advancing your cause in terms of identifying what are the characteristics of the "Palestinian" people. In the past, I've responded at length (without a reply) as to why "Palestinians" are not a people. As already detailed, you need a unique and separate culture as identified by a governmental ruling system, unique cuisine, painting, music, literature and social functioning, etc. None of these, so far as I know, apply to the collective you refer to as "Palestinians". By way of comparison, study the uniqueness of the Persian culture still alive in Iran, the Egyptian culture and the Jewish culture and its renewal in Israel. Besides lacking uniqueness, the next and most important point is that you must have a creation myth. Without that, there is no strong collective nor feeling of association amongst members of the tribe. As already noted, the dispersal of the people who resided in what the Romans termed "Palestinia" in 1948, what is referred to as the Naqba, may be a starting point. The problem is, creation myths are very powerful and are normally very old. Would this story of exile and (hoped for) return be sufficient to coalesce a group of disparate individuals into a collective called "Palestinians"? As most of us are aware, the myth of exile and return is a theme which has run and rerun throughout the history of the Jewish peoples and, most recently, in the Holocaust and our return to Eretz Yisrael. There are, of course, other themes (myths) which make us unique and unite us in spite of our considerable ethnic differences and backgrounds. So now, Nour, you are contending that the ancestors of the "Palestinian" people include the ancient Caananites, Philistines and even the Israelites. This indicates that you have actually read my posts (with no acknowledgement, however) and that you are attempting to lay the groundwork for the attribution of a racial collective to the descendants of people now residing in what we call "Palestine". This is a mighty enterprise and I salute you for the attempt but, given the history of the individuals who resided in the region, most of whom moved in from the region known as Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, I don't think you can make a scientific case. However, if the belief system becomes strong enough, perhaps a myth will develop over the origin of the "Palestinian" people and will assist in establishing a united coalition. You must admit, it is ironic that "Palestinians" may have to agree that they, like Jews, have descended from the ancient Israelites. In this way, you would be admitting that we, Jews, have a common origin and deserve to be considered "one people", descending from the region the Romans identified as "Palestinia", something most Arabs have refused to do up until the present. At any rate, Nour, without disparaging your attempts, I think your attempt is farfetched but, if you succeed, you may be considered the "Mother of your People". You have accused me of "hit and run" tactics in former posts, incidentally. How many times do I need to respond to you before you stop insulting me with undeserved invective? I must admit, though I strongly disagree with you, the content of your writings is quite heuristic in its nature and, as a result, it has provided me with interesting intellectual challenges. Now, given the time and energy I have taken to respond to you, will you kindly respond, in turn, without invective?

I fully support this land swap deal .... including citizenship. Arab's would continue to work in jobs and their rights would be protected. .. Paid forward to the new Palestinian State. I'm not Russian by the way.

Are you kidding ? The greatest use of rhetoric was made by Roman orators, indeed their speeches are classic and are taught to this very day. Invective is the realm of Islam, it is part and parcel of their culture. It is sometimes subtle, as in Dar el Harab, but usually it is blatant and self evident in their everyday usage of their language.

I look forward to Nour's response.

"In the past, I've responded at length (without a reply) as to why "Palestinians" are not a people. " Robert, I usually would not even entertain answering such preposterous accusations that Palestinian Arabs are not a people but hey, no harm in one further attempt to enlighten you. Your claim that we are not a people is in fact a euphemism that we are not human beings and as such unworthy of human, national, or political rights. My dear, we are a proud people by virtue of historical connection to the land and by virtue of continuity of the Arab tradition and rule in Palestine. We are also a proud people by virtue of inheriting that Arab legacy in Palestine from the Fattimid, Umayyad, and Abbasid rulers of the area. Our legal representative is the PLO which even your government has recognized as the LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. I don't see why you can't fathom this simple concept. I invite you to leave the 1960s mentality and grasp today’s political and international realities. "As already detailed, you need a unique and separate culture as identified by a governmental ruling system, unique cuisine, painting, music, literature and social functioning, etc." Robert, it's time you quit speculating about things you are ignorant about. The Palestinian Arabs cannot be detached or viewed in isolation from the Arab State, Arab collective, or whatever you want to call it. This is not to say that I call for an Arab unified state, or caliphate, but simply saying that we share much with our Arab extended brothers in culture, music, cuisine, etc. It is a mistake to put all Arabs in one basket and label them as one people. The people who call themselves Arab today are descendants of many civilizations including those which were Arabized. They have contrasting skin color (for instance my own skin color is white and I have light brown hair) other Palestinians have pitch black skin color, and they obviously immigrated to the area some centuries ago as slaves. What we share is a common modern history and continuous presence on the land since the Arab conquest of the land shortly after Mohammed's (phub)'s death. The people who became "Arab" in Palestine include the Christians who lived here for many centuries prior to that, and who identify themselves today as Palestinian Arabs and are even proud of it. Much of Palestinian culture including art, painting, and music is the works our Christian brothers/sisters. Notable Palestinian poets include Darwish, who was a Muslim, and well revered by Arabs worldwide not just Palestine. Fairuz, the greatest Arab diva singer of all times (I invite you to learn more about her and download her soul-warming music), is in fact of Palestinian origin and she’s proud of this. The founders of the Arab Bank, an old and world-respected institution was founded by Palestinians. For an incomplete list of notable Palestinians I refer you to this webpage: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Palestinians "None of these, so far as I know, apply to the collective you refer to as "Palestinians". By way of comparison, study the uniqueness of the Persian culture still alive in Iran, the Egyptian culture and the Jewish culture and its renewal in Israel." Our background is Arab, and we speak Arabic, but the modern Arab identity is complex in that it includes a sea of races, religions, and cultures. The vehicle of this historic Arab expansion was Islam. Islam's cultural and economic influence caused many people in the ME to adopt Arabic as their language. Palestine is central to Arab identity because Al-Quds and the Dome of The Rock are located in Palestine. Mohammed ascended to heaven from Palestine. This is not to mention Arab cities and towns with Canaanite roots which reaffirms my theory that Palestinian Arabs are in fact the real descendants of the populations which lived here since history was first recorded.