Before 1948, the region that is now Israel was known as Palestine and was home to a diverse population of Arabs, Jews, and Christians, all of whom had religious ties to the area, especially the city of Jerusalem. The land itself was under the control of various empires, such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, and eventually the Islamic Caliphate and the Ottoman Empire. The late 19th century saw the widespread consolidation of a Jewish nationalist movement known as Zionism, which led to an increase in Jewish immigration to the region. During World War I, the Allies partitioned the Ottoman Empire, and Britain was granted control of the region by League of Nations mandate, in what became known as Mandatory Palestine. In 1947, the United Nations proposed the partition of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem as an internationally administered city. While the Jewish community largely accepted this plan, the Arab community rejected it, leading to the outbreak of civil war. On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was established, marking the end of British rule in Palestine. This event triggered the first Arab-Israeli War, involving neighboring Arab countries, which ultimately led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs.