ABSTRACT
An appreciation of the general political context of the Arab-Israeli conflict during the period 1967-1976 is necessary for a meaningful examination of the Palestinian resistance movement. Differences of opinion began to surface within the Israeli political system over the question of the future disposition of the territories. A decision was taken to have Israeli officials report to the military and to bar Israeli political leaders from activity in the occupied areas. On the Arab side, Jordan employed a carrot-and-stick approach. On the political front, King Hussein continued his efforts to achieve a political settlement to include a total Israeli withdrawal from the occupied areas. The difficulty was that to grant such rights would mean that in the short term the Arabs would constitute some forty percent of the Israeli body politic, while in the longer term, the higher birth rate among Arabs could make them a majority.
