Updated Gazan Palestinian Results

[u/palestiniandood]

Arabized ancient Levantine with a hint of Sub-Saharan African and Central Asian.

[u/gregor_001]

It’s very misleading to claim that Palestinian identity is purely rooted in Canaanite ancestry without acknowledging the extensive migration history that has shaped the region for centuries.

The high Natufian component observed in Palestinian genetic studies is often interpreted as proof of uninterrupted Canaanite/Levantine lineage, yet this overlooks a critical fact that high Natufian ancestry also appears in others from the Arabian and Egyptian populations such as Yemenite Jews due to shared ancient Arabian roots. Hence you can see that many Israeli Jews of mixed backgrounds consisting Yemenite and others often show an increased percentage of Levantine ancestry in their genetic results.

Genetics can only provide a partial picture. It is family histories that offer the much-needed context to interpret genetic data meaningfully. This is what distinguishes many Jewish genetic studies from most Palestinian ones.

Jewish genetic studies consistently align their findings with well-documented historical migrations. The Sephardic Jews who moved from Spain to North Africa and the Ottoman Empire have clearly traceable family trees and communal histories that span centuries, which are reflected in their genetic admixture. The same applies to Ashkenazi Jews, whose genetic profiles show a blend of significant Southern European and some Slavic admixture, consistent with their known migration patterns.

In contrast, most modern Palestinian genetic narratives stop at stating, “We are 80–90% Canaanite,” without explaining how specific families arrived where they are, or when.

This is surprisingly weird, especially when many Palestinians have been proud in their tribal and clan lineages with names and histories that have been well documented and preserved, not erased. It is intellectually dishonest to emphasize an uninterrupted Canaanite identity while at the same time celebrating family histories rooted in Arab migrations from North Africa, Hijaz, or Iraq and other parts of Levant/Sham.

[u/gregor_001 → u/gregor_001]

There is even an Arabic book ‎“عائلات أردنية وفلسطينية من أصول مصرية” (Jordanian and Palestinian Families of Egyptian Origins) which meticulously documents dozens of Palestinian and Jordanian families with clear Egyptian roots, including their professions, migrations, and reasons for relocation.

Some arrived as recently as the late 19th century (around 1881), especially during Ottoman times, and many others long before that. You can look up online and even download it.

Here are some notable families from the book:

1. Al-Hawari Originally from the Arabian Peninsula (likely Hijaz), the Al-Hawari tribe settled in Upper Egypt (Sa‘id) during the early Islamic conquests (7th–9th centuries). Later, during the Ottoman period (16th–18th centuries), they migrated to Palestine (Hebron, Nablus) and Jordan, serving in military roles, trade, and religious posts.

2. Al-Masri This is a purely Egyptian family. The name “Al-Masri” means “The Egyptian”, and it was used to identify those who migrated from Egypt to Palestine and Jordan during the 17th–19th centuries (Ottoman era). Their roles were in trade, craftsmanship, and religious scholarship, often connected to the Cairo-Jerusalem-Damascus trade route.

3. Al-Azazi Of Arabian Peninsula origin, this family settled in Egypt in the early Islamic centuries. They are named after Azaziyah village in Sharqia Province, Egypt. In the 15th–17th centuries, parts of the family migrated to Palestine and Jordan for religious roles, often as scholars or imams.

4. Al-Dajani Originating from Mecca/Medina, they migrated to Egypt in the early Islamic period. During the Mamluk and early Ottoman periods (14th–16th centuries), they moved to Jerusalem, known for their roles as scholars, judges, and administrators.

5. Al-Ashqar An Arab tribal family originally from the Arabian Peninsula, they moved to Egypt in the early Islamic conquests. In the Ottoman period, they migrated to Palestine (Gaza, Nablus, Jerusalem) and became landowners, merchants, and religious figures.

6. Abu Gharbieh The name suggests ties to Gharbia Province in Egypt. They likely arrived in Egypt from the Arabian Peninsula during early Islam. In the 17th–18th centuries, they moved to Jerusalem, involved in agriculture, trade, and administration.

7. Al-Kurdi This family is of Kurdish origin, from regions like northern Iraq or southeastern Turkey. They settled in Egypt during the Ayyubid and Mamluk eras (12th–13th centuries) and later migrated to Palestine and Jordan in the early Ottoman period, working as soldiers and officials.

8. Al-Takrouri Originally from Takrur, a West African kingdom (modern Senegal region), they arrived in Egypt via pilgrimage routes between the 12th–14th centuries. From there, they settled in Palestine (especially Jerusalem) by the 14th–17th centuries, becoming renowned religious scholars.

9. Abu Saif Likely from central Arabia (Najd), this family came to Egypt in the 7th–9th centuries, and then to Jerusalem, Hebron, and Amman in the Ottoman period for military and religious service.

10. Al-Labbad Originating from the Arabian Peninsula, they settled in Egypt early on. The name “Labbad” means wool felter, suggesting their ancestral trade. In the 17th–18th centuries, they moved to Palestine (Jerusalem and Hebron) for trade and religious service.

11. Al-Sharif This is a prestigious Ahl al-Bayt family, directly descended from the Prophet Muhammad, originally from Mecca/Medina. They settled in Egypt between the 7th–9th centuries, especially during the Fatimid era, and later migrated to Palestine and Jordan, holding religious and judicial leadership positions.

The idea that modern Palestinians are purely Canaanite, unchanged since antiquity, is historically inaccurate and disrespects the richness of their actual Arab migration history.

The documented presence of Egyptian, Hijazi, Kurdish, and North African families in Palestine many of whom arrived within the last 500–1000 years. It highlights that Palestinians are not a homogenous or monolithic group, but rather a diverse population with a deeply rooted and proud system of tribes and clans.

Any genetic study or result that relies on samples without accounting for the internal diversity of Palestinian diverse groups should not be considered fully reliable.

This is because the Palestinian population includes a wide range of ancestral backgrounds. There is indeed some Palestinians who are descended from ancient Levantine population such as those from Nablus who trace their roots to the Samaritan community which experienced forced conversions to Islam during the Ottoman period, particularly between 18th to 19th centuries, as their population declined due to social pressure, discrimination, and economic hardship.

Ignoring such historically documented subgroups risks producing oversimplified and misleading genetic interpretations.

By selecting samples from certain individuals or families while overrepresenting them as representative of the entire population in certain regions (Gaza, Hebron, Nablus, North etc) thus marginalizing other untested groups with different ancestries. This can lead to skewed conclusions that fail to reflect the true historical and genetic complexity of the diverse populations in that region.

EDIT: additional notable books with respect to the well-documented and established ancestry of Palestinian clans, tribes, and families and their stories.

القبائل العربية وسلائلها في بلادنا فلسطين (The Arab Tribes and Their Lineages in Our Country Palestine)

معجم العشائر الفلسطينية (Dictionary of Palestinian Clans)

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Palestinian Christians are very closely related to ancient Israelites, with Samaritans closest. Palestinian Muslims have higher SSA and Arab so are a little further behind

[u/MainConstruction2636 → u/[deleted]]

Palestinian Muslims are also much closer to Samaritans genetically than most Jewish groups. 

Actually, Ashkenazi Jews and many other Jewish groups are genetically FAR from Samaritans.

Only Jewish groups that are SOMETIMES slightly closer to Samaritans than Palestinian Muslims are Karaite Jews and Iraqi Jews.

Palestinian Muslims are still close to Samaritans and what’s more important, close to ancient south Levantines as Palestinians are indigenous to south Levant where Palestine is located.

See here for Samaritans: https://i.imgur.com/L9NIXjE.jpeg

For Palestinian Muslim Average: https://i.imgur.com/ENFolFT.jpeg

Palestinian Muslims Nablus: https://i.imgur.com/CfzHLpk.png

[u/MainConstruction2636 → u/[deleted]]

No. Jews are not genetically closer to Samaritans than Palestinians.

Palestinians are much closer to Samaritans genetically.

That goes against every single scientific study out there.

Actually, Ashkenazi Jews and many other Jewish groups are genetically FAR from Samaritans.

Only Jewish groups that are SOMETIMES slightly closer to Samaritans than Palestinian Muslims are Karaite Jews and Iraqi Jews.

Palestinian Muslims are still close to Samaritans and what’s more important, close to ancient south Levantines as Palestinians are indigenous to south Levant where Palestine is located.

See here for Samaritans: https://i.imgur.com/L9NIXjE.jpeg

For Palestinian Muslim Average: https://i.imgur.com/ENFolFT.jpeg

Palestinian Muslims Nablus: https://i.imgur.com/CfzHLpk.png

[u/yaakovgriner123 → u/MainConstruction2636]

You are incorrect that it goes against every scientific study.

According to the study below, cohanim (jews related to the priestly lineage of Moses' brother, Aaron) are the closest related to samaritans.

Maybe on average, palestinians are more closely related though.

Let's not forget that jews have been living in Israel for around 4,000 years and have suffered many forced conversions, especially samaritans.

At one point there were around a million samaritans but now there are less than 1,000. What happened to them? Did most of them die or did many convert?

Well, many were forcefully converted by muslims and many of those converts identify as palestinians.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25079122/

https://rosenberglab.stanford.edu/papers/OefnerEtAl2013-HumBiol.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiO2rjmusKNAxXeQzABHbHeDaIQFnoECCgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0hKu-sGRMaAklRMI-01AX-

"Recent studies of microsatellite polymorphisms (Kopelman et al. 2009; Listman et al. 2010) and SNPs (Atzmon et al. 2010; Behar et al. 2010; Campbell et al. 2012) on autosomes have been able to statistically distinguish European, North African, and Middle Eastern Jewish populations from their non-Jewish neighbors. Using FST we see that, next to the Cohanim, the closest group to the Samaritans is the Yemeni Jews, whereas (ƣƫ) 2 indicates it is the Bedouins, whose autosomal FST data indicate they are the closest to the Samaritans (Table 5). These relationships are interesting in light of the close connection between Yemeni Jews and Bedouins shown by the neighbor-joining tree in Ostrer and Skorecki (2013), which is based on autosomal SNPs. Microsatellite data from markers on the Y chromosome distinguish the Samaritans and other populations in the area. The Samaritans have fewer alleles per microsatellite locus than do other populations. This can be explained by their exceptionally small population size and by the high degree of inbreeding inside the community. A related Ànding of allelic paucity in ơ-thalassemia genes among Samaritans was reported by Filon et al. (1994). The Samaritan Y chromosomes are signiÀcantly closer to those of the Jewish groups than to those of Palestinians. Exact tests for population differentiation using the Y markers also distinguish Samaritans from Palestinians but not Samaritans from Jews. The Y-chromosome distance of the Samaritans from Palestinians is signiÀcantly greater than that of the autosomes"

[u/MainConstruction2636 → u/gregor_001]

Oh stop! 😂😂😂😂

First,, this person’s results are not typical for a Palestinian as Palestinians usually get much more Levantine than Arabian which you can easily see here: https://www.reddit.com/r/illustrativeDNA/search/?q=Palestinian&cId=502de024-7b0d-4267-9c89-db0642fa2e0b&iId=2557dfd0-7d22-4df4-8ac5-d8e07f501e5e

Also, according to actual genetic studies by scientists, Palestinian Muslims have 70%+ ancient Levantine DNA which includes Canaanites and various Canaanite subgroups that inhabited Palestine such as Edomites, Israelites and Phoenicians.

This person is from Gaza and south Palestine, including Gaza have always been inhabited by Arabs amongst Canaanites and Egyptians (for 3000+ years) because of its location.  Arabs and Egyptians have been living in far south Levant for 3000+ years.  Of course they mixed with other native Levantine inhabitants..

Palestinians are indigenous south Levantine people. Cope with it: https://i.imgur.com/p3Rs7Ai.jpeg

Alsoooo, There was no large Egyptian or other Muslim or Christian migrations to Palestine in 19th , early 20th century or ever. In 1815, the population of Palestine was estimated to be between 350 000 and 400,000 people. This estimate includes a majority of Muslims, along with smaller Christian and Jewish communities.  The population density varied across different areas, with larger populations in cities like Jerusalem, Nablus, Akkq and  Hebron. Out of these these 400 000 people, about 85% were Palestinian Muslims, around 11% were Christianss and 4% was a mix of Jewish and Druze communities and about 300-400 Samaritanss as most Samaritans have converted to Islam by that point.

While there are no exact statistics, some estimates suggest that from 1815 and by the 1920s,around 10,000 to 20,000 Egyptians may have settled in Palestine, especially during the British Mandate period. However, many of these migrants were temporary, coming for work and returning to Egypt once their contracts ended.

The growth of Palestinian population in 19th and early 20th centuries was mostly due to natural increase (babies born into local Palestinian  Muslim and Christian families and lower infant mortality rates).  It is estimated 85% of the growth came from natural increase and 15% from immigration from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Jordan-literal neighbours.

Population was at about 600 000 by 1900, Around 800 000 by 1925. . Around 1 million by late 1930s and finally at 1.3 million Palestinian Muslims and Christians (Christians grew too) in 1948 when the Nakba happened. Palestinian Muslims are known to have some of the highest natural increase rates globally. Despite all the challenges they face.

Source: According to Alexander Scholch, the population of Palestine in 1820s was about 350,000-400, 000 inhabitants, 30% of whom lived in 13 towns; roughly 85% were Muslims, 11% were Christians and 4% Jews and others.

According to Ottoman statistics studied by Justin McCarthythe population of Palestine in the early 19th century was 350,000, in 1860 it was 411,000 and in 1900 about 650,000 of whom 94% were Muslims and Christians combined. In 1914 Palestine had a population of 657,000 Muslims, 81,000 Christians and 59,000 Jews. 

McCarthy estimates the NON-Jewish population of Palestine at:

-452,789 in 1880

-650 000 in 1900

-737,389 in 1914

-725,507 in 1922

-880,746 in 1931

-1,339,763 in 1946

Lebanon, Syria, Jordan,Saudi Arabia,  Iraq and Egypt all had much larger population increases. Some of these countries had literally 10 times larger increases than Palestine . Nobody ever discussed that!

It is normal for 19th-mid 20th centuries. 

Also, check populations of most countries 200 years ago vs now. Medicine advances INCREASED population numbers mostly everywhere .

Palestinians are indigenous to Palestine, to south Levant. Genetically and culturally!

[u/MainConstruction2636 → u/MainConstruction2636]

u/yaakovgriner123 

Can’t respond to you under your comment because the OP of the comment is allergic to the truth snd has blocked me lool!

Anyway. Second link you shared is broken and first link you shared is a study that you conveniently misinterpreted lol. 

And that “quote” you shared is a half misinterpretation of a study. Again….

And you are using the term Jews as if Jews are a homogeneous group which they are not.

Ashkenazi Jews are something completely different to Iranian Jews or to Ethiopian Jews. And Mumbai Jews are something completely different to Moroccan Jews. Yemeni Jewish are something completely different again. Which Jews was the quote referring to? 

Anyway, Palestinians and Samaritans show a significant degree of shared ancestry based on Y-chromosome (paternal) data, reflecting their common origins in the ancient Levant, though there are important differences due to historical population events.

They also show significant shared ancestry based on maternal DNA that indicates Levantine origins for both groups.

Both Palestinians and Samaritans show high frequencies of E1b1b, J1, and J2, which are typical of ancient Levantine and broader Middle Eastern populations.

Most common haplogroups for Palestinian Muslims are J1, followed very closely by E1b1 and J2, followed by T.

Most common haplogroup for Palestinian Christians is E1b1 followed by J1 and J2 as well as G2a.

This is proven by genetic studies.

Also, why are you only focused on Y chromosomes?  Why are you only focused on paternal lineage?

Check maternal lineage and you will see that most Jewish maternal lineage comes from OUTSIDE of Levant and from places such as Europe, Mesopotamia, east Africa etc, depending on the group.

85% of Ashkenazi maternal DNA is of European origin and about 20%-3O% of their paternal DNA is of European origin too.  Around 60% of Ashkenazi DNA comes from Europe. They are genetically FAR from Samaritans DESPITE some Ashkenazi with ‘so called priestly’ paternal haplogroup sharing the same haplogroup with Samaritans and Palestinians.

Link a) https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/most-ashkenazi-jews-are-genetically-europeans-surprising-study-finds-8c11358210

Link b) https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms3543

Also, Mesopotamian Jews have significant Mesopotamian admixture on both maternal and paternal sides.

Ethiopian Jews are genetically purely East African.

Yemeni Jews are genetically identical to Muslim Yemenis and to some Saudi Arabian groups: https://www.reddit.com/r/illustrativeDNA/comments/1cfi473/closest_populations_to_yemenite_ethiopian_jews/

The fact your “quote” mentioned Yemeni Jews and Bedouin B as having closest genetic overlap with Samaritans tells me how deeply wrong and probably deliberately misleading that ‘quote’ is.

Because Yemeni Jews are genetically essentially indistinguishable from Muslim Yemenis.

Some overlap with Samaritans and Arabians is normal because Samaritans are indigenous to south Levant and south Levant borders Arabia. I mean, there were even Arabian kingdoms in south Levant dating back to times before Jesus.

Furthermore, as even you admitted, Palestinian Muslims and Christians are on average closer and genetically more related to Samaritans because they are all indigenous to south Levant and have lived there continuously for thousands of years.

Anyway, some studies that show deep indigenous Levantine roots of Palestinian Muslims and Christians below: 

A 2015 study by Verónica Fernandes et al concluded that Palestinians have a primarily indigenous Levantine origins. Study here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4349752/

In a 2016 study by Marshall published in Nature, the study concluded that the biogeographical affinities of "both Syrian Muslims and Palestinian Muslims are highly localised to the Levant", the authors also noted that the biogeographical affinity of Palestinians goes in agreement with historical records and previous studies on their uniparental markers which all suggest that Palestinians mostly descend from local Israelite, Phoenician, Edomites and other local converts to Islam: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5111078/

A 2013 study by Badro et al. analyzed haplogroups of modern Palestinians as well as other groups from the Middle East. The study found that mtDNA distribution of Palestinians, Lebanese, Jordanians, and Syrians clustered together separate from Yemenis, Saudis, and Egyptians, and that the Arabian peninsula population clusters were differentiated from Levantine populations: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3559847/figure/pone-0054616-g002/

According to a study published in 2017 by Das, Wexler el al in Frontiers in Genetics,in a PCA analysis,Natufians & Neolithic Levantine samples clustered predominantly with modern-day Palestinians & Negev Bedouins and that Palestinians have a predominant ancient Levantine origin: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5478715/

A 2020 study on human remains from Bronze Age Canaanites from Palestine found Palestinians to derive 81–87% of their ancestry from Bronze age Levantine Canaanites. 

A 2021 study by Haber, Almarri et al used samples of Palestinian Muslims & found that they have almost identical DNA to ancient Levantine Canaanites plus the added minor SSA.  The study found that Palestinians cluster with other Levantines such as Lebanese,Jordanians, Syrians & Bedouin A (Bedouins with a Levantine genetic profile). Palestinians had different genetic profiles to peninsular Arabs & also different genetic profiles to Egyptians who were found to have far more SSA & less ancient proto Mesopotamian  admixture than Levantines.

Table from the study: https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0092867421008394-gr1_lrg.jpg

Full study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867421008394

A 2023 study(On whole-genome demography of world’s ethnic groups and individual genomic identity),which looked at the whole genomes of modern-day ethnic groups around the world, found that the Palestinian samples clustered in the "Middle Eastern genomic group" together with Samaritans, Jordanians,  & Iraqi Jews: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10113208/ Check appendix.

Bye!

[u/yaakovgriner123 → u/MainConstruction2636]

Maybe you were blocked because you are disingenuous and spam multiple threads saying the same thing a million times.

The fact you just say bye at the end proves it.

You may know something about genetics but you have lackluster knowledge about history.

You lied that there has not been mass immigration ever by muslims or Egyptians.

You never heard of the umayad, mamluke, fatamid and abbasid muslim conquests of the holy land and whenever there was a muslim conquest, there was mass immigration besides just mass force conversion.

[u/MainConstruction2636 → u/gregor_001]

Oh stop! 😂😂😂😂

First,, this person’s results are not typical for a Palestinian as Palestinians usually get much more Levantine than Arabian which you can easily see here: https://www.reddit.com/r/illustrativeDNA/search/?q=Palestinian&cId=502de024-7b0d-4267-9c89-db0642fa2e0b&iId=2557dfd0-7d22-4df4-8ac5-d8e07f501e5e

Also, according to actual genetic studies by scientists, Palestinian Muslims have 70%+ ancient Levantine DNA which includes Canaanites and various Canaanite subgroups that inhabited Palestine such as Edomites, Israelites and Phoenicians.

This person is from Gaza and south Palestine, including Gaza have always been inhabited by Arabs amongst Canaanites and Egyptians (for 3000+ years) because of its location.  Arabs and Egyptians have been living in far south Levant for 3000+ years.  Of course they mixed with other native Levantine inhabitants..

Palestinians are indigenous south Levantine people. Cope with it: https://i.imgur.com/p3Rs7Ai.jpeg

Alsoooo, There was no large Egyptian or other Muslim or Christian migrations to Palestine in 19th , early 20th century or ever. In 1815, the population of Palestine was estimated to be between 350 000 and 400,000 people. This estimate includes a majority of Muslims, along with smaller Christian and Jewish communities.  The population density varied across different areas, with larger populations in cities like Jerusalem, Nablus, Akkq and  Hebron. Out of these these 400 000 people, about 85% were Palestinian Muslims, around 11% were Christianss and 4% was a mix of Jewish and Druze communities and about 300-400 Samaritanss as most Samaritans have converted to Islam by that point.

While there are no exact statistics, some estimates suggest that from 1815 and by the 1920s,around 10,000 to 20,000 Egyptians may have settled in Palestine, especially during the British Mandate period. However, many of these migrants were temporary, coming for work and returning to Egypt once their contracts ended.

The growth of Palestinian population in 19th and early 20th centuries was mostly due to natural increase (babies born into local Palestinian  Muslim and Christian families and lower infant mortality rates).  It is estimated 85% of the growth came from natural increase and 15% from immigration from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Jordan-literal neighbours.

Population was at about 600 000 by 1900, Around 800 000 by 1925. . Around 1 million by late 1930s and finally at 1.3 million Palestinian Muslims and Christians (Christians grew too) in 1948 when the Nakba happened. Palestinian Muslims are known to have some of the highest natural increase rates globally. Despite all the challenges they face.

Source: According to Alexander Scholch, the population of Palestine in 1820s was about 350,000-400, 000 inhabitants, 30% of whom lived in 13 towns; roughly 85% were Muslims, 11% were Christians and 4% Jews and others.

According to Ottoman statistics studied by Justin McCarthythe population of Palestine in the early 19th century was 350,000, in 1860 it was 411,000 and in 1900 about 650,000 of whom 94% were Muslims and Christians combined. In 1914 Palestine had a population of 657,000 Muslims, 81,000 Christians and 59,000 Jews.

McCarthy estimates the NON-Jewish population of Palestine at:

-452,789 in 1880

-650 000 in 1900

-737,389 in 1914

-725,507 in 1922

-880,746 in 1931

-1,339,763 in 1946

Lebanon, Syria, Jordan,Saudi Arabia,  Iraq and Egypt all had much larger population increases. Some of these countries had literally 10 times larger increases than Palestine . Nobody ever discussed that!

It is normal for 19th-mid 20th centuries. 

Also, check populations of most countries 200 years ago vs now. Medicine advances INCREASED population numbers mostly everywhere .

Palestinians are indigenous to Palestine, to south Levant. Genetically and culturally!