elledee

Why didn't they just go back to Syria where they are originally from

debeda

That's a thought. Tho I think most of that region and more were part of Persia (ottoman empire?) And have been a mess since that fell

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

Seeing as how the majority of them have lived there for thousands of years...

Wonttakeitanymore

God have them that land and it cannot be taken from them even by biter and un

pescado rojo

I was going to say that there has been a Jewish presence there that predates any Arab presence, but that would not be accurate. The ancient Hebrews and some of their ancestors, a tribe known as the Hebarri, thought to have come from the Caucasus region have been there from about circa 5000 BC. (By the way, the City of Jericho is almost 11,000 years old if you count the Neolithic settlements it was built on).
I digress. The ancestors of the Jews were there, but they were not Jews at the time. The earliest dates given for Judaism is about 4000 BC. There was not an Arab presence in the area till around 400 BC.
There has been speculation that the ancient Hebrews were somehow related to the Hyksos, who invaded Egypt I think about 1400 BC and basically ended the Egyptian Old Kingdom. Their defeat roughly coincides with the time period in which the Exodus was supposed to have happened. Point being that most of the protagonists were of the same Semitic root stock, with the Hebarri being more "Caucasian," although not blonde haired and blue eyed.
What has this to do with anything? The people being discussed are basically branches of the same tree, differing in politics and religion.

Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall

Hebrews and Arabs are both semetic...
They have always lived in that area...

pescado rojo

I was referring specifically to the part known as Israel. There was doubtless intermarriage with other tribes. The Canaanites are related to the Phoenicians. They are all Semitic peoples, as you said. My point was that the Arab group of Semitic peoples appear to have been the LAST to establish a presence in the area. ( I just read that they were in the area about 900 BC, a little earlier than I previously stated.

https://phoenician.org/origin_of_phoenicians/

Correction: "Hebarii" should be "Hebiru."