Israel was the name given to Jacob. As Jacob journeyed back to his relatives, he wrestled with a man. As the wrestling ended, the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel..." (Gen. 32:28). Jacob was chosen over his brother Esau; and their father Isaac was chosen over Ismael though both of them were fathered by Abraham. Abraham was called by God so that God could make him into a great nation... and all peoples on earth will be blessed through him (Gen 12). God told Abraham that "from the rivers of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates -- the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perrizites, Raphaites, amorites, Cannanites, Girgashites and Jebusites" (Gen 15: 18-19) would be given his descendants. Well, this would include part or all of the present day Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Labanon and Jordan.
As Israelites came out of slavery from Egypt and entered Canaan, they could conquer much of this land. But they were defeated by enemy kingdom and expelled from this land. Most of them in 721 BC ( Northern kingdom) and the remaining (Southern Kingdom) in 586 BC. Few decades later, some of them returned and began to settle in this land once more. They were expelled again in 70 AD by the Romans and more of them in 132 AD once more. In 638 AD the Arabs conquered it. To cut it short, modern Israel came to be established in 1948, and in 1967 captured Jerusalem. Today Jerusalem has Jewish population as well as Arabs thus making it a city that houses followers of Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Now, let's look at the theological part. God's blessing for Abraham was not that Abraham would keep all the blessings to himself; it was also because God wants all peoples on earth to be blessed through Abraham. Following the disobedience of Adam and Eve, God began the process of bringing humans back to himself. And this is how Abraham became God's instrument. But Abraham as God's instrument has a vocation. God addressed or symbolised Israel -descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - as his vine (Jer. 2:21); the royal Davidic king as God's son (Ps. 2). Jesus says that he is the true vine; that he is God's son and that through him all people irrespective of tribes and tongues are being gathered for God. Jesus faithfully fulfills the vocation even unto the cross. Jesus is thus the true Israel; the Davidic king who takes up to fulfill God's work. And those who are in Christ -- whether one is ethnic Jew or Gentile -- is the "Israel of God (Gal 6: 16).
Jesus also fulfills the sacrifice that was required for the atonement of sin. So there is no need for a Temple in Jerusalem. For the forgiveness of sin, it is to Jesus one must come; not build a Temple in Jerusalem to revive the Old Testament rituals.
Sure, modern Israel needs security. But Palestinians also need land to settle as well as security to live. All land is God's land, and people must find ways to live together on God's earth. No piece of land is more sacred than others nor is one people group more special than some other one in God's sight.
