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How did Palestinian Arab nationalism develop before World War I?

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Panoramic view of a small valley with a stream, olive trees, and terraced hillsides in the countryside near Ramallah, Palestine, under a sky with scattered clouds. — Palestine View from a small valley with a stream between large hills of olive groves.

Before World War I, Palestinian Arab nationalism developed as part of a broader Arab renaissance (the Nahda) that emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This cultural and literary movement fostered a growing sense of shared identity and political consciousness among Arabs across the Ottoman Empire.123

Within Palestine, this nationalism was particularly evident among the intelligentsia, whose views were reflected in the several Arabic newspapers that appeared before 1914. A key driver of this emerging national sentiment was opposition to Zionism; Palestinian Arabs increasingly sought to halt Jewish immigration and land purchases by Zionist organizations.1

Political participation also played a role in this development, as Palestinians served in the Ottoman government, with deputies sitting in the Ottoman parliaments of 1877, 1908, 1912, and 1914. For many non-Muslim Arabs during these final decades of Ottoman rule, nationalism was viewed as a path toward achieving equal citizenship, moving beyond the limitations of the traditional millet system.13