Palestine is a land of vibrant community traditions, with centuries of music, art, cuisine and cultural activities enriching the daily lives of the people. With the land of Palestine continuously inhabited since the dawn of time, its people have witnessed epics of human history unfold before their eyes. For centuries, Palestinian culture has embraced four core values: love of family, commitment to education, hospitality, and reverence for land. Despite the recent suffering of the Palestinian people, these four values have flourished and have provided the inspiration to look forward to a better future.

Until 1948, the place now called Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories was called Palestine.

Palestinians have been living in the area for over 2000 years.

Today's Palestinians are descended from the Canaanites, a loose collection of peoples which included the Phoenicians, the Philistines and the Jebusites.

The Canaanites founded the city of Jerusalem, originally called Jebus, as well as the city of Jericho.

Palestinians have been an agricultural society with traditional crafts and dwelled in villages and cities. By the nineteenth century, the people of Palestine had a well-established society that was recognized by other Arabs as uniquely Palestinian.

For several hundred years the whole Middle East was part of the Ottoman Empire, centered in today's Turkey. When the Ottoman Empire fell in 1917, the victorious European powers created artificial boundaries in the Middle East. Palestine became a mandate territory of Britain. At that time, more than 90% of the Palestinians were native Christians and Muslims, and Jews were less than 10%. And the Christians and Muslims owned about 98% of the land. Palestine was held as a British Mandate until 1948.