The idea of building a university for higher education that the Palestinian population needs started in 1975. The occupation and the economical situation of the people of Palestine prompted the PLO to ask UNESCO to prepare a feasibility study for the project, The 1980 UNESCO conference approved the plan and the Palestinian National council approved it in 1981; but actual work was delayed until 1985 because of hard conditions.

In the early seventies, discussions restarted to establish a Palestinian university able to absorb the numbers of students matriculating from the West Bank and Gaza schools, who, due to the circumstances created by the occupation of 1967, could not easily seek higher education in the Arab world. Although there were calls for locating a university in Jerusalem, the prevailing school of thought was that establishing a university outside what had become Israeli-occupied east Jerusalem would prevent it from coming under Israel's control. Slowly, certain well-established educational institutions in the West Bank evolved into universities, including Birzeit and Al-Najjah, followed by other universities in Hebron and Bethlehem. Again, Jerusalem/Al-Quds was bypassed. In the late seventies, several independent colleges were established in Jerusalem and its suburbs, in response to specific needs. The first initiative came with the birth of the College of Daawa and Religious Principles in Beit-Hanina in1978 , to be followed by the Colleges of Medical Professions and Science and Technology in Al-Bireh and Abu-Dis respectively, in 1979. In 1982, the College of Hind Al-Husseini for Women (Faculty of Arts) and the Center for Islamic Archaeology were formed, both in the Sheikh Jarrah district. A vision of a university in the capital, Jerusalem, began to materialize when action was taken in 1984 for the unification of these colleges. This nominal birth came about in response to a requirement by the Union of Arab Universities as a condition for recognition of their degrees. A coordinating committee was then formed from the various college boards of trustees. So, an evolving process of "confederacy" began in which the different colleges still maintained their legal separation. In 1994, the Faculty of Medicine was founded. The official amalgamation of all colleges and faculties was fully realized in 1995. A "basic law" of the university was endorsed, followed by the honing of integrated bylaws, which were put into effect, thus clearing the way for the birth of Al-Quds University as a single institution. New centers and colleges were opened or amalgamated, and a full range of academic programs and educational plans were implemented to emphasize a positive concept of interaction with society. Al-Quds University, as an entity, had finally come into being.

In 1918, An-Najah was founded as An-Najah Nabulsi School. In 1941, it was developed into An-Najah College and upgraded to a two-year community college in 1963. To meet the evolving needs of the Palestinian society, it was developed to An-Najah National University in 1977; started with two faculties: the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science.

The Arab American University is a private institution founded in 1995 as the first private university in Palestine. The university is supervised by a selected Board of Trustees, who subscribe to the Ministry of Higher Education in Palestine, implementing an American education system, in affiliation with California State University, Stanislaus, and Utah State University.

Category for English sites relating to Bethlehem Bible College.

Bethlehem University had its beginnings in 1972 when the Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Pio Laghi, formed a committee of heads of schools in the West Bank and East Jerusalem to study the possibility of establishing an institution of higher learning which would offer a broad education in arts and sciences. Subsequently, on October1, 1973, Bethlehem University was founded with the administrative cooperation of the De La Salle Brothers (FSC). The University opened in buildings on Freres Street with 17, 000 square meters of surrounding property leased from the De La Salle Brothers. For more than a century the Brothers have conducted schools in this area and in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt. In the United States, the Brothers administer seven colleges and universities that have extensive undergraduate and graduate programs. Beginning with 112 students during its first year, enrollment of the University increased steadily reaching 1,000 in the Fall of 1981 and 1,500 by 1987. The entire University was first housed in a 1893 school building on the site belonging to the Brothers. Facilities were later added to meet the needs of the growing student body. During the late 1970s a Science Building and a Library were added.

Birzeit University is the first institution of higher education to be established in Palestine. Ever since its establishment, it has strived to promote excellence by providing quality academic teaching, training, research and relevant community programs within the context of sustainable development, emphasizing social awareness and democratic civic values in a free Palestinian society. In addition to providing students with the opportunity to realize their academic aspirations, the University encourages its students to be productive citizens and active members of their community.

The idea of establishing a technical college in Nablus, Palestine, has been one of the main targets of the Scientific Foundation of Hisham Adeeb Hijjawi (SFOHAH). Since 1982 the project has been repeatedly hindered by the authorities, until 1992. As soon as authorities started to allow such projects, SFOHAH renewed and confirmed its commitment with An-Najah National University to donate and assist in raising the funds for the establishment of the College of Technology.

In 1971, the University was a small faculty serving a total of 43 students. Today, the University provides education for over 4000 students in 8 faculties. Support for the University comes from numerous Palestinian, Arab and International institutions or foundations as well as from various individuals. Such support has enabled the University to continuously expand and develop.

The Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) is an independent Palestinian institution located in Gaza. It is the first higher education institution to be established in Gaza. IUG began with three faculties in 1978 and currently has eight faculties introducing BA. B.Sc., MA, M.Sc., Diploma and higher diploma in a variety of disciplines. Many IUG graduates completed their Postgraduate studies at American and European universities as well as other universities and obtained M. A., M. Sc. and Ph.D. degrees. Most of these graduates work at IUG and other institutions in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. IUG is a member of four associations: International Association of Universities, Community of Mediterranean Universities, Association of Arab Universities and Association of Islamic Universities. IUG has developed several academic links and signed several agreements of academic cooperation with American, European and Arab Universities. It has also conducted several projects in collaboration with local and international organizations and institutions situated in Palestine and abroad.

Palestine Polytechnic University (PPU) is one of the polytechnic universities in Palestine. It was founded in 1978 by the University Graduates Union (UGU), which is a non-profit organization in Hebron district. The primary mission is to emphasize quality vocational and technical engineering education. This is achieved by providing students with practical knowledge to help them acquire an up-to-date experience directly related to their disciplines. In addition to the two-year diploma degree, PPU has been offering a B.Sc. degree in a number of engineering programs since 1990. PPU is officially recognized by the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education and it is an active member in the Rector Conference of Palestinian Universities. There are over 2400 students enrolled in the various areas of specialization.