The Israeli Turkmen, neutrally referred to as the Turks in Israel are the descendants of ethnic Turkish and other Oghuz Turkic peoples who have had a long-established presence in the region. Migration of Turkish settlers to the Levant began in the 12th century, and continued throughout the Mamluk and Ottoman rule. In the early 2000s, Turkish workers from the Republic of Turkey settled in Israel, working predominantly on construction projects.

Diaspora

During and after the 1947–1949 Palestine war, some Turkmen fled the region and settled in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. During the British mandate of Palestine, the Turk tribes like Bani-Saidan and Bani Alaqama lived mostly in the Jezreel Valley region; and, up until the Israeli conquest in 1967, Turkmen tribes lived in the Golan Heights.