• The Arabs of Palestine

Palestine, it has been said, is part of the Arab world and the majority of its inhabitants are

Arabs. This means that they speak the Arab language and regard the Arab heritage as

their own; but it does not mean that their connection with Palestine goes back only to the

Arab or Islamic Conquest of the 7^th century. The Arabs who settled in the country in

consequence of that conquest were comparatively few in number and were soon absorbed

into the existing population. But they gave their language, their new religion and their

traditions to that cultural gift that the population is now called Arab.

The Arabs of Palestine in other words are descendent of the indigenous inhabitants, who

have been in the country since the earliest recorded time, with the continuous addition of

elements so similar to those, which produced the original population as to make little

difference to its character.

From the book The Future of Palestine.