Ameer Makhoul
Centre for Arab Progress Policies, Policy Paper Brief
On 27/11, the newspaper “Israel Hayom” revealed the pre-prepared government plan currently being implemented since the first day of the war on Gaza. The plan aims to silence and suppress any anti-war voices coming from the Palestinian citizens of Israel (PCI), and to prevent any protest movements. The government plan included comprehensive control over all content posted on social media networks which considered opposing Isreali policy during the war, with immediate prosecution for anyone who publishes such content. Large banners were suspended at the entrances of Arab towns and gatherings in coastal and mixed cities, carrying three central slogans: the first is “We will overcome it together” explaining that the war targets everyone, Jews and Arabs alike. The second is “Something dangerous is happening”, and the third is “Unity of Destiny” at this moment. Unlike the usual official banners, all the banners are in Arabic and targetted specifically towards PCI.
Since the declaration of war by Israel and the subsequent declaration of a state of emergency, announced by Minister of National Security Ben Gvir, the state, through its security and civil systems at both official and popular levels, has banned any anti-war sentiment among its Arab Palestinian citizens. All forms of demonstration have been prohibited in Haifa, Umm al-Fahm, and Nazareth. It is now sufficient for the establishment to interpret any such sentiments as “supporting terrorism” to launch a political intimidation and arrest campaign, targeting the younger generation, university students, symbolic figures in the fields of culture, art, and academia, as well as leadership figures. However, the crackdowns do not merely target explicit statements of support for Hamas but were extended to anything implying support: a like, comment, or expression of joy could all be considered a sign of potential terrorism.
Two members of the Knesset were deported and fined due to their stance on the war in Gaza. The police were granted almost unlimited powers to raid any house, conduct searches, and arrest anyone based on the police officer’s considerations at the scene. The role of the public prosecution shifted from deciding on the justifications for arrests based on a bare minimum professional legal standpoint, to ideological justifications according to political, not legal, interpretations. The Israeli courts at their three levels, Local, District, and Supreme, have become tools in the service of war, deviating from the expectation of appearing impartial, and resorting to severe measures, including instances where the accused are not brought to court and the freedom of lawyers to meet with detainees is restricted
In turn, Haaretz editor Aluf Benn exposed how the Israeli system is intricately involved in targeting PCI for their political stance against the war, a stance that is explicitly prohibited from being expressed. “Voices calling for an end to the war primarily come from the Arab community and are forcefully silenced by the police, public prosecution, and the courts, while the Jewish majority is mobilized to defeat Hamas.”
The workplaces employing Palestinian Arab workers, whether contractors, large companies, or even health services and some hospitals, have all become spaces of persecution, expulsion, and even physical attacks, especially against bus drivers. Major Israeli banks openly have closed the accounts of former Palestinian prisoners who are citizens of Israel on an administrative and retaliatory basis without any legal justification and without any accountability measures allowing objection. These retaliatory attacks are despite the severe and unprecedented shortage of labor due to the prevention of entry of Palestinian workers from the West Bank and Gaza, and foreign workers who have left the country, totalling around two hundred thousand.
According to the monitoring of the human rights forum established by the High Follow-up Committee for the Arab Citizens in Israel, the number of police arrests after October 7 until November 13 reached 251, most of them from the younger generation. Among them, 121 were arrested for allegedly publishing and expressing opinions on social media. 132 of them had their detention extended, 80 were placed under house arrest, and by that date, charges were filed against 76 of them. All charges included accusations of “affiliation with a terrorist organization” and “incitement to terrorism,” among others. Additionally, 120 Arab students face deportation from universities due to statements and tweets made outside the university.
The Ministry of National security headed by Ben-Gvir has established over 800 armed emergency groups in most Jewish towns and settlements on both sides of the “Green Line,” to operate as needed in line with the deep racist hostility towards the Palestinian Arab presence in Israel.
Analysis:
Most of these measures were approved as part of the Israeli security system’s learning from the events of the ‘Dignity Uprising’ in May 2021, which swept through Palestinian Arab towns, especially coastal cities and the Naqab (Negev). The security establishment considered this political civic protest uprising as practically opening an internal front to the war, leading to the development of the “hybrid warfare” strategy. This aims to disintegrate the Palestinian society, internally destroy its structure, and push it to collapse before any potential confrontation could arise.
Throughout their history, PCI have consistently aligned their concerns with those of the broader Palestinian community, in their struggle for national and individual rights against racism, occupation, settlements, aggression, and for the Palestinian right to return, self-determination, and statehood. They also advocate for prisoners’ rights and fight for their freedom, in addition to providing humanitarian aid and political, moral, and cultural support.
Conclusion: With the declaration of war, PCI found themselves completely exposed and unprotected against a comprehensive system of oppression that targets them existentially and institutionally on the levels of both public, private, civil and legal. This new and highly dangerous sustained reality poses an unprecedented challenge to the majority of this community.
The oppressive measures and legal changes implemented at both official and public levels, coupled with the existential threat to this segment of the Palestinian population, are enduring and will persist beyond the conclusion of the war. Instead, they signify a persistent and deeply challenging reality, presenting an unprecedented obstacle for the majority of Palestinians in Israel.