General Union of Palestinian Students


The General Union of Palestine Students is an organization run by Palestinian students since the early 1920s. It is generally considered one of the first Palestinian institutions started. It was officially launched in Cairo in 1959.
Several Palestinian politicians, writers, journalists and militants have been members or leaders of the GUPS. They include Yasser Arafat, Hanan Ashrawi, Faisal Husseini, Walid Khalidi and many others.
The organization is a member of the World Federation of Democratic Youth.
Following the Oslo Accords, the majority of GUPS chapters collapsed. Prior to the signing of the Accords, there were 60 GUPS chapters on US campuses. Today, only the San Francisco State University chapter remains operational in the US. Several GUPS chapters remain operational outside of the US, including in Chile and the United Kingdom.