The term Palestinian refers to those tracing heritage to historic
Palestine, which comprises present-day
Israel, the
West Bank, (including
East Jerusalem) and the
Gaza Strip.The vast majority of those who currently identify as Palestinian are Arab (93% Muslim and 6% Christian). There are also Palestinian Jews whose family heritage in Israel/the Occupied Palestinian Territories pre-dates
Zionism. Though the majority of Palestinian Jews now identify as
Israeli, there are some who consider themselves Palestinian, as does the
Palestinian National Charter. In 2007, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reported an estimated 3.76 million Palestinians living in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza, with the Israeli CBS reporting approximately 1.52 million Palestinians citizens of Israel in 2009. In addition, as of 2010 there were approximately 4.3 million Palestinian refugees living in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. There is also a sizable Palestinian
Diaspora. See "
Are All Palestinians Muslim?", Samih K. Farsoun, Institute for Middle Eastern Understanding, Dec 5, 2005.