In the Middle East, Israel and Palestine share the land west of the Jordan River. Israel is the predominantly Jewish State, while Gaza and the West Bank are Palestinian — mostly Muslim and Arab. The Muslims and Jews who call this region home share a family tree that goes back nearly 4,000 years. And today, most Arabs here are Muslim — a religion that arrived much later with their prophet, Mohammad, in the seventh century. Today, the combined population of Israel and Palestine is about 12 million — roughly half Jews and half Arabs.