The rate of cousin and close-relative marriages among Palestinian Arabs is estimated at 44.3% - among the highest in the world.
A large study covering over 156,000 cases in Gaza shows that 39.9% of marriages in the current generation and 45.2% in the previous generation were between close relatives - with a trend toward more cousin marriages among younger generations.
The high rate of inbreeding leads to significantly more hereditary diseases and congenital disorders. When cousins have children together, the risk of serious birth defects is more than twice as high as in the general population.
Nearly three out of four children in Gaza with the blood disease thalassemia have parents who are closely related.
Of course this has nothing to do with Palestinian society being deeply Islamic. 🤡