An apolitical* Op-ed from the New York Times
...in reality, the Gaza Strip and the coastal towns to its north, for most of the years between, say, 1250 B.C. and 135 A.D. - the era in which the Jews lived in and often ruled the land of Israel - eluded firm Israelite or Judean control and, indeed, Jewish habitation. It is not even clear that the great Hebrew kings David and Solomon, under whom the kingdom reached its vastest expanse, ever directly controlled the Gaza area. [...more]
[* Sigh, I know many of you out there in readerland are going to insist that this editorial is, in fact, political because it challenges Israel's historical right to Gaza. So permit me a preemptive Shut up! You can report the dry facts of history without also committing yourself to one act of policy or another.]