:05 The Third Map After 1948 06:14 Gaps Between the Maps 07:46 The Fourth Map Today 08:16 Misconceptions on the Maps 10:29 Why They Mislead 11:11 The Accurate Maps 12:52 Why These Maps Spread Sources Camera Education Institute. “Spot the Bias: Can you tell which set of maps is accurate?” Instagram, July 16, 2025. DellaPergola, Sergio. Demography in Israel/Palestine: Trends, Prospects, Policy Implications. Paper S64, IUSSP XXIV General Population Conference, Salvador de Bahia, August 2001. JTA. “MSNBC Apologizes for Incorrect Maps of Israel.” The Forward, Oct 21, 2015. Levick, Adam. “Daily Mail legitimises four Palestinian maps that lie.” CAMERA UK, Feb 2, 2020. Maynard, Judy. “‘Disappearing Palestine’ – the Maps that Lie.” AIJAC – Fresh AIR, July 7, 2020. Miller, Emanuel. “Debunked: Those Maps of ‘Palestinian Land Loss’ Are Misleading. Here’s Why.” HonestReporting, July 14, 2021. Morris, Benny. “The Iranian nuclear program is Netanyahu’s obsession. And that of many Israelis, myself included.” K-LA Revue, June 26, 2025. Subscribe and turn on your notifications so you don’t miss future uploads! https://www.youtube.com/UNPACKED?sub_confirmation=1 Recommended video – From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free - https://youtu.be/_hr528dPuVQ?si=Yn4JnVAt6cDwv9Ou We have merch! – http://shop.Unpacked.media/?utm_medium=youtube&utm_source… Let’s connect: Website — https://www.Unpacked.media Instagram — /unpackedmedia Twitter — /unpackedmedia TikTok — /unpackedmedia Facebook — /unpackedmedia ----------- Image and footage credits: © IWM WOY 29 David Rumsey Map Collection, David Rumsey Map Center, Stanford Libraries UNESCO Ramallah Office Derek Packard Lusse Cloutier ----------- Executive Producers: Michael Steinhardt Co-Executive Producers: Marc Shmuel Levine Iris & Shalom Maidenbaum Gold Level: The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life ----------- Translation credits: Portuguese: Saymon Pires About Explainers: From ancient Jewish traditions to the modern State of Israel, we explain it all. Diving into anything and everything related to Jewish culture, history, and even religion. Understand Jewish holidays, Israeli politics, Jewish diasporic communities, and more. Learn about Judaism in pop culture, debunking myths about Jews, and explore obscure Israeli landmarks. We’re asking questions as basic as “What is the Talmud?”, and as obscure as “How did hip-hop boost Kosher wine sales?”, and everything in between. About Unpacked: We provide nuanced insights by unpacking all things Jewish. People are complex and complicated — yet we’re constantly being pushed to oversimplify our world. At Unpacked we know that being complex makes us more interesting. Because of this, we break the world down with nuance and insight to drive your curiosity and challenge your thinking. #israel #palestine #middleeast