The phrase
The Holy Land (Hebrew
Eretz ha-Qodesh; Latin
Terram Sanctam) generally refers to the
Land of Israel, also known as
Palestine. Specifically, it includes those areas of Israel which hold specific, significant religious importance to the great monotheistic traditions:
Judaism,
Christianity, and
Islam. These areas include, but are not limited to, the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre,
Bethlehem, the
Wailing Wall, and the
Dome of the Rock.
These areas have been the hotbeds of conflict since around 500 CE. The Crusades were started on the pretext of recovering the Holy Land. More recently, the region is at the centre of the religious arguments of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
For Muslims the term Holy Land (Arabic Ard ul-Quds) refers to the Hejaz, site of the Holy cities of Makkah and Medina.
