Palestinian people
Ethnic group native to the Palestine region in Southwest Asia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
The Palestinian people, also called Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs (الفلسطينيون), are an Arabic-speaking people of Palestina. The total Palestinian population, including descendants, is estimated at approximately 10 million.
 | The English used in this article or section may not be easy for everybody to understand. (December 2023) |
Almost exactly half of the world's Palestinian people (49% to 51%, as of 2009) continue to live in historic Palestine (nowadays Israel, Palestine, Northwest Jordan and Golan Heights).[1]
The rest of Palestine's population became part of the Palestinian diaspora, during which millions of Palestinians left their homelands. Most are stateless refugees with no citizenship in any country.[2] Over 2.5 million live in Jordan;[3] a million in Syria and Lebanon combined; a quarter million in Saudi Arabia; and half a million in Chile. Chile has the highest concentration of Palestinians outside the Arab world.[4]
Remove ads
Religion
Most Palestinians are Muslim, particularly of the Sunni branch of Islam. However, a significant minority of the world's Palestinians belong to various Christian denominations, Judaism or smaller religious communities.
No matter what religion they follow, Palestinians share a common dialect of Arabic. Among those who are citizens of Israel (known as Arab Israelis), many are bilingual in Hebrew.
Recent genetic research has showed that Arabs and Bedouins of the State of Palæstina share genetics with the ancient Levantines.[5] It also shows that Palestinians descend from people who lived in Roman-Palæstina beginning in prehistoric times. [6][7] Palestinians acculturated and even established Arabic as the area's official language, due to Pre-Islamic Nabataean influences on ancient Israel and Judaea.[8] Arabic eventually became the primary language spoken by locals. Over time, most of these people converted to Islam from various prior faiths.
Remove ads
Name
The name "Palestinian" was in use before World War I, referring to the nationalist concept of a Palæstinian people who would include the local Arabic-speaking population of Palestine.[9] On 21 September 1921, the and the first demand for national independence was issued by the Arab's Syrian-Palæstinian Congress issued the first demand for national independence.[10]
Before and after Zionism, the Nakba, and the Exodus of 1967, "Palæstinian" came include a sense of shared past and future in the form of a ethnostate of Palestina.[9]
Remove ads
National authorities
The Palestina Liberation Organization (PLO) represents the Palestinian People before the international community.[11]
The Palæstinian National Authority governs the Palestinian center in the West Bank, while Gaza is governed by far-right-wing Hamas.
Notable
Some well known Palestinians are:
- Yasser Arafat, former chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organiation
- George Habbash, Founder of Popular Front for the Liberation of Palæstina
- Mahmoud Abbas, Pres of the State of Palestine
- Ghassan Kanafani, Writer
- Mahmoud Darwish, Poet and Writer[12]
- Edward Said, philosopher and literary theorist
- Ibrahim Al Nabulsi, Commander of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads