Palestinian people in the context of "Holy War Army"

Salem Hanna Khamis (Arabic: سالم حنا خميس) (November 22, 1919 – June 16, 2005) was a Palestinian economic statistician for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization who helped formalise the Geary-Khamis method of computing purchasing power parity of currencies.

Karimeh Abbud or Karimeh Abboud (1896 – 1940; Arabic: كريمة عبّود), was a Palestinian professional photographer and artist who lived and worked in Palestine in the first half of the twentieth century. She was one of the first woman photographers in Palestine and the Middle East.

The Palestinian diaspora (Arabic: الشتات الفلسطيني, al-shatat al-filastini), part of the wider Arab diaspora, refers to Palestinians living outside the region of Palestine and Israel. There are about 6.1 million members of the Palestinian diaspora, most of whom live in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Chile.

Palestinian nationalism is the national movement of the Palestinian people that espouses self-determination and sovereignty over the region of Palestine. Originally formed in the early 20th century in opposition to Zionism, Palestinian nationalism later internationalized and attached itself to other ideologies; it has thus rejected the occupation of the Palestinian territories by the government of Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War. Palestinian nationalists often draw upon broader political traditions in their ideology, such as Arab socialism and ethnic nationalism in the context of Muslim religious nationalism. Related beliefs have shaped the government of Palestine and continue to do so.

In the broader context of the Arab–Israeli conflict in the 21st century, Palestinian nationalist aims have included an end to the refugee status of individuals separated from their native lands during the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight, advocates stating that a "right of return" exists either to the occupied territories or to both those areas plus places within Israel itself. Nationalists have additionally worked to advance specific causes in terms of current residents' lives such as freedom of assembly, labor rights, the right to health care, and the right to travel. Divisions exist between nationalists over particular ideological goals, an example being the gulf between Islamist Palestinians favoring a more authoritarian state compared to centrist and secular Palestinians supporting democratic self-determination. Palestinian nationalists are also divided by preferred tactics; some favor nonviolent resistance while others advocate for and engage in political violence both inside and outside Israel.

The Gaza Strip is experiencing a humanitarian crisis as a result of the Gaza war and genocide. The crisis includes both an ongoing famine and a healthcare collapse. At the start of the war, Israel tightened its blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in significant shortages of fuel, food, medication, water, and essential medical supplies. This siege resulted in a 90% drop in electricity availability, impacting hospital power supplies, sewage plants, and shutting down the desalination plants that provide drinking water. Doctors warned of disease outbreaks spreading due to overcrowded hospitals. According to a United Nations special committee, Amnesty International, and other experts and human rights organisations, Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinian people during its ongoing invasion and bombing of the Gaza Strip.

Heavy bombardment by Israeli airstrikes caused catastrophic damage to Gaza’s infrastructure, further deepening the crisis. The Gaza Health Ministry reported over 4,000 children killed in the war's first month. UN Secretary General António Guterres stated Gaza had "become a graveyard for children." In May 2024, the USAID head Samantha Power stated that conditions in Gaza were "worse than ever before".

Restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories by Israel is an issue in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. According to B'Tselem, following the 1967 war, the occupied territories were proclaimed closed military zones. In 1972, general exit orders were issued allowing residents of those territories to move freely between the West Bank, Israel and the Gaza Strip. Following the First Intifada by 1991, the general exit orders were revoked, and personal exit permits were required. According to B'Tselem, a measure of overall closure of the territories was enacted for the first time in 1993, and would result in total closures following rises in Palestinian political violence.

In the mid-1990s, with the signing of the Oslo Accords and the division of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip into three separate administrative divisions, there was little change to these restrictions. Comprehensive closures following the outbreak of the Second Intifada resulted in a few months of almost complete prohibition on Palestinian movement into Israel and between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel then allowed limited travel by Palestinians into Israel for medical treatment, trade, and other needs, and a limited number of workers were allowed to work in Israel. This situation was still in place as of 2010. Israel occasionally still places comprehensive closures and cancels permits following acts of violence by Palestinians and during Israeli holidays. Israel says that the restrictions are necessary to protect Israelis living in Israel and Israeli settlements.

Sunni Islam is a major religion in Palestine, being the religion of the majority of the Palestinian population. Muslims comprise 85% of the population of the West Bank, when including Israeli settlers, and 99% of the population of the Gaza Strip. The largest denomination among Palestinian Muslims are Sunnis, comprising 85% of the total Muslim population.

During the 7th century, the Arab Rashiduns conquered the Levant, succeeded by subsequent Arabic-speaking Muslim dynasties like the Umayyads, Abbasids and the Fatimids, marking the onset of Arabization and Islamization in the region. This process involved both resettlement by nomadic tribes and individual conversions. In the case of the Samaritans, there are records of mass conversion due to economic pressure, political instability and religious persecution in the Abbasid period. Sedentarization facilitated a more rapid Islamization compared to the slower pace of individual conversions among the local populace. Sufi activities and changes in social structures and the weakening of local Christian authorities under Islamic rule also played significant roles.

The Naksa (Arabic: النكسة, "the setback") was the displacement of around 280,000 to 325,000 Palestinians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, when the territories were captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. A number of Palestinian villages were destroyed by the Israeli military, such as Imwas, Yalo, Bayt Nuba, Beit Awwa, and Al-Jiftlik, among others.

Abu Shusha (Arabic: أبو شوشة) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict of Mandatory Palestine, located 8 km southeast of Ramle. It was ethnically cleansed in May 1948.

Abu Shusha was located on the slope of Tell Jezer/Tell el-Jazari, which is commonly identified with the ancient city of Gezer.In April–May 1948, during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Abu Shusha was attacked several times. The final assault began on May 13, one day prior to Israel's declaration of independence. Abu Shusha residents attempted to defend the village, but the village was occupied on May 14. The civilians who had not already fled or been killed were expelled by May 21. With their descendants, they numbered about 6,198 in 1998.