Historical origins Palestinian literature is one of numerous Arabic literatures, but its affiliation is
national, rather than territorial. While
Egyptian literature is that written in
Egypt,
Jordanian literature is that written in
Jordan etc., and up until the
1948 Arab–Israeli War, Palestinian literature was also territory-bound, since the
1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight it has become "a literature written by Palestinians" irrespective of their place of residence.
Overview Palestinian literature spoke to other causes of oppression and discrimination across the world. In his book, one of the foremost leaders of Palestinian literature and the person who coined the term
Palestinian Resistance Literature,
Ghassan Kanafani says, "In my stories I give my characters the freedom to express their own positions without reservation". This sense of international solidarity can also be found in Palestinian poets' work such as in
Mahmoud Darwish's poem
Cuban Chants, "And the banner in
Cuba.. The rebel raises it in the
Aures.. Oh a nation that feels cold", and in
Samih Al-Qasim's poem,
Birds Without Wings. In the period between the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight and the
1967 Six-Day War,
Palestinian Resistance Literature played a significant role in maintaining the
Palestinian identity; forming a bridge between the two periods, which allowed the Palestinian identity to survive especially in the absence of armed resistance. In his book,
Palestinian Resistance Literature Under Occupation, Ghassan Kanafani argues, "Palestinian resistance literature, just like armed resistance, shapes a new circle in the historical series which practically has not been cut throughout the last half century in the Palestinian life". Since 1967, most critics have theorized the existence of three "branches" of Palestinian literature, loosely divided by geographic location: 1) from inside Israel, 2) from the
occupied territories, 3) from among the
Palestinian diaspora throughout the
Middle East. Hannah Amit-Kochavi recognizes only two branches: that written by Palestinians from inside the State of Israel as distinct from that written outside. Palestinian literature can be intensely political, as underlined by writers like
Salma Khadra Jayyusi and novelist
Liana Badr, who have mentioned the need to give expression to the Palestinian "collective identity" and the "just case" of their struggle. There is also resistance to this school of thought, whereby Palestinian artists have "rebelled" against the demand that their art be "committed". and the establishment of the state of
Israel. As of April 2025, platforms such as
We Are Not Numbers (WANN), mentoring young writers in Gaza, have published more than 1,500 individual stories and poems by hundreds of writers.
Novels and short stories Susan Abulhawas book
Mornings in Jenin tells the story of a Palestinian family lost their homes during the 1948 war. In
A Rift in Time, Palestinian writer
Raja Shehadeh "explores how the stability of geography and the continuity of the land have disappeared from the life of Palestinians" through an examination of the life of his great-uncle
Najib Nassar.
Short stories in Palestinian literature started with writers like
Samira Azzam. Censorship of written material made short stories particularly popular under occupation for the relative ease in distribution. Author
Atef Abu Saif has said that "Gaza was known as the exporter of oranges and short stories" in the 1980s and 1990s.
Poetry Poetry, using classic
pre-Islamic forms, remains an extremely popular art form, often attracting Palestinian audiences in the thousands. Until 20 years ago, local folk
bards reciting traditional verses were a feature of every Palestinian town. After the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight, poetry was transformed into a vehicle for political activism. From among those Palestinians who became
Arab citizens of Israel and after the passage of the
Citizenship Law of 1952, a school of resistance poetry was born that included poets like
Mahmoud Darwish,
Samih al-Qasim, and
Tawfiq Zayyad. She has promoted international literature through translation, research, and the edited
The Poetry of Arab Women, an anthology that introduced several Arab women poets to a wider audience in the west. Palestinian poets often write about the common theme of a strong affection and sense of loss and longing for a lost homeland. Smoke rises from me, I reach out a hand to collect my limbs scattered from so many bodies, besieged from land and sky and sea and language. The last plane has taken off from Beirut airport and left me in front of the screen to watch with millions of viewers the rest of my death As for my heart, I see it roll, like a pine cone, from Mount Lebanon, to Gaza.During the
Gaza War,
Batool Abu Akleen published her poems, reflecting intimate imagery that transforms the experience of genocide into personal testimony. She was named
Modern Poetry in Translation's "Poet in Residence" in 2024 and has received recognition for both her poetry and translation work.
Hakawati The art of story telling was for a long time part of the cultural life in Arabic speaking countries of the Middle East. The tradition of "
Tales From a Thousand and One Nights" is not an exception. In each small town or village of Palestine, itinerant story tellers called
hakawati would visit and tell folk stories they knew, often in
teahouses. The tales of the
hakawati, once told for all ages, are now sometimes emerging from the Palestinian diaspora as children's books.
Hikaye Palestinian hikaye is a form of oral literature created, performed and preserved by women. Usually narrated in winter, the performers are usually older women, who tell them to younger women and children. Some versions of hikaye were published in the 1989 volume
Speak Bird, Speak Again. In 2008 they were inscribed by UNESCO to their list of
intangible cultural heritage. == Hebrew literature ==