Abbas fabricates history: "The Bible says the Palestinians existed before Abraham..." "We have been planted in [this land since]... the invention of the Canaanite-Palestinian alphabet... more than 6,000 years ago"

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: "Our narrative says that we have been have been in this land since before Abraham. I am not saying it. The Bible says it. The Bible says, in these words, that the Palestinians existed before Abraham. So why don't you recognize my right? [Official PA TV, March 21, 2016] PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas: "This land was never without a people, as we have been planted in its rocks and dust and hills since the beginning of civilization and writing and the invention of the Canaanite-Palestinian alphabet more than 6,000 years ago." [Official PA TV, May 14, 2016] Abbas’ Fabrication #1: The Bible says that Palestinians predate Abraham. Fact #1: The Bible says Abraham dwelt “many days in the land of the Philistines.” (Genesis 21: 34). The Bible’s “Philistines” have no connection to today’s Arabs called “Palestinians.” The Philistines were a people of Greek origin who settled in the land of Canaan and lived beside the Israelite tribes. Both nations were exiled by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Philistines in 604 BCE and the kingdom of Judah in 586 BCE. The Philistines ceased to exist as a nation soon afterward, while the Judeans returned 70 years later, and rebuilt the Jewish/Judean national home. Abbas’ Fabrication #2: There was an ancient Palestinian- Canaanite people connected to today’s Palestinian Arabs. Fact #2: The land of “Judea” was renamed “Palestine” by Rome in 136 CE, as a punishment to the Jews for participating in the Jewish Revolt against Rome, known as “The Bar Kochba Rebellion.” Arabs first arrived in the land of Israel/Judea with the Muslim invasion in 637 CE. Arabs of “Palestine” first identified themselves as “Palestinians” in the 20th century. Abbas’ Fabrication #3: Canaanite-Palestinians invented an alphabet 6,000 years ago. Fact #3: Writing was invented around 3,500 BCE. The earliest Canaanite alphabet, considered to be the ancestor of most modern alphabets, is dated to around 1,500 BCE.