Who actually lived in the area known as “Palestine” before the State of Israel was founded? Old records tell a very different story about Palestinian origins.
Bravo on this excellent research about Arab itinerant workers free floating around the Levant who were attracted to Israel by the Zionist enterprise. The Ottoman records are chock a block filled with refutation of the phony Palestinian nationalist narrative. The Arab Christians used to be more numerous until forced to flee from the Islamic tribal violence: bothe real and threatened. There is also more on the re population plans with Circassians of the Ottomans (no Star Trek). And the surveys of how many historical villages have kosher mikvaot made from stone built into into their cellars
Who is the they in the title of your essay? Your essay shows that much of the population which today gives itself the title Palestinian has origins rooted in many provinces of the Ottoman empire, enhanced by the development of British Mandate Palestine due especially to the entrepreneurship of Jews and the yishuv that developed under that Mandate. The many examples certainly show that Palestinians are not the indigenous people they claim to be, predating the ancient Hebrews whom they wipe out of history. Perhaps they are the "they" your title refers to.
This is a richly detailed account of a history that, in my view, enriches the history of the people of the region by showing the complexity of a population that is too frequently treated as a museum exhibit, put behind glass and labelled. The real shame is that so few historians who have the linguistics skills and would be able to access Ottoman, Egyptian, Syrian and British archives have done so.
Is there a bibliography or works cited list associated with this essay?
Yes, everything is on my site. I have a huge list of sources. It was so long that I had to cut some out. I believe my article has a lot more info. I haven’t gone through this one entirely yet.
Palestinians have many origins and are really no more an ethnic group than Americans are. So their argument for statehood cannot rely on a common ethnicity. What, then, is the basis of their argument?
Id point to the Oslo Accords as the basis for the argument. An internationally recognized treaty that laid out specific borders, recognized a government and set forth the basis for relations with neighboring states. With a clear historical basis in prior internationally recognized treaties, including San Remo, Cairo, the British Peel Commission report, and the UNSCOP report and its approval by the general assembly. Those all establish a historical claim and Oslo Accords provide the legal basis.
Yet so many who claim to advocate for Palestinians disregard the Oslo Accords entirely.
Arafat rejected a generous offer for a Palestinian state several years after the Oslo Accords and started a war instead, undermining, if not completely eviscerating their validity. Those who make a mockery of a diplomatic solution are not entitled to rely on it.
Im afraid I was not clear. I was responding to a question about the legal arguments Natasha Hausdorf has made. John Aziz questioned if she was arguing against any claim of Palestinian sovereignty inder international law and I was responding no, there is a legal basis in the Oslo Accord demarcation of borders and authority of the PA. (I was not commenting on the moral rightness, which I think is your question, though I do believe there is a moral authority as well in the case for negotiation even though and indeed precisely because there has been so many cycles of dehumanization and violence. Im for breaking that cycle by supporting all those who seek a better future of security, dignity and prosperity for all Israelis and all Palestinians. I agree that Arafat did not stay on that path, nor has Abbas, nor do I believe would Bargouti. But the path is still there.
No one in power or even close to power in any Muslim state is on that path, so focusing on that path is not productive. Time to deal with realistic options.
If the Palestinian people didn't exist before Israel's existence, then where did they come from?
By Alex Gossland (С)
Here are the most common Palestinian family names and the countries from which they immigrated to Palestine after the late 1800s. So you’ll notice there are no families named ’’ al-Falisitin ’’ ( the Palestinian ) . . .
"Masri" or "al-Masri" = from Egypt. Hamas member of Parliament in Gaza, Mushir al- Masri is from Egypt (the word "Masri" literally means "the Egyptian" in Arabic).
"Khamis" = from Bahrain "Salem Hanna Khamis."
"al-Ubayyidi" or "al-Obeidi"= from Sudan
"al-Ubayyid." "al-Faruqi" = Mosul, Iraq.
"al-Araj" = Morocco, a member of the Saadi Dynasty "Hussein al-Araj."
"al-Lubnani" = the Lebanese.
"al-Mughrabi" = the Moroccan ("Maghreb,'' meaning "West" in Arabic, and usually is referring to North Africa or specifically to Morocco), "Dalal Mughrabi"
"al-Djazair" = the Algerian.
"al-Qurashi" = Saudi Arabia "clan of Quraish."
"al-Azd" = Yemen "Azd tribe." "al-Yamani"= the Yemeni "Issam Al Yamani."
"al-Afghani" = the Afghan. "al-Sidawi" = from "Sidon" Lebanon.
"al-Fayyumi" = from "Faiyum" Egypt.
"al-Hijazi" or "Hijazi" = present-day Saudi Arabia "Ahlam Higazi, a "Palestinian" artist from Hebron.
"al-Hindi" = the Indian "Amin al-Hindi."
"al-Tamimi" or "Tamimi" = from the tribe or clan of Banu-Tamim "Azzam Tamimi."
"Hamati" = from Syria ( Hama city).
"Omayya" = from Saudi Arabia "Banu Omayya tribe" "Omayya Joha" "Palestinian artist."
"Othman" = Turkey.
"Murad" = Yemen "Murad tribe."
"Alawi" = from Syria (minority religious group in Syria).
"Iraqi" = from Iraq.
"Halabi" = from Aleppo, Syria.
"Dajani" = from Saudi Arabia.
"Mattar" = from Yemen (the village of Bani Mattar).
"Haddadins" = Yemen, descended from Ghassanid Christian Arabs.
"Arab Abu-Kishk" = Egypt (Bedouins).
"Arab al-Shakirat" = Egypt (Bedouins).
"Arab al-Zabidat" = Egypt (Bedouins).
"Arab al-Aramsha" = Egypt (Bedouins).
"Abu Sitta" = In Arabic Abu means father and sitta means six. Translated it actually means father of six. The Abu Sitta family primarily received this name because around the year 1700, a well known Knight of the large al-Tarabeen tribe always had six slaves (i.e., fedawyah, bodyguards), three on each side, with him. They were with him wherever he went, day or night, hence the name
"ABU SITTA." =Egypt (Bedouins) "Salman Abu Sitta."
"Nuba, Hebron" = founded by the "Nuba people." ‘Nuba’ is a collective term used for the various indigenous peoples who inhabit the Nuba Mountains in Sudan
Zarkawi, from Zarka, a suburb of Amman.
There are families named Nabulsi from Nablus/She hem
And for the Jews, Britain has done everything possible so that AS LESS Jews as possible can return to their historical homeland in order to prevent the revival of a sovereign JEWISH state ...
Here is a brief summary of the role of Britain in creating countries in the territories conquered from the Ottoman Empire.
Zuheir Mohsen
Zuheir Mohsen (1936 – 25 July 1979) was a Palestinian leader of the Syria-controlled as-Sa'iqa
"The Palestinian people do not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism. Yes, the existence of a separate Palestinian identity exists only for tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan.
“Wij zijn alleen Palestijn om politieke reden,” James Dorsey, Trouw, 31 March 1977."
Archaeology connects the dots on how Judea was renamed to Palestina or Philistines. The Philistines came from Crete, in archeological record they existed from 12 century BCE, settled part of Judea on the Mediterranean Sea, were defeated by the Assyrians in 5 century BCE and vanished as a distinct group. In turn the Assyrians were conquered by Babylonians. It was the Romans who revived the name Palestina/Philistines to distance Jews from Judea.
Perhaps one day in the far future, there will be a generation of Arab "new historians" honest enough, to explode the myths of Palestinianism. In my inbox is an academic paper by Seth Frantzman that compares the hundred plus newly founded Arab settlements during the time of the Zionist aliyot. From late 19th to early 20th centuries...some were settlements of newly settled Bedouin. Palestinian names give evidence to various localities throughout the Mideast.
Thanks for this important paper. Your detractors will say that these people were insignificant in the larger "historic Palestinian" community dating to at least Adam/Eve or even before.. And evidence of their great compassion for people escaping other zones of conflict. And yet more myth making like tlaib's we welcomed the Europeans fleeing the nazis...with open arms and then they turned their many guns on the pacific goat tending people of "historic Palestine." and so on.
Brilliant article. Some interesting - if tangential - parallels to the Romany people in Britain. When groups first arrived in Western Europe in the early 15th century, they self-identified as 'Egyptians' because that was a country the settled population had heard of (via the Old Testament) and had an interest in. In Britain, that gave rise to the name 'gypsies'. But by the time this (mis)identification happened, it's probable that the Romany people had no /little idea of their true origins, since they'd left Northern India back in the 10th century. Origins can swiftly be forgotten and obscured.
70% Canaanite DNA tells the story that Palestinians are the closest remnant and descendants of the Judean's, Philistines, and Israelites. Like the Apostles, Jesus first preached to Jews...thus INRI (Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews) over the Cross. Those Jewish secs followed Christ and became the first Christians of the world, the Palestinian Christians...and over time these non-diaspora Jews were Arabized and many converted to Islam. They stayed in the Holyland, and 97% still practice their Abrahamic faith, in which Christianity and Islam have the Jewish blueprint. They do not have European ancestry. something this article did not address for obvious reasons. Let's look at the Atheist European Crusade for the Holy Land origins next time.
He reports that many of the people who have always lived in Yehuda and Shomron remember that their families were Jews/Israelis who never left the Land of Israel, but who were forcibly converted to Christianity in the Crusades and later to Islam when the Muslims took Jerusalem. Many of those families have ancient family graves in their property with Hebrew names on the stones. There is even an area where they still light candles on Friday nights.
Your historical research is thorough, but it ultimately doesn't matter theologically. Here are the biblical facts:
The land promises are FINISHED. Not pending. FULFILLED.
"So the LORD gave Israel ALL THE LAND he had sworn to give their ancestors... Not one of all the LORD's good promises to Israel failed; every one was FULFILLED." — Joshua 21:43-45
The conquest under Joshua completed it. Solomon's kingdom matched the Abrahamic boundaries (1 Kings 4:21). There is NO unfulfilled land promise in Scripture.
The Old Covenant is OBSOLETE.
"By calling this covenant 'new,' he has made the first one OBSOLETE; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear." — Hebrews 8:13
The land belonged to the Old Covenant. That covenant is DEAD.
Physical ancestry means NOTHING.
"For NO ONE IS A JEW who is merely one outwardly... But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart." — Romans 2:28-29
"We are THE CIRCUMCISION, who worship by the Spirit of God and PUT NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH." — Philippians 3:3
God explicitly REJECTS ethnic presumption: "Do not presume to say... 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, GOD IS ABLE FROM THESE STONES TO RAISE UP CHILDREN FOR ABRAHAM." — Matthew 3:9
The "Israel of God" is the CHURCH.
"Peace and mercy be upon them, EVEN UPON THE ISRAEL OF GOD." — Galatians 6:16
Paul wrote this to Jews AND Gentiles in one body. There is NO separate ethnic Israel in God's economy anymore.
The true inheritance is HEAVENLY—not dirt.
"He was looking forward to THE CITY THAT HAS FOUNDATIONS, whose designer and builder is God... they desire A BETTER COUNTRY, THAT IS, A HEAVENLY ONE." — Hebrews 11:10, 16
"THE JERUSALEM ABOVE IS FREE, and she is our mother." — Galatians 4:26
"An inheritance that is IMPERISHABLE, UNDEFILED, and UNFADING, kept in HEAVEN for you." — 1 Peter 1:4
The temple is DESTROYED. The priesthood is DEFUNCT. The genealogies are LOST.
Jesus declared: "See! Your house is left to you DESOLATE." — Matthew 23:38
AD 70 happened. The temple never returned. There is NO functioning Levitical system. There is NO way to verify tribal lineage.
---
NEITHER modern Zionism NOR Palestinian nationalism has biblical standing. Both are political movements using religious language to justify earthly claims. The Church—the ACTUAL Israel of God—has no stake in this fight because her citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and her King reigns from Zion ABOVE, not below.
The true "Israel of God" is spiritual, international, and awaiting the heavenly Jerusalem—not fighting over a patch of dirt in the Levant.
This requires the faith that Jesus was the son of god which was denied by the Hebrews of the time. For atheists, all of your arguments are 'obsolete' as there can never be any viable proof of god, only belief, just as in any other religious/political movement.
It's very easy to ignore that much of what Paul attributed to god or Jesus was made up by his egotistical mind. It's doubtful that Jesus himself ever actually claimed to be god's son and it's ironic that belief in Jesus also requires the belief that he was descended from previous kings so must be some kind of king himself. I seem to recall that in the Bible Jesus himself considered the genealogies (ancestor worship?) very important.
Yes, the Bible seems to tell us that Jesus came to tear away the Old Testament but most Christians never actually believed that and consider the Old Testament important and proof that Jesus was god's son so how can any 'believer' actually throw the whole thing away?
Also remember that Jesus wasn't an uncommon name at the time, just like today where in some countries parents would like to believe that their sons are 'godlike'.
Despite what god may or may not have said, the vast majority of humans are totally addicted to considering the land they reside on as 'home' and if they don't like that home they will move to find some land that they like and call THAT home, just like all the creatures who preceded humans.
So I have no idea why you seem to be saying that Jews are not 'entitled' to claim land and call it their own just as every other group of people has done.
And so of course, perhaps Palestinians do as well though I absolutely despise their 'religion'.
You say you find no proof of God, yet you demand proof as a child demands bread while standing in the bakery. The aroma surrounds you, but you will not taste.
You question Paul, yet you do not question your own questioning. You say he invented these things — but tell me, why would a man invent a story that costs him his head? Paul gained only chains and shipwrecks and the sword. What madman invents such a religion? What liar dies for his own lie?
Consider the facts you ignore:
The tomb was empty — admitted by Jesus' enemies, who paid soldiers to say the body was stolen (Matthew 28:11-15). James, the skeptical brother, became a martyr claiming he saw the risen Christ. Paul, the persecutor, was transformed overnight and suffered for what he witnessed, not what he believed.
The Jewish people persist against all probability — scattered, persecuted, nearly exterminated, yet they remain. Every ancient nation assimilated; only this one matches Deuteronomy's prophecy of preservation.
And the prophecies: Isaiah 53 described piercing, burial with the rich, and resurrection 700 years before Christ. The probability of one man fulfilling just eight prophecies by chance? One in 100 quadrillion.
You are not rejecting evidence. You are rejecting where evidence leads.
The stone heart says, "Give me more proof." The broken heart says, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief." Which will you be?
You cite the conquest as proof God cared about the land enough to command judgment. You are half right — it was judgment, not genocide.
The Canaanites were destroyed not for their land, but for their sin — "the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full" (Genesis 15:16). God waited 400 years before judging them. The conquest was divine execution of a sentenced people (Deuteronomy 9:4-5), not ethnic cleansing for real estate.
And it was TEMPORARY, not perpetual. The land promise was fulfilled (Joshua 21:43), then lost, then restored, then lost again — proving the land was conditional, not eternal.
The Old Covenant had shadows: types of judgment, types of sacrifice, types of land. The substance is Christ (Colossians 2:17). The conquest foreshadows final judgment; the land foreshadows the new heavens and earth.
Yes, God ordered judgment on Canaan. Yes, it was severe. But no, it was not "ritualistic genocide" for dirt — it was the wages of sin, paid in time rather than in eternity. And no, it does not continue — the Old Covenant is obsolete (Hebrews 8:13).
The writers and editors? Prophets and priests under inspiration, recording types that find their antitype in Christ. The conquest points to Him who conquers sin and death — not to modern geopolitical claims.
You quote the hard texts. Good. Now hear the hard answer.
Amalek attacked Israel first at Rephidim (Exodus 17). For 400 years they kept attacking. The command to Saul wasn't genocide for real estate — it was retribution for 400 years of aggression (1 Samuel 15:2). Specific. Limited. Justice.
The Midianites (Numbers 31) — same story. They seduced Israel into idolatry at Peor. Killed 24,000 Israelites. The virgin girls were spared because they weren't complicit in the sin. Judicial execution, not rape.
Deuteronomy 20 distinguishes between distant cities (offer peace) and Canaanite cities (judgment for child sacrifice, temple prostitution). This wasn't perpetual jihad like Islam. Specific generation. Specific peoples. Done under Joshua. Finished. The conquest had boundaries — Israel couldn't just expand forever (Deuteronomy 2:4-5, 9, 19).
Here's what you miss: these are types of final judgment. Hebrews says the conquest foreshadows God's judgment on all sin (Hebrews 2:2-3; 10:28-31). The land was a shadow; Christ is the substance. The conquest shows sin is judged — including yours. The wonder isn't that Canaan fell, but that any stand.
Jesus fulfills the Law (Matthew 5:17). The conquest commands were temporary shadows (Colossians 2:17). The Old Covenant is obsolete (Hebrews 8:13). We don't execute herem today — we preach Christ, who bore the judgment we deserve.
Your selective outrage is noted. Ancient warfare was universally total. Read the Assyrian annals. Israel was more restrained, not less. And unlike Assyria, Israel's conquest ended — completed, done, fulfilled.
Here's the real question: If God can't judge sin, what do you do with your own? If He answers to you for Canaan, you answer to Him for every thought, word, and deed. The conquest warns: sin is judged. The Cross answers: sin is forgiven in Christ.
God is in control. He was at Jericho. He was at Calvary. He is now.
Bravo on this excellent research about Arab itinerant workers free floating around the Levant who were attracted to Israel by the Zionist enterprise. The Ottoman records are chock a block filled with refutation of the phony Palestinian nationalist narrative. The Arab Christians used to be more numerous until forced to flee from the Islamic tribal violence: bothe real and threatened. There is also more on the re population plans with Circassians of the Ottomans (no Star Trek). And the surveys of how many historical villages have kosher mikvaot made from stone built into into their cellars
Who is the they in the title of your essay? Your essay shows that much of the population which today gives itself the title Palestinian has origins rooted in many provinces of the Ottoman empire, enhanced by the development of British Mandate Palestine due especially to the entrepreneurship of Jews and the yishuv that developed under that Mandate. The many examples certainly show that Palestinians are not the indigenous people they claim to be, predating the ancient Hebrews whom they wipe out of history. Perhaps they are the "they" your title refers to.
Original title was Who Were The Arabs Of Palestine
Was this also published on your site?
This is a richly detailed account of a history that, in my view, enriches the history of the people of the region by showing the complexity of a population that is too frequently treated as a museum exhibit, put behind glass and labelled. The real shame is that so few historians who have the linguistics skills and would be able to access Ottoman, Egyptian, Syrian and British archives have done so.
Is there a bibliography or works cited list associated with this essay?
Yes, everything is on my site. I have a huge list of sources. It was so long that I had to cut some out. I believe my article has a lot more info. I haven’t gone through this one entirely yet.
Palestinians have many origins and are really no more an ethnic group than Americans are. So their argument for statehood cannot rely on a common ethnicity. What, then, is the basis of their argument?
Id point to the Oslo Accords as the basis for the argument. An internationally recognized treaty that laid out specific borders, recognized a government and set forth the basis for relations with neighboring states. With a clear historical basis in prior internationally recognized treaties, including San Remo, Cairo, the British Peel Commission report, and the UNSCOP report and its approval by the general assembly. Those all establish a historical claim and Oslo Accords provide the legal basis.
Yet so many who claim to advocate for Palestinians disregard the Oslo Accords entirely.
Arafat rejected a generous offer for a Palestinian state several years after the Oslo Accords and started a war instead, undermining, if not completely eviscerating their validity. Those who make a mockery of a diplomatic solution are not entitled to rely on it.
Im afraid I was not clear. I was responding to a question about the legal arguments Natasha Hausdorf has made. John Aziz questioned if she was arguing against any claim of Palestinian sovereignty inder international law and I was responding no, there is a legal basis in the Oslo Accord demarcation of borders and authority of the PA. (I was not commenting on the moral rightness, which I think is your question, though I do believe there is a moral authority as well in the case for negotiation even though and indeed precisely because there has been so many cycles of dehumanization and violence. Im for breaking that cycle by supporting all those who seek a better future of security, dignity and prosperity for all Israelis and all Palestinians. I agree that Arafat did not stay on that path, nor has Abbas, nor do I believe would Bargouti. But the path is still there.
No one in power or even close to power in any Muslim state is on that path, so focusing on that path is not productive. Time to deal with realistic options.
If the Palestinian people didn't exist before Israel's existence, then where did they come from?
By Alex Gossland (С)
Here are the most common Palestinian family names and the countries from which they immigrated to Palestine after the late 1800s. So you’ll notice there are no families named ’’ al-Falisitin ’’ ( the Palestinian ) . . .
"Masri" or "al-Masri" = from Egypt. Hamas member of Parliament in Gaza, Mushir al- Masri is from Egypt (the word "Masri" literally means "the Egyptian" in Arabic).
"Khamis" = from Bahrain "Salem Hanna Khamis."
"al-Ubayyidi" or "al-Obeidi"= from Sudan
"al-Ubayyid." "al-Faruqi" = Mosul, Iraq.
"al-Araj" = Morocco, a member of the Saadi Dynasty "Hussein al-Araj."
"al-Lubnani" = the Lebanese.
"al-Mughrabi" = the Moroccan ("Maghreb,'' meaning "West" in Arabic, and usually is referring to North Africa or specifically to Morocco), "Dalal Mughrabi"
"al-Djazair" = the Algerian.
"al-Qurashi" = Saudi Arabia "clan of Quraish."
"al-Azd" = Yemen "Azd tribe." "al-Yamani"= the Yemeni "Issam Al Yamani."
"al-Afghani" = the Afghan. "al-Sidawi" = from "Sidon" Lebanon.
"al-Fayyumi" = from "Faiyum" Egypt.
"al-Hijazi" or "Hijazi" = present-day Saudi Arabia "Ahlam Higazi, a "Palestinian" artist from Hebron.
"al-Hindi" = the Indian "Amin al-Hindi."
"al-Tamimi" or "Tamimi" = from the tribe or clan of Banu-Tamim "Azzam Tamimi."
"Hamati" = from Syria ( Hama city).
"Omayya" = from Saudi Arabia "Banu Omayya tribe" "Omayya Joha" "Palestinian artist."
"Othman" = Turkey.
"Murad" = Yemen "Murad tribe."
"Alawi" = from Syria (minority religious group in Syria).
"Iraqi" = from Iraq.
"Halabi" = from Aleppo, Syria.
"Dajani" = from Saudi Arabia.
"Mattar" = from Yemen (the village of Bani Mattar).
"al-baghdadi" = from Bagdad, Iraq.
"Tarabulsi" = Tarabulus-Tripoli, Lebanon.
"Hourani" = Houran, Syria. "Zubeidi" = from Iraq "Zubeidi tribe" "Zakaria Zubeidi."
"al-Husayni" = Saudi Arabia. "Saudi" = Saudi Arabia.
"Metzarwah" = Egypt.
"Bardawil" = "Salah Bardawil" Hamas legislator in Gaza, Egypt "Bardawil lake" area.
"Nashashibi" = Syria.
"Bushnak" = Bosnia.
"Zoabi"= from Iraq "Haneen Zoabi.''
"Turki" = Turkey "Daud Turki.''
"al-Kurd" = Kurdistan.
"Haddadins" = Yemen, descended from Ghassanid Christian Arabs.
"Arab Abu-Kishk" = Egypt (Bedouins).
"Arab al-Shakirat" = Egypt (Bedouins).
"Arab al-Zabidat" = Egypt (Bedouins).
"Arab al-Aramsha" = Egypt (Bedouins).
"Abu Sitta" = In Arabic Abu means father and sitta means six. Translated it actually means father of six. The Abu Sitta family primarily received this name because around the year 1700, a well known Knight of the large al-Tarabeen tribe always had six slaves (i.e., fedawyah, bodyguards), three on each side, with him. They were with him wherever he went, day or night, hence the name
"ABU SITTA." =Egypt (Bedouins) "Salman Abu Sitta."
"Nuba, Hebron" = founded by the "Nuba people." ‘Nuba’ is a collective term used for the various indigenous peoples who inhabit the Nuba Mountains in Sudan
Zarkawi, from Zarka, a suburb of Amman.
There are families named Nabulsi from Nablus/She hem
And for the Jews, Britain has done everything possible so that AS LESS Jews as possible can return to their historical homeland in order to prevent the revival of a sovereign JEWISH state ...
Here is a brief summary of the role of Britain in creating countries in the territories conquered from the Ottoman Empire.
Zuheir Mohsen
Zuheir Mohsen (1936 – 25 July 1979) was a Palestinian leader of the Syria-controlled as-Sa'iqa
"The Palestinian people do not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism. Yes, the existence of a separate Palestinian identity exists only for tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan.
“Wij zijn alleen Palestijn om politieke reden,” James Dorsey, Trouw, 31 March 1977."
https://en.m.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zuheir_Mohsen
Archaeology connects the dots on how Judea was renamed to Palestina or Philistines. The Philistines came from Crete, in archeological record they existed from 12 century BCE, settled part of Judea on the Mediterranean Sea, were defeated by the Assyrians in 5 century BCE and vanished as a distinct group. In turn the Assyrians were conquered by Babylonians. It was the Romans who revived the name Palestina/Philistines to distance Jews from Judea.
Perhaps one day in the far future, there will be a generation of Arab "new historians" honest enough, to explode the myths of Palestinianism. In my inbox is an academic paper by Seth Frantzman that compares the hundred plus newly founded Arab settlements during the time of the Zionist aliyot. From late 19th to early 20th centuries...some were settlements of newly settled Bedouin. Palestinian names give evidence to various localities throughout the Mideast.
Thanks for this important paper. Your detractors will say that these people were insignificant in the larger "historic Palestinian" community dating to at least Adam/Eve or even before.. And evidence of their great compassion for people escaping other zones of conflict. And yet more myth making like tlaib's we welcomed the Europeans fleeing the nazis...with open arms and then they turned their many guns on the pacific goat tending people of "historic Palestine." and so on.
Brilliant article. Some interesting - if tangential - parallels to the Romany people in Britain. When groups first arrived in Western Europe in the early 15th century, they self-identified as 'Egyptians' because that was a country the settled population had heard of (via the Old Testament) and had an interest in. In Britain, that gave rise to the name 'gypsies'. But by the time this (mis)identification happened, it's probable that the Romany people had no /little idea of their true origins, since they'd left Northern India back in the 10th century. Origins can swiftly be forgotten and obscured.
70% Canaanite DNA tells the story that Palestinians are the closest remnant and descendants of the Judean's, Philistines, and Israelites. Like the Apostles, Jesus first preached to Jews...thus INRI (Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews) over the Cross. Those Jewish secs followed Christ and became the first Christians of the world, the Palestinian Christians...and over time these non-diaspora Jews were Arabized and many converted to Islam. They stayed in the Holyland, and 97% still practice their Abrahamic faith, in which Christianity and Islam have the Jewish blueprint. They do not have European ancestry. something this article did not address for obvious reasons. Let's look at the Atheist European Crusade for the Holy Land origins next time.
Thank you for this valuable history lesson.
I had a “Palestinian” dry cleaner who acknowledged that his family emigrated from Turkey to “Palestine.” His family name was appropriately Nazi.
Tzvi MiSinai has also done some good exploration and explains a lot in his book "Brother Shall Not Lift Up Sword Against Brother".
https://www.amazon.com/Brother-Shall-Lift-Sword-against/dp/1419689002
He reports that many of the people who have always lived in Yehuda and Shomron remember that their families were Jews/Israelis who never left the Land of Israel, but who were forcibly converted to Christianity in the Crusades and later to Islam when the Muslims took Jerusalem. Many of those families have ancient family graves in their property with Hebrew names on the stones. There is even an area where they still light candles on Friday nights.
Jerusalem Post article:
https://www.jpost.com/magazine/features/article-152408
Times Of Israel article:
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/brother-shall-not-lift-sword-against-brother/
Your historical research is thorough, but it ultimately doesn't matter theologically. Here are the biblical facts:
The land promises are FINISHED. Not pending. FULFILLED.
"So the LORD gave Israel ALL THE LAND he had sworn to give their ancestors... Not one of all the LORD's good promises to Israel failed; every one was FULFILLED." — Joshua 21:43-45
The conquest under Joshua completed it. Solomon's kingdom matched the Abrahamic boundaries (1 Kings 4:21). There is NO unfulfilled land promise in Scripture.
The Old Covenant is OBSOLETE.
"By calling this covenant 'new,' he has made the first one OBSOLETE; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear." — Hebrews 8:13
The land belonged to the Old Covenant. That covenant is DEAD.
Physical ancestry means NOTHING.
"For NO ONE IS A JEW who is merely one outwardly... But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart." — Romans 2:28-29
"We are THE CIRCUMCISION, who worship by the Spirit of God and PUT NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH." — Philippians 3:3
God explicitly REJECTS ethnic presumption: "Do not presume to say... 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, GOD IS ABLE FROM THESE STONES TO RAISE UP CHILDREN FOR ABRAHAM." — Matthew 3:9
The "Israel of God" is the CHURCH.
"Peace and mercy be upon them, EVEN UPON THE ISRAEL OF GOD." — Galatians 6:16
Paul wrote this to Jews AND Gentiles in one body. There is NO separate ethnic Israel in God's economy anymore.
The true inheritance is HEAVENLY—not dirt.
"He was looking forward to THE CITY THAT HAS FOUNDATIONS, whose designer and builder is God... they desire A BETTER COUNTRY, THAT IS, A HEAVENLY ONE." — Hebrews 11:10, 16
"THE JERUSALEM ABOVE IS FREE, and she is our mother." — Galatians 4:26
"An inheritance that is IMPERISHABLE, UNDEFILED, and UNFADING, kept in HEAVEN for you." — 1 Peter 1:4
The temple is DESTROYED. The priesthood is DEFUNCT. The genealogies are LOST.
Jesus declared: "See! Your house is left to you DESOLATE." — Matthew 23:38
AD 70 happened. The temple never returned. There is NO functioning Levitical system. There is NO way to verify tribal lineage.
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NEITHER modern Zionism NOR Palestinian nationalism has biblical standing. Both are political movements using religious language to justify earthly claims. The Church—the ACTUAL Israel of God—has no stake in this fight because her citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and her King reigns from Zion ABOVE, not below.
The true "Israel of God" is spiritual, international, and awaiting the heavenly Jerusalem—not fighting over a patch of dirt in the Levant.
This requires the faith that Jesus was the son of god which was denied by the Hebrews of the time. For atheists, all of your arguments are 'obsolete' as there can never be any viable proof of god, only belief, just as in any other religious/political movement.
It's very easy to ignore that much of what Paul attributed to god or Jesus was made up by his egotistical mind. It's doubtful that Jesus himself ever actually claimed to be god's son and it's ironic that belief in Jesus also requires the belief that he was descended from previous kings so must be some kind of king himself. I seem to recall that in the Bible Jesus himself considered the genealogies (ancestor worship?) very important.
Yes, the Bible seems to tell us that Jesus came to tear away the Old Testament but most Christians never actually believed that and consider the Old Testament important and proof that Jesus was god's son so how can any 'believer' actually throw the whole thing away?
Also remember that Jesus wasn't an uncommon name at the time, just like today where in some countries parents would like to believe that their sons are 'godlike'.
Despite what god may or may not have said, the vast majority of humans are totally addicted to considering the land they reside on as 'home' and if they don't like that home they will move to find some land that they like and call THAT home, just like all the creatures who preceded humans.
So I have no idea why you seem to be saying that Jews are not 'entitled' to claim land and call it their own just as every other group of people has done.
And so of course, perhaps Palestinians do as well though I absolutely despise their 'religion'.
You say you find no proof of God, yet you demand proof as a child demands bread while standing in the bakery. The aroma surrounds you, but you will not taste.
You question Paul, yet you do not question your own questioning. You say he invented these things — but tell me, why would a man invent a story that costs him his head? Paul gained only chains and shipwrecks and the sword. What madman invents such a religion? What liar dies for his own lie?
Consider the facts you ignore:
The tomb was empty — admitted by Jesus' enemies, who paid soldiers to say the body was stolen (Matthew 28:11-15). James, the skeptical brother, became a martyr claiming he saw the risen Christ. Paul, the persecutor, was transformed overnight and suffered for what he witnessed, not what he believed.
The Jewish people persist against all probability — scattered, persecuted, nearly exterminated, yet they remain. Every ancient nation assimilated; only this one matches Deuteronomy's prophecy of preservation.
And the prophecies: Isaiah 53 described piercing, burial with the rich, and resurrection 700 years before Christ. The probability of one man fulfilling just eight prophecies by chance? One in 100 quadrillion.
You are not rejecting evidence. You are rejecting where evidence leads.
The stone heart says, "Give me more proof." The broken heart says, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief." Which will you be?
You cite the conquest as proof God cared about the land enough to command judgment. You are half right — it was judgment, not genocide.
The Canaanites were destroyed not for their land, but for their sin — "the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full" (Genesis 15:16). God waited 400 years before judging them. The conquest was divine execution of a sentenced people (Deuteronomy 9:4-5), not ethnic cleansing for real estate.
And it was TEMPORARY, not perpetual. The land promise was fulfilled (Joshua 21:43), then lost, then restored, then lost again — proving the land was conditional, not eternal.
The Old Covenant had shadows: types of judgment, types of sacrifice, types of land. The substance is Christ (Colossians 2:17). The conquest foreshadows final judgment; the land foreshadows the new heavens and earth.
Yes, God ordered judgment on Canaan. Yes, it was severe. But no, it was not "ritualistic genocide" for dirt — it was the wages of sin, paid in time rather than in eternity. And no, it does not continue — the Old Covenant is obsolete (Hebrews 8:13).
The writers and editors? Prophets and priests under inspiration, recording types that find their antitype in Christ. The conquest points to Him who conquers sin and death — not to modern geopolitical claims.
You quote the hard texts. Good. Now hear the hard answer.
Amalek attacked Israel first at Rephidim (Exodus 17). For 400 years they kept attacking. The command to Saul wasn't genocide for real estate — it was retribution for 400 years of aggression (1 Samuel 15:2). Specific. Limited. Justice.
The Midianites (Numbers 31) — same story. They seduced Israel into idolatry at Peor. Killed 24,000 Israelites. The virgin girls were spared because they weren't complicit in the sin. Judicial execution, not rape.
Deuteronomy 20 distinguishes between distant cities (offer peace) and Canaanite cities (judgment for child sacrifice, temple prostitution). This wasn't perpetual jihad like Islam. Specific generation. Specific peoples. Done under Joshua. Finished. The conquest had boundaries — Israel couldn't just expand forever (Deuteronomy 2:4-5, 9, 19).
Here's what you miss: these are types of final judgment. Hebrews says the conquest foreshadows God's judgment on all sin (Hebrews 2:2-3; 10:28-31). The land was a shadow; Christ is the substance. The conquest shows sin is judged — including yours. The wonder isn't that Canaan fell, but that any stand.
Jesus fulfills the Law (Matthew 5:17). The conquest commands were temporary shadows (Colossians 2:17). The Old Covenant is obsolete (Hebrews 8:13). We don't execute herem today — we preach Christ, who bore the judgment we deserve.
Your selective outrage is noted. Ancient warfare was universally total. Read the Assyrian annals. Israel was more restrained, not less. And unlike Assyria, Israel's conquest ended — completed, done, fulfilled.
Here's the real question: If God can't judge sin, what do you do with your own? If He answers to you for Canaan, you answer to Him for every thought, word, and deed. The conquest warns: sin is judged. The Cross answers: sin is forgiven in Christ.
God is in control. He was at Jericho. He was at Calvary. He is now.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. — Romans 5:8