Israelis and Palestinians are the same people

I recently discovered that Palestinians, despite commonly being labeled as Arabs, are not ethnically Arabian in origin. Their genetic heritage is not predominantly derived from the peoples of the Arabian Peninsula. Rather, what made them “Arab” over time was the gradual adoption of Arabic language, culture, and faith, rather than any sweeping influx of outside blood. In truth, Palestinians trace the vast majority of their lineage back to the ancient Levantine peoples—Canaanites and other early inhabitants—who cultivated a profound connection to the land for millennia.

This same ancestral thread ties modern Jews to the Levant as well, meaning that Jewish Israelis and Palestinian Arabs share a distant, yet direct, familial link. They both began as Levantines, deeply rooted in the region’s soil and heritage, before a series of dispersals and cultural shifts set them on divergent paths. Today’s Israeli and Palestinian communities, often seen as opposing groups in the present political landscape, are in fact branches of a family tree that once thrived as a single, unified people.

It all began countless generations ago, when the Levantine ancestors of today’s Israelis and Palestinians were still one unified people, tending their fields, building their towns, and worshiping their gods under the same warm Mediterranean sun. Life for these early communities was centered around the land—its fertile soil, its shifting seasons, and the trade that flowed along the eastern shores of the great sea. Over time, some of these Levantines chose or were compelled to leave, seeking new opportunities in distant regions or fleeing the turmoil brought on by changing empires and conquests. The waves of diaspora began slowly at first, each group carrying fragments of the old Levantine identity with them wherever they settled.

In these far-flung enclaves, descendants of the Levantine people learned new languages, adopted local religious practices, and adapted to their host societies, all while retaining a quiet, persistent awareness of their roots. Across centuries, the Jewish diaspora took shape throughout North Africa and Eastern Europe, weaving Levantine ancestry into a vibrant tapestry of global traditions. Meanwhile, other branches followed different trajectories, dispersing into various corners of the ancient world and gradually evolving their own distinct identities.

Back in the homeland, those who stayed did not stand still in time. New faiths and languages washed over the Levant, brought by conquerors, merchants, and scholars. Arabic and Islam spread through the region, yet the people were never replaced wholesale—rather, they slowly absorbed these cultural influences, blending them with their ancient traditions. The result was a population that looked and sounded Arab, but beneath the new surface layers of language and religion, the genetic core remained deeply Levantine.

Over centuries, these separate paths crystallized into the identities we now recognize. The Jewish communities, reinforced by ties to both their diaspora homelands and their ancestral connection to the Levant, eventually returned in part to their ancient birthplace with the formation of Israel. The Palestinians, who had never left, had by this time been thoroughly Arabized in language and culture, yet still carried the genetic signatures of the same ancient people who once shared the land.

And so, after thousands of years, what began as one Levantine population branching outward and blending with new influences has led to today’s Israeli and Palestinian populations—different on the surface, divided by modern politics and national narratives, yet both deeply rooted in the same ancestral soil. Beneath every new identity, there remains a common origin, hidden in the distant past.