Palestine (World of Imperial Russian Glory)

Kingdom of Palestine مملكة فلسطين Mamalakat Filastin
Location of Palestine (World of Imperial Russian Glory)
Capital		Jerusalem
Official languages		Arabic
Recognized		English, Turkish, Russian
Ethnic groups		80.2% Arabs 14% Turks 4% Jews 1.8% Others
Demonym		Palestinian
Government		Constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy
-	King	Abdulfarrah I
-	Prime Minister	Walid al-Bashir
Population
-	census	8.8 million
Currency		Dinar

The Kingdom of Palestine (Arabic: مملكة فلسطين, Mamalakat Filastin) or Palestine (فلسطين, Filastin), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea, and shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. Jaffa is the economic and technological center of the country, while its seat of government is in the capital city of Jerusalem.

Inhabited since the Middle Bronze Age by Canaanite tribes, the land held by present-day Palestine was once the setting for much of Biblical history, beginning with the 9th-century Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah, which fell, respectively, to the Neo-Assyrian Empire (c. 720 BCE) and Neo-Babylonian Empire (586 BCE). Later rulers included the Achaemenid Empire, Alexander the Great, the Seleucid Empire, the Hasmonean dynasty, and, from 63 BCE, the Roman Republic and later Roman Empire. From the 5th century CE, it was part of the Byzantine Empire, up until the 7th century Rashidun Caliphate's conquest of the Levant. With the First Crusade of 1096–1099, Crusader states were established. Muslim rule was then restored in 1291 by the Mamluk Sultanate, which later ceded the territory to the Ottoman Empire.

During the 19th century, the Zionist movement began promoting the creation of a Jewish homeland in Ottoman Syria. Following World War I, Britain was granted control of the region by League of Nations mandate, in what became known as Mandatory Palestine. After World War II, the newly formed United Nations adopted the Partition Plan for Palestine in 1947, recommending the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states, and an internationalized Jerusalem. Following a civil war within Mandatory Palestine between Yishuv and Palestinian Arab forces, Israel declared independence at the termination of the British Mandate. The war internationalized into the 1948 Arab–Israeli War between Israel and several surrounding Arab states and concluded with an Arab victory, thanks to Russian military aid towards the Arabs, leading to the establishment of the Kingdom.

However, Palestine was continually rocked with political conflict between not only Arab and Jewish groups, but even within secular Arabs and Islamist forces. In 1973, after a nearly-successful Jewish Uprising waged during the Islamic holy month Ramadan and the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, the Palestinian government again, started allowing Jews to pray at the Wailing Wall and visit their holy sites in Jerusalem, and became more open to Jewish culture, leading the other Arab states to issue grievances against its government.

In its Basic Laws, Palestine defines itself as an Arab and democratic state, despite being a multi-ethnic nation. The country has a parliamentary system, proportional representation, and universal suffrage. The prime minister serves as head of government and the Al-Kanisat is the unicameral legislature. Palestine is a developed country and an OECD member, with a population of over 9 million people as of 2021. It has the world's 29th-largest economy by nominal GDP, and ranks nineteenth in the Human Development Index.

It is one of the most developed nations in the Middle East. Despite being an Arab League member, Palestine has adopted a multi-cultural identity. In spite of this however, Palestine has had a turbulent political history, with clashing between Arab, Islamist and Zionist politicians, often not the rivalry between the three has carried out to assassination attempts towards almost every Palestinian head of state, It has earned the nickname, "Capital of Political Murders". However, none of these attempts have ever been successful.

History

Medieval and modern period

Further information: History of Jerusalem during the Middle Ages, Muslim conquest of the Levant, Crusades, and Old Yishuv Kfar Bar'am, an ancient Jewish village, abandoned some time between the 7th–13th centuries CE. By the 4th century, the Jews had become a minority. The immigration of Christians, along with conversions of locals, resulted in the formation of a Christian majority. Through the 5th and 6th centuries, the dramatic events of the repeated Samaritan revolts reshaped the land, with massive destruction to Byzantine Christian and Samaritan societies and a resulting decrease of the population. After the Persian conquest and the installation of a short-lived Jewish Commonwealth in 614 CE, the Byzantine Empire reconquered the country in 628.

In 634–641 CE, the region, including Jerusalem, was conquered by the Arabs who had recently adopted Islam. Control of the region transferred between the Rashidun Caliphs, Umayyads, Abbasids, Fatimids, Seljuks, Crusaders, and Ayyubids throughout the next three centuries.

During the siege of Jerusalem by the First Crusade in 1099, the Jewish inhabitants of the city fought side by side with the Fatimid garrison and the Muslim population who tried in vain to defend the city against the Crusaders. When the city fell, around 60,000 people were massacred, including 6,000 Jews seeking refuge in a synagogue. At this time, a full thousand years after the fall of the Jewish state, there were Jewish communities all over the country. Fifty of them are known and include Jerusalem, Tiberias, Ramleh, Ashkelon, Caesarea, and Gaza. According to Albert of Aachen, the Jewish residents of Haifa were the main fighting force of the city, and "mixed with Saracen [Fatimid] troops", they fought bravely for close to a month until forced into retreat by the Crusader fleet and land army.

In 1165, Maimonides visited Jerusalem and prayed on the Temple Mount, in the "great, holy house." In 1141, the Spanish-Jewish poet Yehuda Halevi issued a call for Jews to migrate to the Land of Israel, a journey he undertook himself. In 1187, Sultan Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, defeated the Crusaders in the Battle of Hattin and subsequently captured Jerusalem and almost all of Palestine. In time, Saladin issued a proclamation inviting Jews to return and settle in Jerusalem, and according to Judah al-Harizi, they did: "From the day the Arabs took Jerusalem, the Israelites inhabited it." Al-Harizi compared Saladin's decree allowing Jews to re-establish themselves in Jerusalem to the one issued by the Persian king Cyrus the Great over 1,600 years earlier. The 13th-century Ramban Synagogue in Jerusalem In 1211, the Jewish community in the country was strengthened by the arrival of a group headed by over 300 rabbis from France and England, among them Rabbi Samson ben Abraham of Sens. Nachmanides (Ramban), the 13th-century Spanish rabbi and recognized leader of Jewry, greatly praised the Land of Israel and viewed its settlement as a positive commandment incumbent on all Jews. He wrote "If the gentiles wish to make peace, we shall make peace and leave them on clear terms; but as for the land, we shall not leave it in their hands, nor in the hands of any nation, not in any generation."

In 1260, control passed to the Mamluk sultans of Egypt. The country was located between the two centres of Mamluk power, Cairo and Damascus, and only saw some development along the postal road connecting the two cities. Jerusalem, although left without the protection of any city walls since 1219, also saw a flurry of new construction projects centred around the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound (the Temple Mount). In 1266, the Mamluk Sultan Baybars converted the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron into an exclusive Islamic sanctuary and banned Christians and Jews from entering, who previously had been able to enter it for a fee. The ban remained in place until Israel took control of the building in 1967. Jews at the Western Wall in the 1870s In 1470, Isaac b. Meir Latif arrived from Italy and counted 150 Jewish families in Jerusalem. Thanks to Joseph Saragossi who had arrived in the closing years of the 15th century, Safed and its environs had developed into the largest concentration of Jews in Palestine. With the help of the Sephardic immigration from Spain, the Jewish population had increased to 10,000 by the early 16th century.

In 1516, the region was conquered by the Ottoman Empire; it remained under Turkish rule until the end of the First World War, when Britain defeated the Ottoman forces and set up a military administration across the former Ottoman Syria. In 1660, a Druze revolt led to the destruction of Safed and Tiberias. In the late 18th century, local Arab Sheikh Zahir al-Umar created a de facto independent Emirate in the Galilee. Ottoman attempts to subdue the Sheikh failed, but after Zahir's death the Ottomans regained control of the area. In 1799 governor Jazzar Pasha successfully repelled an assault on Acre by troops of Napoleon, prompting the French to abandon the Syrian campaign. In 1834 a revolt by Palestinian Arab peasants broke out against Egyptian conscription and taxation policies under Muhammad Ali. Although the revolt was suppressed, Muhammad Ali's army retreated and Ottoman rule was restored with British support in 1840. Shortly after, the Tanzimat reforms were implemented across the Ottoman Empire. In 1920, after the Allies conquered the Levant during World War I, the territory was divided between Britain and France under the mandate system, and the British-administered area which included the modern country of the same name was named Mandatory Palestine.

Formation of the State of Palestine

The early Cold War saw large groups of Jewish migrants going to Palestine, and forming various Jewish paramilitary groups. Many coming from Eastern Europe, fleeing from the Nazi-ruled countries and the rampant anti-Semitism even in Nazi Germany's enemies, such as Russia. After the British Mandate ended, On May 14, 1948, the very short-lived State of Israel was declared, triggering the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The various Jewish paramilitaries united to form the Yishuv, which would, in the event of a Jewish victory, have been the official armed forces of an Israeli Jewish state.

Although the western powers offered no public support, Russian procurator-general Vladimir Rennenkampf however, did not recognize Israel. The Jewish paramilitaries were on the brink of victory, therefore, the Arab armies turned to Russia and even China for help.

However, General Rennenkampf knew the futile history and nature of Middle Eastern politics, and made the Arab armies accept a monarch as the Head of State of future Palestine, if the Russians were to help them against the Jewish armies, an advice given to Russia by Egypt. Therefore, after the Arab armies agreed to march under a monarch, General Rennenkampf decided to aid the Arab armies in the 1948 war as the Arab armies were on the brink of defeat, Russia's decision to aid the Arabs only worsened its already-damaged relations with the West, who considered it a neo-Nazi remnant, forcing the Western nations to side with the Jews. Russia also held deep interests in Palestine via its Eastern Orthodox population, as it was home to many ancient Greek Orthodox patriarchates.

Afterwards, the Independent Palestinian State (الدولة الفلسطينية المستقلة) was formed. Just like the situation after the Russian Civil War, there came the issue of rivaling parties and factions within the Arab and Palestinian camp, something which gave the Arabs' Russian allies a huge headache. It is clear however, that the Warsaw Pact favored Amin al-Husseini as the Head of State, due to his native Jerusalemite descent.

As Russia was a monarchy, they decided to help monarchists, and install an Arab monarch - however, said-Arab monarch was to accept a Constitutional Monarch role, and allow political parties to democratically operate in Palestine. Jewish parties were banned. Therefore, a separate "High Court" (المحكمة العليا) and "People's Court" (مجلس الشعب) were established as separation of powers, one electing a King, and the other electing a Prime Minister. However, Amin al-Hussein was already of noble descent.

Abdullah I, who was the Emir of Transjordan, was chosen as Palestine's king, due to the close relations between Palestinians and Jordanians. Like before, despite the Monarch being a "figurative" Head of State, the Head of Government, namely al-Hussein wielded true political powers. However, the other Arab dynasties were allowed to become Princes and Princesses of Palestine respectively.

Therefore in 1950, the Kingdom of Palestine was proclaimed, with Talal I, one of Abdullah I's sons, as its King, Amin al-Hussein elected as the Prime Minister and Glubb Pasha as its first Secretary of War, as he had led the Arab Legions during the 1948 war.

Modernization and Cold War

The 1948 victory for the Arabs was extremely fragile, much as OTL Israel was in its infancy. The Palestinian state suffered constant conflicts between political factions. This would often allow splinter Jewish groups to exploit these for their own purposes.

In 1952, the Royal Constitution of Palestine was adopted. Unlike his father, who held the title Emir of Jordan, Talal I ruled as the King of Palestine, and Amin al-Hussein, his Prime Minister, who served as the head of the Provisional Palestinian Government, while supporting an Islamic royalty and nobility, favored a Palestine with freedom of religion guaranteed, adopting much of the Palestinian constitution from the Ottoman millet system. In many essences, the Palestinian constitution is considered a descendent of the Ottoman millet system, mixed with Russian, European monarchial and democratic systems. The Israeli Parliament went into Exile in New York City, which received twice the number of Jewish immigrants as in our timeline.

In 1956, an American-supported Israeli military formation bombed and attacked the Suez Canal, in order to block access to Palestinian shipping to the Indian Ocean, followed by an uprising in Palestine as well. This attack ended in a political victory for the Arabs and the Palestinians.

Palestine was sharply reinforced by its Warsaw Pact allies, Jews in Palestine underwent severe repercussions as a result, including a ban on any public recognition of Hebrew language and Jewish culture, under the ultranationalist leadership of Prime Minister Yasser Arafat, who would become prominent in the high points of the Cold War in Palestine. Arafat's iron-fist rule ended political factionalizing in Palestine, he thus began to crackdown against political parties he felt were a threat to the Palestinian state, and instituted a form of socialism. Known to be a brutal Prime Minister, Arafat was known for his subversion activities in the neighboring countries, which he, as his Russian and Egyptian allies viewed as preventative measures to another Western-backed Jewish incursion. However, his rule also introduced aggressive modernization in Palestine in spite of the conflicts that Palestine had to endure.

In 1967, another western-backed Israeli military formation attempted to overthrow the Palestinian government, and carry out attacks against the governments of Syria, Egypt and Jordan, an attack which basically ended with nothing and achieved nothing, known as the War of Attrition. It didn't help that Palestine and Jordan were involved in a concurrent war, which nearly cost both armies losses against the Jews. The Russians nearly withdrew their support, until the Jordanian government withdrew.

The 1960s also led to the rise of the Greater Syria Movement (حركة بلاد الشام, Harakat Bilad al-Shaam), started by Yusuf Abdullah ibn Shamash and Walid al-Qassam, known by its Arabic name, calling to unify the Arab states of the former Ottoman Syria, namely Palestine herself, but also Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. These would lead into Black September in Jordan. Palestine's Russian allies initially supported the movement, but as the conflict and disagreements grew violent, abandoned plans to unite the former Ottoman Syria, and act as peacekeepers in the region. Yusuf was given refuge in Russia. At this point, Palestinian victory drew more interest in the Holy Land, particularly from Muslims and Eastern Orthodox worldwide. Major powers of the east, such as that of Russia, Prussia, Poland, India, China, Pakistan and Persia granted and loaned more money for businessmen and developers in Palestine. The city of Jaffa (OTE: Tel Aviv) was a source of international investment. Even many in the United States grew heavily invested in the modern development of Palestine, in spite of strong discouragements. It would seen develop and progress into the most powerful and developed states in the Levant as the Russians helped introduce modernization and farming techniques for its lush and fertile lands.

In 1973, the deadliest attack and attempted overthrow of the Palestinian government occurred on the first day of Ramadan, which also fell on the same day as Yom Kippur, resulting in the death of 8,310 deaths of the Arab states combined, 97 Russian soldiers, 43 Persian soldiers and 2,320 Israeli paramilitary fighters dead. However, Palestine and the Arabs ended up victorious, again in spite of sustaining much-higher causalities.

The aftermath led to a major cease in military attempts to overthrow the Palestinian government, and most Jewish leaders offering their undivided and unconditional surrender, and also led the Palestinian government being more open to Jewish culture and language. Prime Minister Seif el-Din el-Zoubi finally lifted the ban on Jews to make pilgrimages to their holy sites, yet - did not recognize a co-officitization of Hebrew alongside Arabic.

After 1973, begins a quasi-golden age for cooperation between Arabs and Jews, as it is during this time that many Jewish artists started reaching fame. Many Jews began to fulfill positions of banking and economics in the country, worrying the other Arab leaders.

Palestine reached a hallmark of improved relations with both power blocs in the 1980s.

Jewish Golden Age

In 1974, the Great Compromise (حل وسط كبير) occurred between Jewish nationalists and the Palestinian government, in which Prime Minister Seif el-Din el-Zubi finally lifted anti-Jewish pogroms under a limited scope. It is celebrated among Mizrahi Jewish circles as "the mircle". or "El-Nes", (אל-נס). According to the terms of the Great Compromise, native Palestinian-born Jews, as well as Musta'arabi and Mizrahi Jews are granted full rights as citizens, and the right to pay pilgrimages to their respective sites, so long as they also abandon Zionist goals and embrace Arabic as the vernacular as a citizen of the Kigndom, though they were free to speak Hebrew within thier communities.

At this point, many Palestinian Jews such as Amariah ben Saadia al-Qubashi the long-time mayor of Al-Qatra, politician politician Barak ibn Manasseh, poet and nobel laurete Uriah ibn Isaac al-Bariqi architect Malachi al-Faheem.

Historical Jewish communities became repopulated, leading to the growth of Al-Qatra as a Jewish-majority city, though by a bare margin. Historical yeshivas and synagogues became rebuilt, with Jewish communities allowed to flourish around them. This would be known as the Golden Age of Jewish Culture in Palestine (תור הזהב היהודי בפלסטין) leading to the formation of Modern Palestinian Hebrew.

Rise of the Greater Syria Movement

In the 1980s, the Harakat Bilad al-Shaam started to gain majority votes in the various parliaments of the Arab states, Palestine included, having among some of the strong and largest of supporters along with Jordan. In 1981, Grand Vizier Walid al-Qassam and Prime Minister Fahad Abdul-Dandachi, both members of the Harakat Bilad al-Shaam party began to negotiate with the leaders of the other Levantine Arab states to unite into a Greater Syrian Empire. For the most part, al-Qassam led the headway. With the Harakat Bilad al-Shaam winning the majority in the Jordanian Parliament, and a sizable amount of supporters in Syria and Lebanon, the seeds had been planted.

Tumultuous 1990s

The Greater Syria plans were viciously hampered by internal quarrelling in the late 1980s. More anti-Jewish pogroms, and the rise of Islamic extremists and isolationists forced the Palestinian government to call of its plans. Walid al-Qassam was overthrown in a military coup, and pursued into Lebanon, where he was sent to live in Russia as a political exile. The situation did not get any better.

During the 1990s, the Palestinian economy was deeply rocked by the effects of the democratic revolutions in Russia and the Warsaw Pact. Another quasi-civil war occurred, but this time, between Islamists and the Palestinian government. With a weakened Russia, a paramilitary group known as the Hamas (Sunni paramilitary group), as well as the Hezbollah (Persian-origin Shiite group) wreaked havoc across Palestine, causing the Western government to ban flights to Jerusalem. In 1996, the Hamas placed their flag atop the Dome of the Rock, and proclaimed the Islamic State of Palestine, resulting in a brutal terror regime, causing the Palestinian royal family to flee to Jordan, and causing a resurgence of Yishuv-like paramilitary groups. Under the pressure of the Knesset-in-Exile, the United States began to enact sanctions against the Palestinian government.

Jordanian, Lebanese and Egyptian forces sent troops to aid the Palestinian and Russian militaries in fighting the Hamas.

Franko Korkunov, the Prime Minister and short-lived and self-proclaimed "President" of Russia kept defense ties with Palestine, however, his ineffectiveness against separatists in Russia also carried on to his inability to defend his Palestinian allies, having just withdrawn troops from Prussia. He also invited American troops, to cooperate and collaborate with the Russians in routing Hamas and Hezbollah groups in Palestine, causing the Palestinian government to lambast Korkunov as a traitor.

Due to the distance between Palestine and Russia, it isn't until 1998 when Procurator-General Wassily Felgenhauer was able to help restore order in Palestine, as he concurrently ordered an invasion of Lebanon, toppling the Hamas government - and seeing the damage they caused.

With the United States and China coming up as the new superpowers, the Palestinian economy opened up to the Western and Chinese markets, and lifted the ban on massive migration from Jews in Europe. Similar to the clashing between Israelis and Palestinians in our OTL, still, Palestinian society remained hostile to new Jewish migrants.

Modern-Days

Much of the Palestinian state focused on the rebuilding efforts from the ruins of the 1990s, and saw quite steady progress through much of the post-Cold War era. Palestine increased its ties with the United States, Arab and Islamic states, and countries outside Russia. Palestine again, suffered economic sanctions after it refused to partake in in the removal of Saddam Hussein, despite repeated pressure for him to step down. In addition, there was a reproachment of relations between Palestine and Saudi Arabia.

In 2004, Palestine came under the liberal leadership of Ishmael Khaldi. Prime Minister Khaldi led a series of major reforms in Palestine, but one of the most controversial aspects of his regime was what many felt, to be his denial of Palestine as an Arab state, as he favored a multi-ethnic Palestinian identity, despite being of Bedouin heritage himself. Khaldi often brought-up the non-Arab history of Palestine, and also supported efforts to restore Aramaic, and officiate Aramaic as one of Palestine's official languages. There were doubts that Khaldi was even Muslim, as he began interested in the ancient Baal worship, leading both Islamists and Zionists to carry out assassination attempts on him.

Prime Minister Khaldi however, successfully began reconciliations between the various communities in Palestine. He also passed education laws, such as the No Bedouin Left Behind (لم يترك بدو وراءنا), similar to U.S. president George W. Bush's "No Child Left Behind" program. He remained the Prime Minister of Palestine well through 2008 and disconnected Palestine from the U.S. dollar, allowing it to escape the 2008 Financial Crisis.

In 2011, Khaldi finally stepped down as Prime Minister, being over-burdened by the world chances. Jamal Zahalka of the United Palestine Party took over. Zahalka himself, was influenced by Khaldi's idea of a united but multi-ethnic Palestinian society.

Demographics

Currently, Arabs are the dominant ethnic group in Palestine, forming 80.2% of the population. Their descent is mostly Levantine, however many descendants of South Arabians and Syrians are found in the Palestinian population. Although the elite is of native Arabian descent, many of the Palestinian Arabs feel culturally and even ethnically closer to Jordanians and Syrians, then per-say, Arabia. In addition, Palestine also has a high Bedouin population, mostly in the Bir al-Sabi Desert (OTE Negev), and has one of the highest Bedouin populations in the world. Of the Arab population, 75% is Muslim (mostly Sunni with a Shiite minority), Christians form the next-largest, 21% and Druze form 4% and Others form the rest, namely Baháʼí Faith and Semitic Paganism.

Turks form the second-highest population. After the Russian invasion of Turkey in World War II, and the Greek re-conquest of Constantinople, many Turks fled to British Palestine, due to it being predominantly-Muslim. They never returned to Turkey, as the victorious Allies tore it apart and divided its borders. The Greek government carried out ethnic retaliation against Turks in Constantinople, Bulgaria doing the same against its Turkish population. Neo-Ottomanists were known influenced the Palestinians and Russians in adopting the old Ottoman system for Palestine's political system. Many Palestinians favored the historical Ottomans over the British, this drew many neo-Ottomanists to migrate to Palestine, to combat the Jewish aliyahs. Because of the pro-monarchsist nature of the neo-Ottomanists, they were heavily favored by the Palestinian elite. Many Turks fought alongside Arab nationalists against Jews. Prime Minister Amin al-Husayni favored these Turkish migrants. In addition, many Turkish POWs, were used by Palestine's Russian ally to help re-construct the country. Many have also intermarried with Palestinian Arabs.

Of the Palestinian Jewish population, the overwhelming majority is Mizrahi, Musta'arabi and Sephardic Jews. Palestinian Jews are very Arabic-influenced in their culture and lifestyle, and the Palestinian state has overwhelmingly favored Jews from Arabic-speaking countries. They are part of the broader "Musta'arabi Jews" (اليهود المستعربة). In spite of being native to Palestine, and the historical Biblical significance of Palestine, the Palestinian Jewish population is only the world's 5th largest, with United States, Canada, Russia and Germany having higher Jewish populations. Vladimir Rommel, a famous Russian historian who visited Palestine, noted, "In Palestine, the Jews of there are very Arab-influenced, apart from speaking Hebrew, there isn't much of an indication of their Jewish identity, their lifestyles are very Arab, they call their elders Sheikhs, it is very, very difficult at times to distinguish between an Arab and a Jew."

Of those classified as "Others" - include other native Semitic groups, such as the Samaritans, who declared themselves a separate group from both Arabs and Jews. Samaritans also claim Hebrew as their native language. They form the next-largest group, followed by Arameans, who speak Syriac and Aramaic as native languages. Samaritanism is the faith of these ethno-religious group, many Jews consider it a sect. of Judaism.

Although Palestine is an Arab state, Jews, Samaritans and Arameans are considered "Great Four Natives" (أربعة مواطنين عظماء) of Palestine, alongside the Arabs.

There are also a large Armenian and Russian community, however the Russian-speaking population are mostly Chechen or Caucasian Muslims or Russian Jews. In addition, since Palestine is predominantly-Muslim, there have been high numbers of Southeast Asians (mostly from Muslim countries), such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and the southern Philippines.

Language

Currently, Standard Arabic is the official language in Palestine. However, most people speak Palestinian Arabic (عربي فلسطيني, al-Arabiyah al-Filastin), a variety of Levantine Arabic native to Palestine. However, Palestine has a linguistically diverse history, first ranging from Phoenician to Aramaic, with the latter having been the major language of the Levant prior to Islam. Even today however, Palestine is still multi-ethnic and polyglot, and for as much as 20% of the population, Arabic is a second language.

Turkish is the second-most spoken language in Palestine (akin to Arabic in Israel of our OTL), spoken by some 1.2 million people. Although unlike Standard Turkish spoken in Turkey, Palestinian Turkish (فلستن تركچس, Filistin Türkçesi) uses both Ottoman and Latin scripts, depending on the generations. Descendants of neo-Ottomans and monarchists use Ottoman Turkish, while the recent migrants use Latin.

Hebrew is spoken by the Jews. They speak Mizrahi dialect, in particular, Palestinian Hebrew (עברית פלסטינית) which is only partially intelligible with Ashkenazi. Unlike our OTE, Hebrew is not an official on a national level, and is only used in the Jewish community. Palestinian Hebrew is heavily Aramaic-influenced.

There is a push to revive Aramaic and Phoenician and make it co-official to Arabic, however the fact that Aramaic has no main standard scripts has put a roadblock to its official-recognition.

Many other languages are spoken and understand, English, Turkish and Russian are being the most widely-spoken that is not an official language. Because of the fact tha the Palestinian political system is a direct descendent of the historical Ottoman system, and many Palestinians hold neo-Ottoman views, many have become very familiar with Turkish. Additionally, Palestine also has high numbers of Turks, Armenians, Circassians as well as ethnic groups from Russia (Chechens and Caucasians).

Jerusalem is a very multi-ethnic city, and speakersf all sorts can be found in the city. The same can be said of Jaffa and Ramallah, however Jerusalem and Jaffa are both more multi-ethnic.

Religion

The Royal Constitution of Palestine guarantees Freedom of Religion for citizens, however the King is to be Muslim. Palestine is known to be the most religiously observant, and has the lowest-number of irreligious people.

Currently Sunni Muslims form the majority of the population, 68.5% in total. Christians form the next-largest, at 25.5%, Jews 5% and Others at 1%.

Palestine is a very religiously significant region, especially to the three Abrahamic religions - especially the capital Jerusalem. Although Judaism and Christianity form a minority compared to Islam, Palestine is where much of Biblical history takes place. To the Jews, it is their historical homeland as it was home of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, and later Roman Judea. To the Christians, the city of Bethlehem is where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born, and lived the majority of his life in Nazareth. To the majority of Muslims, the Prophet Muhammad ascended from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

However, prior to the Abrahamic religions, it was also home to a large number of pagan religious and civilizations, most notably the worship of Baal and El, among others.

All three religions are considered Diyan al-Ard (أديان الأرض) or "Heritage Religions" - these are religious which retain the Constitutional right to have government funds contribute to their construction of worship.

Islam

Islam was brought to the region of Palestine during the Early Muslim conquests of the 7th century, when armies of the Rashidun Caliphate under the leadership of ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb defeated the armies of Persia and the armies of the Byzantine Empire and conquered Persia, Mesopotamia, Shaam, Egypt, North Africa and Spain. Afterwards, it exchanged hands between Crusaders and Muslims, before the Muslims ended up prevailing, and Islam would become the dominant religions of Palestine. Most are Sunni, however small communities of Shiites and Ahmadiyyahs can be found, with the Ahmadiyyahs being considered heretical, and not even Muslim.

Jerusalem is also significant to Islam, as it is considered to where the Prophet Muhammad ascended from. Some of the earliest Islamic structures, such as the Al-Aqsa Mosque, are located in Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock however, across from Al-Aqsa, is considered to have been where Mohammad actually descended to himself.

In spite of this, Islam is the most recent Abrahamic religion and is predated by Judaism and Christianity.

Christianity

Most of Jesus' life story takes place in Palestine, and Palestine is where Christianity originated, as part of Roman Judea. The Palestinian Christian population is very diverse, ranging from Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Greek Melkite, non-denominational native churches and communities of Coptic, Maronite and Syriac-speaking expatriates, however the majority are Arab Christians. There are many patriarchates based on Jerusalem, such as the Greek Orthodox and Latin Patriarchates. The Christian population of Palestine is growing, due to the high number of Arab Christians migrating to Palestine. The Al-Tahaluf Al-Masihiyun (التحالف المسيحي. lit. "Christian Alliance") is the main religious body that oversees the overall Palestinian Christian community.

Judaism & Samaritanism

As for Judaism, most Jews follow the Mizrahi Rite (יהדות מזרחית, Yehudut Mizrahim), which up until the 1970s, wasn't its own as the term "Mizrahi" (מזרחי, lit. "Eastern") was more-so a racial and linguistic term. Many Haredis outside of Palestine have viewed it as almost heretical, due to the extremely Arab-influenced nature of it. The Arabic term al-Yahud al-Mashriqiyyun (اليهود الشرقيون. lit. "Eastern Jews") can either be an ethnic or religious term, depending on the context. Samaritanism (שומרון, Šōmrōnot), while also taking their holy texts from the Torah, has now been considered a separate from Judaism, and earned the place as a separate Heritage Religion from Judaism.

Pre-Abrahamic Canaanite Paganism

The next-highest, is the Din al-Kan‘ān (دين كنعان) literally "Religion of Caanan", officially known in English as the "Canaanite Order", is based in the city of Ashdod, numbering some 98,300 members. It is also a Heritage Faith, and is the second-smallest and most recent of the four Heritage Faiths. The Din al-Kan‘ān is a neo-Canaanite pagan religion,

Economy

The skyline of Jaffa, Palestine's economic center

Palestine is considered the most advanced country in Western Asia and the Middle East in economic and industrial development. Palestine's quality university education and the establishment of a highly motivated and educated populace is largely responsible for spurring the country's high technology boom and rapid economic development. In 2010, it joined the OECD. The country is ranked 20th in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report and 35th on the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index. Palestine was also ranked 5th in the world by share of people in high-skilled employment. Palestinian economic data covers the economic territory of Palestine.

Jaffa Stock Exchange. Its building is optimized for computer trading, with systems located in an underground bunker to keep the exchange active during emergencies.

Despite limited natural resources, intensive development of the agricultural and industrial sectors over the past decades has made Palestine largely self-sufficient in food production, apart from grains and beef. Imports to Palestine, totaling ₽96.5 billion in 2020, include raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, and consumer goods. Leading exports include machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, and textiles and apparel; in 2020, Palestinian exports reached ₽114 billion. The Royal Bank of Palestine holds ₽173 billion of foreign-exchange reserves. Since the 1940s, Palestine has received military aid from Russia, as well as economic assistance in the form of loan guarantees, which now account for roughly half of Palestine's external debt. Palestine has one of the lowest external debts in the developed world, and is a lender in terms of net external debt (assets vs. liabilities abroad), which in 2015 stood at a surplus of ₽69 billion.

Palestine has the second-largest number of startup companies in the world after Russia, and the third-largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies after Russia and China. Intel and Microsoft built their first overseas research and development facilities in Israel, and other high-tech multi-national corporations, such as IBM, Rostech, Severa Kom, Moskuvy-Tek, Perovsky-Abadie, Ungern-Sternberg Industries, have opened research and development centres in the country. In 2007, American investor Warren Buffett's holding company Berkshire Hathaway bought an Palestinian company, Abu-Naqab, its first acquisition outside the United States, for $4 billion. It was later bought by Russian businessman Valentin Ungern-Sternberg.

Days of working time in Palestine are Monday through Thursday, or Friday (for a six-day workweek). Thursday is a work day and the majority of population is Muslim. Accommodations are also set in place for Jews and Christians.

Tourism

The Amin al-Husseini International Airport serves as Jerusalem's international travel airport. Having been important religious capitals of the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as the revived Neo-Canaanite Paganism. Palestine receives many tourists and pilgrims. It is also popular for historians and geographers as well. Palestine's beaches are heavily-frequented, since the country has specialties in most area of tourism, it is one of the most important driving forces of the Palestinian economy.

Major cities (in no order)

• Jerusalem (القُدس, al-Quds)
• Jaffa (يَافَا, Yafa), OTE: Tel Aviv
• Haifa (حيفا, Hayfa)
• Ashdod (إسدود, Isdud)
• Ceasarea (قيسارية, Qisarya)
• Umm al-Rashrāsh (أم الرشراش), OTE: Eilat
• Umm al-Umdan (أم العمدان), OTE: Modi'in
• Ramallah (رام الله)
• Gaza (غَزَّة, Ġazzah)
• Nazareth (النَّاصِرَة, an-Nāṣira)
• Acre (عكّا, ʻAkkā)
• Ekron (عقرون, Yaqruun)
• Tiberias (طبريا, Ṭabariyyā)
• Al-Khalīl (الخليل), OTE: Hebron
• Shfa'aram (شفاعمرو, Šafāʻamr)
• Bir as-Sabi (بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sab), OTE: Beersheba
• Jericho (أريحا Arīḥā)
• Rahat (هط)

Politics

Currently, Palestine is a constitutional monarchy, and is modeled after mostly the Ottoman system, with large-scale influences from the Russian and Westminster constitutional monarchial systems, with the Hashemite Dynasty as the ruling monarchs. Instead of the Sultan, the King of Palestine is the Head of State. Like other constitutional monarchies, Palestine is divided into Principalities. Although the monarch, or the King is figuratively the Head of State and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, it is the Prime Minister who directs most decisions.

If equipped with military and political experience, the King assumes direct civil powers, but for such areas with no former education or training, must vest his powers.

One aspect unique to the Ottoman Empire of old, is the millet system (مِلة), where ethno-religious communities are led by their own respectively, in spite of being an Arab state.

Political structure

The High Court

• The King of Palestine (Arabic: ملك كل فلسطين, replaces Ottoman sultan) - ultimate Head of State
  • The Royal Staff (Arabic: الطاقم الملكي)
  • Diwan (Arabic: ديوان, from Turco-Persian: دیوان) - government ministry in Islamic politics
  • Grand Vizier (Arabic: الصدر الأعظم, from Ottoman Turkish: صدر اعظم) - officially titled Ali Pasha of all Palestine (Arabic: علي باشا فلسطين, Ali Basha al-Filastin) taken from Ottoman Empire position of same name, but functionally equivalent to Procurator-General of the Russian Empire

People's Court

• Prime Minister (Arabic: رئيس وزراء فلسطين) - Head of Government, elected every 5 years, inherited from British and Russian

Political and territorial administrations

• Principalities (Arabic: الإمارة) or Eyalet (Arabic: حالة) - in the case of territorial units without bloodline nobility
  • Wilayah (Arabic: ولاية) - smaller provincial units, ruled by a Wali Pasha (Arabic: والي باشا)
    • Sanjak (Palestinian Arabic: سنيق, Sanyaq; Standard Arabic: قضاء. Qaada) from Ottoman and Turkish sanjak (سنجاق), ruled by Sanyaq Pashas
      • Nahiyah (Arabic: نهية), subdistricts, communities, governed by Nahi Pasha
        • Dunam (Arabic: دونم) - the smallest territorial unit

Principalities and Governorates

• Galilee (الجليل). OTE: Northern District
• West Bank (الضفة الغربية), OTE: Jericho Governorate
• Gaza (غَزَّة)
• North Nabataea (شمال النبطية), OTE: Negev/Southern District

Ethno-religious territorial administrations

These are often-not, separately governed from the political classes, and works hand in hand with the millet system. Often-not, many of their leaders bear concurrent titles with the Palestinian Arabic nomen clature. However, most ethnic communities in Palestine simply follow the standard political nomenclature, perhaps with a reference of their ethnic group added, for example for the Turks, Al-Turq (أتراك), for Jews Al-Yahud (آل اليهود) or for Armenians, Al-Armini (الارميني). Rarely do ethno-religious groups ever establish distinct political systems for themselves.

• Imamate (Arabic: إمامة, imāmah) - used only in Islamic jurisprudence, has no influence in politics

• Warq Adyghe Khabze (Arabic: القضاء الشركس, Qada al-Sharkas lit. "Circassian jurisdiction"; Adyghe: Щар́ Адыгхе Кхабзе) - the Circassian communities across Palestine, in native Adyghe their leaders are known as "Warq" (Щар́) taken from the historical Circassian aristocracy, and in Arabic they are known as "Qada al-Sharkas"
• Patriarchate (Arabic: العبوات, al-Abuwat) - used in Eastern and Oriental Orthodox denominations

• Rabbinate (Arabic: القدر الحبريون, Qada al-Habriyuun lit, "Jewish jurisdiction"; Hebrew: הרבנות, HaRabbanut) - for religious rulerships over Jewish and Samaritan communities, as Palestine is not a Jewish state, the Rabbinate only has jurisdiction over Jews themselves and wields no political influence, the regular Jewish communities with actual functioning units simply follow the standard Palestinian political nomenclature, but simply with "al-Yahud" (آل اليهود) added, which is Arabic for "Jewish".