Fatah archeologist: "In a certain historical period" Palestinians "adopted the Jewish religion" but they have been here for 100,000 years

Archaeologist and member of Fatah's Jerusalem branch Abir Zayyad: "There is a cultural continuity of more than 100,000 years, and those residents are the same [Palestinian] residents to this day. It is true that we have gone through different periods, we have gone through different developments, we have gone through changes of religions: From the religion of idol worshippers - Some of us in a certain historical period adopted the Jewish religion, after that, most of us adopted the Christian religion, [and] then most of us moved on to the religion of Islam. But in the end, we are the same [Palestinian] people, a change of religion does not mean a change of the ethnic group."

[Official PA TV, Jan. 17, 2026]

The Palestinians have no history prior to the modern period.