The Palestinian national movement: a short history

The history of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian national movement, in the 20th century, was shaped by three triangles. One was external and consisted of Britain (and the other superpowers); pre-state Zionism and the State of Israel; and the Arab world, encompassing Arab countries and their vested interests. The second triangle relates to aspects of national identity: the pan-regional Arab dimension, the national Palestinian dimension and the political Islamic dimension. The third triangle is social and intrinsic: the veteran, traditional family-based elite; the intellectual middle class that entered politics mainly from the 1930s; and working-class groups whose young armed representatives burst into the political sphere at crucial junctions, taking advantage of both traditional and modern leadership. These triangles remained in force throughout the modern history of the Palestinian people, albeit in different contexts and with different actors, in light of the changing political and historical circumstances.