Palestine — books & literature

The story of Palestine

Palestine's story stretches back to some of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on Earth, including Jericho, and through millennia of Canaanite, Israelite, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic rule. The region passed to the Ottoman Empire in 1517 and remained under Ottoman control for four centuries. After World War I, Britain administered Palestine under a League of Nations mandate, and the 1917 Balfour Declaration set the stage for decades of rising tension between Arab and Jewish communities. The 1947 UN Partition Plan and the 1948 war that followed, known to Palestinians as the Nakba ('catastrophe'), led to the establishment of Israel and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. The 1967 Six-Day War brought the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem under Israeli occupation. Mahmoud Darwish drafted the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, proclaimed by the PLO in Algiers in 1988, and the 1993 Oslo Accords created the Palestinian Authority. Today Palestine is recognised by more than 130 UN member states and maintains a rich literary and cultural life shaped by both rootedness and exile.

Timeline — key moments

1. circa 9000 BCE

   Jericho settled, among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

2. 1517

   Palestine comes under Ottoman rule, lasting four centuries.

3. 1917

   Balfour Declaration issued; British Mandate for Palestine follows in 1920.

4. 1948

   Establishment of Israel and the Nakba; mass displacement of Palestinians.

5. 1967

   Six-Day War; Israel occupies the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.

6. 1987

   First Intifada begins, a widespread Palestinian uprising against occupation.

7. 1988

   Palestinian Declaration of Independence proclaimed in Algiers (15 November), text written by Mahmoud Darwish.

8. 1993-1994

   Oslo Accords signed; Palestinian Authority established with limited self-rule.

9. 2012

   UN General Assembly upgrades Palestine to non-member observer state status.

Top 10 things to know about Palestine

1. Palestine is recognised by more than 130 of the 193 UN member states.
2. Jericho, in the West Bank, is among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
3. Palestinian embroidery, known as tatreez, is recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.
4. The keffiyeh scarf is a globally recognised symbol of Palestinian identity.
5. Olive trees are central to Palestinian agriculture and culture, with some groves centuries old.
6. Arabic is the official language, spoken in local dialects across the West Bank and Gaza.
7. Mahmoud Darwish, widely regarded as Palestine's national poet, wrote the 1988 Declaration of Independence.
8. Palestine's flag uses the Pan-Arab colours: black, white, green, and red.
9. The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, marks the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
10. Dabke, a rhythmic line dance, is a hallmark of Palestinian weddings and celebrations.

Famous people from Palestine

Say it in Palestine's language

Did you know?

• ★Jericho, in the West Bank, has been settled for roughly 11,000 years, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on Earth.
• ★The Palestinian dish maqluba, meaning "upside-down", is flipped from pot to platter tableside as the centrepiece of family meals.
• ★The cartoon character Handala, created by Naji al-Ali, always appears with his back turned and hands clasped behind him , a symbol of steadfastness.

Palestine culture

• Tatreez, intricate cross-stitch embroidery, historically signalled a woman's village of origin through its patterns.
• The autumn olive harvest is both an economic mainstay and a major communal cultural event.
• Dabke, a rhythmic line dance performed arm-in-arm, is central to weddings and celebrations.
• Maqluba and musakhan (sumac-spiced chicken over taboon bread) are signature dishes of Palestinian cuisine.

Why read Palestine's books

Palestinian literature is defined as much by exile as by homeland , Mahmoud Darwish's poetry of longing, Ghassan Kanafani's fiction of displacement, and Edward Said's writing on identity and belonging all speak to a people's determination to be heard through words.