Mideast 101: Two peoples, one land

(CNN) -- The deadly conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has been erupting for over 50 years -- ever since the end of World War II when the United Nations ordered the partition of Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state.

Since the creation of Israel, two different peoples have been fighting over one very small piece of real estate.

The entire nation of Israel is not much bigger than the state of New Hampshire, and if you separate out the territories Israel captured in 1967, it is even smaller than the New England state.

Israel is less than 300 miles from north to south, and measures just 85 miles across at its widest point.

At its most slender point, Israel is only eight miles across.

"For a Texan, a first visit to Israel is an eye-opener," said U.S. President George Bush during a speech in May 2001. "At its narrowest point it is only 8 miles from the Mediterranean to the Old Armistice Line. That's less than from the top to the bottom of the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport."

Unlike New Hampshire, which supports more than a million residents, Israel, the West Bank and Gaza hold nearly 10 million people.

Jews are only a bare majority (51 percent) over the Arab population (49 percent) of Israel, including Jerusalem, The West Bank and Gaza.

And the Jews' majority status is falling fast as Arab birth rates far exceed birth rates among Israeli Jews.

At the current growth rate, Arabs will outnumber Jews in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza by the year 2020. Because Israel is a democracy where the majority rules, many Israelis now favor a separate Palestinian state. If Israel has a majority Arab population, it cannot remain a Jewish state for very long.

To create a separate Palestinian state, Arabs insist Israel must withdraw to its 1967 borders. But Israelis fear the overwhelming population of the Arab world might put the security of Israel in jeopardy.