The author presents a review of the historical and political context that provides an essential background for exploring key contemporary issues in Palestinian Arab education in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The author claims that formal public education in Palestine, from its very beginnings, was never under the control of the Palestinian people but instead, has been controlled by successive colonial/external administrations. The author illustrates how Palestinian Arab education has been influenced by historical and political developments from the Ottoman period (1516 to 1917), through the British Mandate period (1917 to 1948), to the post-1948 period after the establishment of Israel, which includes the post-1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the Oslo agreement period (1993-2000), and the first and second Palestinian Intifadas.
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