Well, SirLoin, the problem is determining actual ownership. I think they really belong to (came from) Jordan, but that only depends on how far back in History you go. Here I have only gone back to 1967 when the cease fire was established.
Historically, the issue began in the time immediately following the great flood. That's pretty far back. In those days, the land was known as Canaan. It was Noah's sons that would repopluate the Earth. But, as they were settling in the land, Noah had become a farmer and had planted a vineyard. He drank the wine, was drunk, and became naked (probably a joke played upon him by Ham) in his tent. Ham (the father of Canaan) told his brothers who honored their father by covering their eyes, entering his tent, and covering his nakedness.
When Noah awoke he said:
"Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren."
Ham established Canaan (modern day Israel), even though the land was supposed to go to Shem. He stole it, because he coveted it.
We know that the rod of Shem was carried down through the generations, until the time of Joseph. It was lost until Moses discovered it in Ethiopia. Today it is probably in the Ark of the Covenant (buried somewhere under Jerusalem). Shem is an ancestor of Israel.
So, you could say this has been going on for something like fifty centuries, and probably longer.
