The culture of Palestine is closely related to those of nearby Levantine countries such as Lebanon, Syria and Jordan but politically it has been defined by its relation with its closest neighbour, Israel, with whom it has an on-going conflict over the respective borders of the two countries. Despite the geographical separation between the two Palestinian territories, Gaza and the West Bank, and the separation between Palestinians in the diaspora and within the territories, the distinctiveness of Palestinian culture is evident in the variety of its contributions to the fields of art and literature. Palestine is currently recognised by about two-thirds of the world's states and is attempting to gain recognition from the United Nations.

Palestinian literature can be broadly defined as literature written by Palestinians, irrespective of their place of residence. The writing tends to be intensely political and talks about the struggle of the people, as is evident in the work of writers like Salma Khadra Jayyusi and novelist Liana Badr. Palestinian poets often write about the common theme of a sense of loss and longing for a lost homeland. The work of poets such as Mahmoud Darwish, Samih al-Qasim, and Tawfiq Zayyad remained largely unknown to the wider Arab world until an anthology of their work was published in 1966.

Palestinian cinema is relatively undeveloped compared to that of the rest of the Arab world, the majority of Palestinian movies are made with European support, and tend to be in Arabic, focusing on the conflict over territory which continues to define the lives of many Palestinians.