The main leaders during the initial period were Fu'ad Nassar, Fahmi al-Salfiti and Fa'iq Warrad.

In particular, the party developed a strong position in the Salfit village outside of Nablus, from where many prominent JCP leaders hailed.

The main party organ was al-Muqawamah ash-Shabiya (المقاومة الشعبية, "People's Resistance"), a monthly publication.

In that election the National Front won one parliamentary seat, Abd al-Qadir Salih from Nablus.

Its main opponent at the time was the Ba'ath Party, which also sought to make inroads amongst the secular sectors.

In January 1957, Hussein of Jordan harshly attacked the party and the communists were accused of collaborating with Israel.

The acting General Secretary in Amman, Fahmi al-Salfiti led the right wing sections of the party.

Al-Salfiti was opposed by the exiled leadership, led by the party general secretary Fu'ad Nassar.

After the Six-Day War (5–10 June 1967), the party organization in the West Bank was led by Na'im al-Ashhab, Suleiman Al Najjab, 'Arabi 'Awwad and later, Bashir Barghuti.

Under al-Ashhab's rule, the West Bank communists remained cautious of armed struggle, claiming that it was premature under existing conditions.

In exile, Fu'ad Nassar built up an armed militia for the Palestinian communists, the al-Ansar Forces, in March 1970.

In practice, the group would not play a major role, largely due to the passivity and betrayal of the JCP.