It established a strong position in the Palestinian trade union movement and retained considerable popularity in the West Bank during the 1970s, but its support subsequently declined.
The PCP was one of the four components of the Unified National Leadership of the First Palestinian Intifada, and played an important role in mobilizing grassroots support for the uprising.
The party, under the leadership of Bashir Barghouti, played an important role in reevaluating Marxism-Leninism as a political philosophy earlier than many other communist organisations in the region.
[4] The party was an enthusiastic advocate of the Oslo Accords; however, it now criticizes the "failure" of the peace process, while still defending the goal of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
[4] In 2002, the party's then general secretary, Mustafa Barghouti left it with some supporters to found the Palestinian National Initiative.