Occupied Jerusalem – The conflict known as “Al Aqsa Storm” represents a pivotal moment in the relationship between Palestinians from the 1948 territories and the Israeli establishment. The Palestinian community within Israel faces the dual challenges of the war on Gaza and Israeli policies directed against them, characterized by the suppression of freedoms and rights, intimidation, silencing, and muzzling of voices against the war, all within the context of the declared state of emergency.
As the war continues, these hostile Israeli policies, escalating against the 1.7 million Palestinians of the 1948 territories, reflect Israel’s internal political and security crises. The fragility of the Israeli citizenship granted to them is exposed, hostage to the whims of the Israeli establishment, security needs, and the conditions of the Zionist consensus.
The Israeli consensus, as defined by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, frames the war as an “existential battle and a war for the home.” This perspective has led to profound internal Israeli shifts, particularly in the relationship with Palestinians from the 1948 territories, treating them from a security and military viewpoint and as adversaries—pointing towards an unannounced return to military rule.
No Opinion in War
A position paper by “Mada al-Carmel – Arab Center for Applied Social Research” in Haifa discusses the gagging techniques, intimidation, and silencing employed by the Israeli establishment towards Palestinians of the ’48 territories during the war. The aim is to prevent them from expressing anti-war sentiments, opposing the killing and destruction, and showing solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
According to observations by Mada al-Carmel, from the first day of the war, Israeli security authorities have been silencing Palestinian voices within Israel that oppose the war. Any statement or social media post that expresses a principled stance against the war or the killing of civilians, or that shows sympathy for the people of Gaza, is considered supportive of the Islamic Resistance Movement “Hamas.”
This Israeli policy has been translated into the persecution and arrest of hundreds of Palestinians of ’48 territories, with dozens brought to trial on charges of “supporting terrorism” or “endorsing Hamas.” According to the Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, most investigations and suspicions revolve around violations of the penal law and the “Counter-Terrorism Law.”
The repression of the expression of political opinions opposed to the war has expanded. Facilitating this political suppression and arrests has become a systematic policy of the Israeli police and public prosecution.
Citizenship Struggle
In an initial assessment of the status of the Palestinian community in Israel post the Gaza war, member of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, Mtanes Shehadeh, states that “Israel deals with Arab citizens through security approaches, and it is on this basis that Israeli policies against Palestinians of ’48 territories are formed, who are considered as part of open fronts prone to ignition.”
Shehadeh told Al Jazeera Net that the general Israeli system for dealing with the Palestinian community inside is part of the larger security system for addressing the Palestinian people, especially as the security doctrine, which had prevailed for decades and included Palestinians of ’48 in any future war, has collapsed after the events of October 7th.
He noted that “the war on Gaza has made it clear that Palestinians within the ’48 territories are excluded from the citizenship equation, an issue that will re-emerge strongly in Israel after the war, noting that the alleged democracy and citizenship were suspended during the conflict.”
The Jewish tribe, he believes, does not want the Palestinian community inside as part of the citizenry and the Jewish state; they even resist including them in any protests against government policies, reflecting the contours of the struggle and the nature of the evolving system, seeking to exclude Arabs from any attempt to influence or integrate into any Israeli framework defined by the Jewish tribe.
“Militarized Collective Identity”
Social science researcher Heba Yazbak agrees with Shehadeh’s viewpoint, outlining the transformation of the relationship between Palestinians of the ’48 territories and Israel since the onset of “Al Aqsa Storm.” The developments include the application of emergency regulations during the ongoing war on Gaza, signaling a war targeting the entire Palestinian identity.
Yazbak told Al Jazeera Net that the relations took on an overtly hostile tone from the Israeli establishment against Palestinians of ’48 since October 7th, featuring intimidation, fear-mongering, persecution, silencing, and censorship in various aspects of life.
She explained that the existing relationship and Israeli institutional treatment are undergoing a new phase previously unencountered by the Palestinian community inside, carrying characteristics of military governance and dominance. Additionally, there’s an emerging issue of Israeli societal militarization, leading to military perspectives dominating all aspects of daily life for Palestinians of ’48 territories.
Yazbak pointed out that Israel, since the Second Intifada, has undergone societal militarization, which accelerated significantly following October 7th events, aiming to build an Israeli society with a militarized collective identity centered around the military—a mindset increasingly entrenched in Israeli society.
New Reality
The social science expert highlighted that Palestinians of ’48 face many challenges during the war, with one of the most significant being the Israeli establishment’s attempts to strip away the Palestinian’s humanitarian cover, preventing solidarity with Gaza or expressing opinions against the war through the abrogation of civil rights, identity defamation, and even threats of citizenship revocation for merely showing solidarity with Gaza.
Amidst these shifts and Israeli policies, Yazbak believes that “The Palestinians of ’48 constitute a challenge to the Jewish consensus on the war against Gaza. The Israeli establishment reads Arab citizens in the ’48 territories within the national context, not within a civil and citizenship context.”
“This new, evolving reality presents a new confrontation for the Palestinian community inside,” says Yazbak, “demanding a reorganization and formulation of a new political horizon that enables Palestinians of ’48 to act and maneuver within a new reality defined by the final outcomes of the war.”
[The original article included photos by Al Jazeera, which accompanied the quoted texts.]
