Palestinian identity

Since 1948, the term "Palestinian" has mainly been used to refer to the contemporary Palestinian people, defined as equivalent to the region's Arabs before 1948. Before the 1948 Palestine war, "Palestinian" referred to any person who was born in or lived in Palestine, regardless of their ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious affiliation. However, since the founding of Israel, the term has shifted to denote as a demonym the direct descendants of what was referred to as the region's Arab populace, having developed a distinctly Arab national identity. In contrast, the non-Arab Palestinian Jews became known as Israeli Jews after 1948, having developed a distinctly Jewish national identity.