After the Nakba, the Israeli authorities confiscated Palestinian properties and turned them into protected tenants. The Jewish Israeli settlers were appointed as agents to manage absentees' properties. The Israeli authorities also began a process known as judicization of Palestinian cities. This process included increasing the number of Jewish residents and converting Arabic street names into Hebrew. Nonetheless, the Palestinian population continues to face discrimination.
In 2000, there were about 6,560 households and 4,479 families in Palestine. The average household size in Palestine is 2.68. Nearly half of the housing units are owner-occupied and the other half are rented. Of the 2000-county households, 33.2% were family-type households; 46.2% were single households; 18.0% were households with a female householder without a male householder present.
In 1858, the city was home to 2000 people. A state almanac showed that Palestine had connections to other cities. A joint resolution in 1861 called for the construction of a "Metropolitan Railroad" from Texarkana to Austin, which would have run through Palestine. However, the railroad was interrupted during the American Civil War. Therefore, this plan was never implemented. A railroad eventually came through Palestine.
In municipal elections, the patterns of Palestinian representation differ from Palestinian villages and cities. Palestinian lists are dominated by national and religious parties, while the percentage of Arab candidates is lower in mixed cities. Mixed cities have greater representation of women and Arab candidates. The diversity of political parties is also reflected in the election results. But while the Arab vote in mixed cities is smaller than that in Palestinian cities, the Palestinian vote is proportional to the Palestinian population.