Answer (1 of 21): There is an interesting article in Wikipedia about the history of the name “Palestine”. Timeline of the name "Palestine" - Wikipedia Palestinians are thus the inhabitants of that region comprised between Egypt, Phoenicia (more or less todays Lebanese coast) and the desert. The...
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I think this statement by a member of the PLO’s Executive Council, made during an interview with the Dutch newspaper “Trouw” is about the most authoritative statement available:
“The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism.
“For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan.” – Interview with Zuheir Muhsin, a member of the PLO Executive Council, published in the March 31, 1977 edition of the Dutch Newspaper “Trouw”.
In addition, Yasser Arafat’s official biography credits him with saying “If there is any such thing as a ‘Palestinian people’, it is I, Yasser Arafat, who created them!”
Who are we to contradict people who should actually know?