Palestinian identity

Prior to the rise of nationalism during the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the term Palestinian referred to any person born in or living in the region of Palestine, regardless of their ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious affiliations. During the British Mandate for Palestine, the term "Palestinian" referred to any person legally considered to be a citizen of Mandatory Palestine as defined in the 1925 Citizenship Order.

The population of Palestine have long used the term "Palestinian" as one of their endonyms of self-identification. Eusebius in the fourth century and Al-Maqdisi in the 10th century used it as a geographical identity marker, while it was used later in a more explicitly nationalist sense, as by Khalil Beidas in the 19th century. Like all national identities, the Palestinian national identity is modern, with most scholars tracing its emergence to the early 20th century. Some argue that a nascent Palestinian nationalism was sparked by the 19th century revolts and the general nationalist awakenings throughout the empire, while others argue that it emerged as a reaction to Zionism.

After the establishment of the State of Israel during the 1948 Palestine war, the Jews of Mandatory Palestine became known as "Israeli Jews", having developed a national Jewish identity centered on a Jewish National Homeland in Palestine, derived from a political and ideological movement known as Zionism. By the mid-1950s, the term "Palestinian" had shifted to be a demonym that exclusively refers to the Arabs of former Mandatory Palestine, including their descendants, who had developed a distinctly Palestinian Arab national identity.

In contemporary times, the term "Palestinian" is the national demonym of the Palestinian people.