In the 1950s, Palestinians groups started mobilizing clandestinely, but no compelling leadership emerged until the 1960s. Even then, Palestinian nationalism was obscured by Arab nationalism until the 1967 war. Most Palestinians viewed Arab nationalism as a more powerful mechanism – a large support system that could enable Palestinian liberation – something they could not accomplish on their own. Arab nationalism also offered promise to refugees facing oppressive conditions in Arab countries.

But, as you'll recall, the Israeli army beat all of the Arab armies in the 1967 war, putting an end to Arab nationalism as a dominant political movement and winning Israel control over all of Palestine (and parts of Jordan, Egypt and Syria). After 1967, Palestinians no longer looked to outside support for their liberation movement; liberation organizations specific to Palestine gained wide support within the Palestinian territories. The 1960s were a time of armed struggle throughout the globe – in Algeria, Kenya, Cuba, and Vietnam. Palestinians felt part of this growing worldwide movement.

Palestinian nationalism did not have a united territory to propagate it, as the majority of Palestinians were no longer living in or able to enter Palestine, nor did it have traditional systems of accountability that come with shared territory. The Israeli government prevented the development of new leaders within Israeli territory through administrative and political policies. Arab areas were declared military zones; movement between them was prohibited. Arab citizens remained barred from existing political parties through the 1960s. Arab political parties were never included in leading coalitions. In Jordan, and other Arab countries, Palestinian refugees were also denied political institutions and opportunities to gain power. Palestinians wanted to build autonomous institutions, but no Arab government was interested in relinquishing power or sovereignty over any part of their state.

The PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization), once viewed as a puppet organization of Arab leaders, started growing in power under the new leadership of Yasser Arafat. In 1967, the PLO was based in Jordan, where the Palestinian population had become a kind of state-within-a-state. So much so that it threatened Jordanian sovereignty. Violence between the PLO and Israel along the Jordanian border led King Hussien to instigate a violent repression of PLO activities. Subsequent violence between the Jordanian Army, the PLO, and the Israeli army ultimately led to the PLO's expulsion from Jordan. The leadership moved to Lebanon, where again they developed as a state-within-a-state. Palestinian involvement in the Lebanon civil war provoked an Israeli invasion into Lebanon– which resulted in another PLO expulsion. The leadership re-established itself in Tunis (the capital of Tunisia, in North Africa).

In the 1970s, smaller Palestinian liberation groups started high-jackings that made world media and put Palestine on the world political agenda. For Palestinians, this bolstered nationalist consciousness and offered a feeling of power. For much of the rest of the world, the attacks (through the lens of Western media) de-legitimized Palestinian claims and discredited the PLO. In-fighting between different Palestinian organizations also caused break-downs within the movement.