Palestinians

The Palestinians are an Arab national group from the Southern Levant, predominantly the modern State of Israel.

Palestinians are predominantly Sunni Muslims, thought there are a minority of Christian and Shia Palestinians, as well as Druze and Samaritians that identify as Palestinian. There is dispute about when the Palestinian identity coalesced, be it in the post- or pre-war periods, and if it was an internal development or in direct response to the zionist movement.

The war that established Israel between Jewish and Arab forces resulted in a mass displacement of Palestinian Arabs. There is a significant diaspora of Palesitnians, especially in neighbouring Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. 20% of Israeli citizens are Arabs, of which many also identify as Palestinian. Many Diaspora Palesitnians, as well as those from families displaced from beyond the 1948 armistice lines, identify as refugees.

Many Palestinian political movements lay claim to all the land of Israel as the future Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority is one of the pirmary bodies that governs the Palestinians, with varying degrees of control in the West Bank. Palestinians have autonomy in Gaza, which is under the rule of Hamas.

Up to 130 int'l lawyers protected IDF from war crimes charges as it fought in Gaza - exclusive

The ILD had to guide and provide varied rules of engagement while as many as 50,000 IDF infantry and tanks were invading all over Gaza

FEBRUARY 16, 2026|ByYONAH JEREMY BOB

This picture taken during a media tour organised by the Israeli military on January 27, 2024, shows Israeli soldiers patrolling an area in Gaza's main southern city of Khan Yunis, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

Palestinian couples attend a mass wedding in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip December 2, 2025.

Weddings resume in Gaza, although on smaller scale, due to post-war challenges

Since the destruction of roughly 93 percent of hotels and wedding halls, celebrations are now held at private homes or modest venues.

FEBRUARY 16, 2026|ByFRAIDY MOSER

Israeli police arrested seven people and deported eight others after stopping a vehicle carrying 15 Palestinian residents who were suspected of entering Israel illegally in February 2026.

Israeli police arrest seven, stop attempted infiltration of 15 Palestinian residents

The suspects were reportedly traveling to work in Bnei Brak, where they had planned an extended stay, the Police Spokesperson’s Unit said.

FEBRUARY 16, 2026|ByFRAIDY MOSER

Smoke rises after Israeli strikes in Gaza City, September 14, 2025.

Gaza’s real reconstruction problem isn’t concrete, it’s culture - opinion

After the October 7 massacre, Gaza faces a choice: rebuild with realism and deradicalization, or pave the way for the next war.

FEBRUARY 15, 2026|ByMELODY SUCHAREWICZ

IDF admits failure to sufficiently reduce Jewish violence against West Bank Palestinians

New electronic bracelets have been so far ineffective

JANUARY 19, 2026ByYONAH JEREMY BOB

An attorney has urged the Shin Bet to act after three Jewish hilltop youth allegedly attacked a pregnant Arab woman in Jaffa, warning that settler violence is being shifted from the West Bank into Israel’s cities.

IDF: Hamas curbs in Gaza could drive terror surge in West Bank in 2026

Military also concerned about terror groups' attacks coming across Jordan border

JANUARY 19, 2026ByYONAH JEREMY BOB

‘INDOCTRINATION ISN’T a moment. It’s a whole ecosystem.’ Palestinian boys, carrying Hamas flags with one wearing fake dynamite to symbolize a suicide bomber, march during a Hamas rally in Bethlehem, 2001.

Antisemitism in the US comes from all sides, more dangerous than ever - opinion

The antisemitism that led to the Jackson synagogue being burnt down is very much alive, and now at its most concerning levels.

JANUARY 19, 2026BySEBASTIEN LEVI

Demonstrators attend a pro-Palestinian protest on the day of the two-year anniversary of the attack on Israel by Hamas, in New York City, US, October 7, 2025. REUTERS

Court jails Palestinian man for spitting on female IDF officer on bus, entering Israel illegaly

According to police, Muhammad sat on a bus beside a reservist officer in uniform, played loud music, and after she moved seats, he approached from behind at a stop and spat in her face.

JANUARY 18, 2026ByYOAV ETIEL, HODAYA RAN

woman on a mehadrin bus_311

American Jewry must stop centering its identity on Israel’s critics - opinion

American Jewish leaders risk losing a generation by centering its identity on Israel’s critics.

JANUARY 17, 2026ByGIL TROY

American and Israeli Jews [Illustrative]

My Word: Persian protests and Western perversity - opinion

Iran’s streets run with blood, yet the West looks away, too consumed by pro-Palestinian ideology to defend real victims.

JANUARY 16, 2026ByLIAT COLLINS

People attend an anti-Israeli protest after Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran, June 20, 2025

Iraq sends aid to Gaza, strengthening regional role, support - report

The Iraqis said that the aid is “an embodiment of Iraq's steadfast position in support of the Palestinian cause, and stemming from the humanitarian commitment of the Iraqi government and people.”

JANUARY 15, 2026BySETH J. FRANTZMAN

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) continued its operations today to provide vital food aid for the people in Gaza

PA President Mahmoud Abbas undergoes 'routine medical tests' in Ramallah hospital

After Abbas's medical tests were completed and he was released from the hospital, WAFA stated that the test results were "reassuring."

JANUARY 12, 2026ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF, TPS

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas waves as he arrives for the opening the Fatah youth conference in Ramallah on November 27, 2025.

After debate backlash, California Democrat Scott Wiener says Israel carried out 'genocide' in Gaza

The California State Senator explained that he had been reluctant to call the war between Israel and Hamas a genocide because of the term's creation in response to the Holocaust.

JANUARY 12, 2026ByMICHAEL STARR

San Francisco city supervisor Scott Wiener comments on a pilot program to permit private commuter buses to use public bus stops in San Francisco, California, January 21, 2014

Israel cannot negotiate with enemies who seek its destruction - opinion

Israel’s offers for peace are met with resistance, as many Palestinians prioritize the country’s destruction.

JANUARY 11, 2026ByALIZA PILICHOWSKI

YITZHAK RABIN, Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres in the movie ‘The Oslo Diaries,’ about the attempt to bring peace to the Middle East through the Oslo Accords during the 1990s.