The Five Types of Palestinians

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When I meet a Palestinian for the first time, I find myself asking them "What kind of Palestinian are you?" I don't mean to be forward or disrespectful, but from my experience there are many types of Palestinians. Based on where they live/lived, what status they have, what rights they have in Palestine and their citizenship(s), I find that one may be able to characterize their outlook and ideas regarding the holy lands. In this post, I will briefly highlight the different types of Palestinians that exist in the world from my own experience. Note that Israelis also receive their share of generalization and also have their own categories. However, I only have sufficient experience with Palestinians, and hence that will be my primary focus for this post. Please note that these categories are mostly based on my own experience.

-Palestinian Residents:
These Palestinians live in the West Bank and the Gaza strip under Israeli military occupation. Today, the Palestinian Authority (PA) governs the civil affairs of the Palestinian Residents. However, the borders, water, electricity, economy and most of the land still remain under the control of Israel. Palestinian Residents have a "Green ID Card" which is issued by the PA in collaboration with Israel. The "Green ID Card" gives Palestinian Residents the "right" to live in Palestinian cities (known as Area A). Status for Palestinian Residents is mostly hereditary with few success stories of other Arabs becoming Palestinian Residents. Separating Palestinian cities is Area C, which is Israeli military land, where many Israeli militarized illegal Jewish-only settlements can be found. In the West Bank, 2.5 million Palestinian Residents live next to 0.5 million Jewish Israeli settlers. 1.5 million Palestinian Residents live in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Residents live within Israeli borders but are not Israeli citizens. They only hold passports of the Palestinian Authority (which also has to be cleared by Israel), and hence do not have citizenship to any recognized country in the world today. When one hears of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, it is specifically these Palestinians who are in direct conflict with Israel.

-Inner Palestinians:
When asked, an Arab Israeli once told me that she was not from Israel, but rather "Inner Palestine." This term of Inner Palestinians refers to Israeli Arabs who have Israeli citizenship and passports, which live within the 1948 Armistice line (The Green Line). Originally, these Palestinians are decedents of those Arabs who were given Israeli citizenship as Israel annexed the land known as Israel Proper in 1948 (Historical Palestine excluding the West Bank, Gaza Strip and the Golan Heights, which was annexed after 1967). Legally, Inner Palestinians have the same rights and privileges as their Jewish Israeli counterparts. They are allowed to live anywhere they want within Israel Proper, however, natural segregation tends to happen between Arab and Jew. They mostly speak Arabic and Hebrew fluently. When asked, most will identify with the word "Palestinian" more so than the word "Israeli" that most feel has been forced upon them. Inner Palestinian culture is different than that of Palestinian Residents, and due to restrictions placed on Palestinian Residents in regards to entering Israel Proper, these two people may not interact often. Inner Palestinians have representation in the Israeli government; however, many would argue that some Israeli laws may be discriminatory against Arab Israelis and many question how equal non-Jewish Arab Israelis can be in a self-proclaimed Jewish State. Inner Palestinians have "Blue ID Cards" issued by Israel. There are approximately 1 million Inner Palestinians living in Israel Proper today amongst 6 million Jewish Israelis.


-Palestinian Jerusalemites:
Perhaps the most overlooked Palestinians are those who live in East Jerusalem occupied in 1967, the Palestinian Jerusalemites. Unlike the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel officially annexed East Jerusalem. However, the PA claims East Jerusalem as a future Palestinian State capital. Regardless, Israel still maintains a unified Jerusalem as a capital. Unlike the Inner Palestinians, Palestinian Jerusalemites were given Israeli permanent residency, but not Israeli citizenship, which is still an option for these Palestinians if certain criteria are met. The law that governs Palestinian Jerusalemites are noticeably more discriminatory, made infamous through the demolition of Palestinian houses in East Jerusalem as highlighted by The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions. Like Inner Palestinians and unlike Palestinian residents, these Palestinians have freedom of movement within Israel Proper. However, these Palestinians tend to have a stronger relationship with Palestinian Residents and visits from Jerusalemites to the West Bank cities are common. Palestinian Jerusalemites have "Blue ID Cards." There are about 155,000 Palestinian Jerusalemites that live in East Jerusalem.

-Palestinian Jordanians:
One of the most active Israeli borders is the Jordanian border with the West Bank. Palestinians make up a large percentage of the Jordanian population, whether they are refugees or permanent residents. The Jordanian border is a main port of entry for Palestinian residents, as there is no airport for Palestinian Residents and Israeli visas through Tel Aviv are limited. Jordan has absorbed Palestinians refugees into its population more than any other country. Palestinian Residents are allowed to enter and exit Jordan with ease (if Israel allows them). Some Palestinian Residents who were living in Jordan during 1967 were stripped of their Palestinian Resident status and remain in Jordan. Such Palestinians may only reenter the West Bank on limited tourist visas. There is a distinction within Jordan between what are known as Jordanian Jordanians and Palestinian Jordanians. Jordanian King Abdullah's Wife is a Palestinian Jordanian. Palestinian Jordanians have a very unique identity compared to those of the “Bank” (West Bank) as they refer to it. There are about 2 million Palestinian Jordanians within Jordan.

-Palestinian Refugees:
One of the most well-known unsettled subjects that come up during peace talks is the issue of Palestinian refugees. Within this category, I will include both refugees who have registered officially as refugees with refugee agencies and those who have Palestinian origins with citizenships to other countries in the world. The Palestinian refugee problem started following the 1948 war between Israel and Arab nations, which resulted in about 900,000 refugees who were either forcefully kicked out by pre-IDF forces or who had left a war-torn region with hopes of returning when the situation settled. These Palestinian refugees who settled in many different places including the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt (and other countries as well) were not allowed to come back, as Israel denies their right of return. UN Resolution 194 guarantees the right of these refugees to return to their lands or at least adequate compensation. They have received neither. A second wave of refugees came from the 1967 war from the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula. While some country have done well to absorb these refugees into their populations, some have maintained refugees camps such as the case in Southern Lebanon, which have mostly turned into slums of unemployment and instability. Even though it’s been four generations, some of these refugees living in camps still await the day they return to their lands in Palestine. A popular gesture is for older refugees to display the keys of houses they left in 1948 and 1967, in hopes of one day returning. I have a Palestinian friend who was born in Jerusalem before Israel was established who can only visit Jerusalem as an American tourist, with no hope for Palestinian status, as he is not Jewish and is not afforded that privilege given by the Israeli “Law of Return” that allows anybody with Jewish heritage to become a citizen of Israel, even if they were not born in Israel.

While some countries have not absorbed these refugees into their populations, other countries including many western countries have done well to grant citizenship to Palestinian refugees seeking life outside of the conflict. Many of these Palestinians have established themselves in their new lives and participate in higher education and higher society. Generally, if you meet a Palestinian in the West, they are most likely descendants of refugees with no right of return or status in Palestine. But they still identify with Palestine and look forward to visiting the homeland one day. Including the Jordanian Palestinian refugees and depending on what you define as a Palestinian refugee, there are about 4-10 million Palestinian refugees in a global diaspora today.