A study of the ideology of Palestinian Arab nationalism since 1948

Abstract

In the first half of the nineteenth century, the predominant ideas in Palestine, as in the rest of the Arab world, were of freedom from European rule. This was gradually achieved, at least formally, and new ideas of pan-Arabism and unity became ascendant. The old Palestinian nationalist parties disintegrated in face of the new ideas and the loss of part of Palestine to the Jews. With the expulsion of many Palestinians to surrounding countries and the establishment of the state of Israel, ideas of Palestinian liberation developed based upon Third World theories of people’s war and in some cases upon Marxism. At first the Arab establishment attempted to control the new - Palestinian Institutions and in some cases actually set them up. However, they were eventually taken over by al-Fateh, the most powerful and successful of the new guerrilla groups. Al-Fateh's strength was based initially upon its careful assessment of the situation-and its refusal to become the creature of any particular Arab state. However, it refused to commit itself to the formation of any definite form of Palestinian state in the event of liberation, and faced growing criticism from more radical groups dedicated to the establishment of a socialist Palestine. Because of its failure to bring about unity between the various groups and also because of its internal differences, al-Fateh missed its chance of seizing power in Jordan in 1969 and was heavily defeated the next year by King Husain's army. It remains to be seen whether the Palestinians will be able to overcome their disunity to form a more viable resistance movement in the future.