Are the Palestinian people a distinct ethnic group?

Answer 1

In modern times, yes. But only because they refer to themselves as such. In reality, they are a "mish-mash" collection of different Arab nations/cultures. Despite ones current political beliefs, there is no doubt that the Jews/Hebrews/Israelites were the initial inhabitants of the land. Or if you want to get technical, it would have been the Canaanites who inhabited the land before the Israelites, but I haven't had a chance to ask any Canaanites how they feel about the issue.

The Jews inhabited the land for about 1,500 years, before Roman Emperor Hadrian massacred tens of thousands of them and expelled them in the year 134 CE. He renamed the area "Syria-Palaestina" after the Israelites' ancient enemy, the Philistines. So you can see, that it WAS NOT named for the ethnic group which resided there. Anyway, the Philistines were basically of Greek origin, and had not lived there since the early 1st millenium BCE.

Answer 2

This isn't answer, but only add on answer. For more concise description try reading Former President Carter's new book that's about year and half old on the Palestinian.

Answer 3

About as distinct as any other arabic group