Arab Colombians refers to Arab immigrants and their descendants in the Republic of Colombia. Most of the Arab Middle Easterners came from Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Palestine escaping from the repression of the Turkish Ottoman Empire and financial hardships. When they were first processed in the ports of Colombia, they were classified as Turks because what is modern day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine was a territory of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. It is estimated that Colombia has a Lebanese population of 3.2 millions. Meanwhile the Palestine population is estimated between 100,000-120,000.