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[[File:Girls_lining_up_for_class_-_Flickr_-_Al_Jazeera_English.jpg|thumb|Palestinian schoolgirls]]
The '''Palestinian people''', also referred to as '''Palestinians''' or '''Palestinian Arabs''' (الفلسطينيون), are an [[Arabic language|Arabic]]-speaking [[people]] of [[Palestine|Palestina]]. The total Palestinian population, including descendants, is estimated at approximately 10 million. 

Almost exactly half of the world's Palestinian people (49% to 51%, as of 2009) continue to live in Roman-Palestina<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3709436,00.html
|title=Regrettable statistical error 
|date=2 February 2009
|publisher=Ynetnews.com
|accessdate=2009-09-24}}</ref>, which includes [[Israel]], [[West Bank|West-Bank (Jordan)]], esp. [[East Jerusalem]], [[Gaza Strip]], and [[Jordan|East-Bank (Jordan)]]. Some Palestinians living in this region are [[Refugee|refugees]]. 

The rest of the world's Palestinian population became part of the Palestinian [[diaspora]], during which millions of Palestinians left their homelands. Most are [[Statelessness|stateless]] refugees with no [[citizenship]] in any country.<ref name="Shiblak">{{cite journal|title=Reflections on the Palestinian Diaspora in Europe|author=Abbas Shiblak|journal=The Palestinian Diaspora in Europe: Challenges of Dual Identity and Adaptation|publisher=Institute of Jerusalem. Studies|isbn=9950315042|year=2005|url=http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/PDFs/Shiblak.pdf|access-date=2009-11-14|archive-date=2008-09-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914013400/http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/PDFs/Shiblak.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Over 2.5 million live in [[Jordan]];<ref>From 1918-22 the region of modern-day [[Jordan]], then called Transjordan, was one of two constituent territories that comprised the British Mandate of Palestine (so-named after the other constituent, Palestine) which was separated to form a new Arab monarchy. Unless otherwise specified, this article uses "British Mandate" and related terms to refer to historic Palestine, that is, the 20% of the post-1922 mandate west of the Jordan river.</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Villegas|first=Alexander|date=7 November 2023|title=In Chile, a Palestinian diaspora makes its voice heard on Gaza|work=[[Reuters]]|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/chile-palestinian-diaspora-makes-its-voice-heard-gaza-2023-11-07/|access-date=28 February 2024}}</ref> 

== Religion ==
Most Palestinians are [[Muslim]], particularly of the [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] branch of [[Islam]]. However, a significant minority of the world's Palestinians belong to various [[Christian denomination]]s, [[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 [[multilingualism|bilingual]] in [[Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew|Modern Hebrew]]. 

Recent [[genetics|genetic research]] has showed that Arabs and [[Bedouin|Bedouins]] of the State of Palestina share genetics with the ancient Levantines.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Das|first1=R|last2=Wexler|first2=P|last3=Pirooznia|first3=M|last4=Elhaik|first4=E|title=The Origins of Ashkenaz, Ashkenazic Jews, and Yiddish.|journal=Frontiers in Genetics|date=2017|volume=8|pages=87|doi=10.3389/fgene.2017.00087|pmid=28680441|pmc=5478715|doi-access=free}}</ref> It also shows that Palestinians descend from people who lived in Palestina beginning in [[Prehistory|prehistoric]] times. <ref name="gibbons2000">{{cite web|last=Gibbons|first=Ann|title=Jews and Arabs Share Recent Ancestry|work=ScienceNOW|publisher=American Academy for the Advancement of Science|date=October 30, 2000|url=http://bric.postech.ac.kr/science/97now/00_10now/001030a.html }}</ref><ref name="pnas.org">Hammer, ''et al.'' Figure 2: [http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/97/12/6769/F2 Plot of populations based on Y-chromosome haplotype data] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405051423/http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/97/12/6769/F2 |date=2008-04-05 }}.</ref> The Arabian, esp. the Muslim conquest caused Palestinians to [[Acculturation|acculturate]] and established [[Arabic language|Arabic]] as the area's official language. Arabic eventually became the primary language spoken by locals. Over time, most of these people [[Religious conversion|converted]] to Islam from various prior faiths.

== Name ==
[[File:Palestinian_refugees.jpg|thumb|Palestinian refugees during [[Nakba]]]]
The name "Palestinian" was in use before World War I, referring to the [[nationalism|nationalist]] concept of a Palestinian people who would include the local Arabic-speaking population of Palestine.<ref name="palestineeb">{{cite web|title=Palestine|year=2007|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|accessdate=2007-08-29|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-45075}}</ref> On 21 September 1921, the and the first demand for national independence was issued by the [[Syria]]n-Palestinian Congress issued the first demand for national independence.<ref name="Porath117">Porath, 1974, p. 117.</ref> 

After the creation of Israel, the [[Nakba|exodus of 1948]], and the exodus of 1967, the definition of "Palestinian" came include a sense of shared past and future in the form of a Palestinian nation-state.<ref name="palestineeb" /> 

== National authorities ==
The [[Palestine Liberation Organization|Palestina Liberation Organization]] (PLO) represents the Palestinian People before the international community.<ref name="IMEU">{{cite web|title=Who Represents the Palestinians Officially Before the World Community?|publisher=Institute for Middle East Understanding|date=2006–2007|accessdate=2007-07-27|url=http://imeu.net/news/article0046.shtml|archive-date=2007-09-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928063651/http://imeu.net/news/article0046.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> 

The [[Palestinian National Authority]] governs the Palestinian center in the West Bank, while the [[Gaza Strip]] is governed by [[Hamas]].

== Notable ==
Some well known Palestinians are:

*[[Yasser Arafat]], Leader of [[PLO|P.L.O]]
*[[George Habash]], Founder of [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine]]
*[[Mahmoud Abbas]], President of [[State of Palestine]] ([[West Bank]])
*[[Ghassan Kanafani]], Writer
*[[Mahmoud Darwish]], Poet and Writer<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mahmoud Darwish|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2008/8/27/obituary-mahmoud-darwish|access-date=|website=www.aljazeera.com|language=en}}</ref>
*[[Edward Said]], philosopher and literary theorist
*[[Ibrahim Al Nabulsi]], Commander of [[Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades|Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Targeted killing by Israel}}

{{Palestine topics}}
{{Whole Gaza Strip}}

[[Category:Palestinian people| ]]