The Palestinian dessert of semolina, cheese, and syrup is known as knafeh.
Knafeh is made with a sweet pastry layer and a filling that commonly includes soft, mild cheese. Depending on the regional style, the topping may be shredded kataifi dough or a semolina-based mixture. The baked dessert is soaked with sugar syrup and often finished with pistachios.
Nablus in the West Bank is especially famous for knafeh Nabulsiyeh, a style traditionally associated with white brined cheese. The cheese is desalinated before use, and the dessert is baked until the crust turns golden and the filling becomes soft and stretchy.
Knafeh has many spellings, including kunafa, kunafah, and kanafeh. Recipes vary across the Middle East, so the word can describe desserts with different pastry textures and cheese proportions. Its defining combination is sweet syrup with a rich pastry-and-cheese center.