Moshe Shemesh is Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Senior Fellow at the Ben-Gurion Research Institute. He is author of Arab Politics, Palestinian Nationalism, and the Six Day War: The Crystallization of Arab Strategy and Nasir's Descent to War, 1957-1967.

"This impressive book reflects a lifetime of immersion in Palestinian history, and as a result, throws a great deal of new light on many aspects of Palestinian society and politics. Moshe Shemesh adds new facts and insights to virtually every major episode in the forty-year period he covers."—Avi Shlaim, author of The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World"The web of relationships woven by Palestinians—leaders and ordinary subjects of regimes that felt embattled and weak—was extraordinarily complicated and often changed as swiftly as did the regimes. Moshe Shemesh unravels these complexities and all students of the Middle East, no matter their background, will benefit."—Donna Robinson Divine, author of Exiled in the Homeland: Zionism and the Return to Mandate Palestine

• AcknowledgementsAims and ScopePart I The Leadership Crisis of the Palestinian National Movement, 1937–1963:The Decline from Power of Mufti Haj Amin Al-Husayni En Route to a Crisis of Leadership: The 1930s through World War IIReturn of the Mufti and Increased Arab Involvement in the Filastin IssueThe All-Palestine Government, September 1948: Historical Failure of Leadership or Default Option?The Palestinians in the Absence of Leadership, 1949–1963Part IINational Revival: The 1950s as the Formative Years of the New Palestinian National Movement The Nakba GenerationThe "Sons of the Nakba" Generation: Emergent Leadership of the New Palestinian National MovementManifestations of the Palestinian National Awakening: The Arab Nationalists Movement, Fatah, the Ba'th Party, and the General Union of Palestinian StudentsThe Palestinians of the Gaza Strip under the Egyptian GovernmentPart IIIThe West Bank Palestinians under Hashemite Rule: The "Palestinization" Process in the Shadow of Egyptian Subversion and Influence The Palestinians under the Hashemite RegimeFirst Crisis: Aftermath of the IDF Raid on QibyaSecond Crisis: In the Shadow of Egyptian Subversion – December 1955–April 1957The Crisis of April 1963: West Bank Palestinians and the Revival of a Palestinian EntityThe Palestinians of Jordan, 1965–1966: Between Shuqayri, Husayn, and the Emergence of FatahThe Crisis of November 1966: The Aftermath of the IDF Raid on Samu'Part IVAhmad al-Shuqayri: Between the Arab Hammer and Palestinian Anvil, 1964–1967A Predictable Failure of Leadership and the Peak of a Leadership Crisis Ahmad al-Shuqayri's Path to PLO LeadershipThe Struggle over Leadership of the PLO: Emergence of Fatah and Decline in Shuqayri's Status, 1965-1966The Leadership Crisis Escalates: June 1966–May 1967Shuqayri: The End of the Road – June–December 1967ConclusionBibliographyIndex