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In 1948, only about 150,000 Palestinian Arabs
remained in the area that became the state of Israel. They
were granted Israeli citizenship and the right to vote. But
in many respects they were and remain second-class citizens,
since Israel defines itself as the state of the Jewish people
and Palestinians are non-Jews. Until 1966 most of them were
subject to a military government that restricted their movement
and other rights (to speech, association and so on). Arabs
were not permitted to become full members of the Israeli trade
union federation, the Histadrut, until 1965. About 40 percent
of their lands were confiscated by the state and used for development
projects that benefited Jews primarily or exclusively. All
of Israel's governments have discriminated against the Arab
population by allocating far fewer resources for education,
health care, public works, municipal government and economic
development to the Arab sector.
Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel have had a
difficult struggle to maintain their cultural and political identity
in a state that officially regards expression of Palestinian
or Arab national sentiment as subversive. Until 1967, they were
entirely isolated from the Arab world and were often regarded
by other Arabs as traitors for living in Israel. Since 1967,
many have become more aware of their identity as Palestinians.
One important expression of this identity was the organization
of a general strike on March 30, 1976, designated as Land Day,
to protest the continuing confiscation of Arab lands. The Israeli
security forces killed six Arab citizens on that day. All Palestinians
now commemorate it as a national day.
Many Palestinian Arabs have also come to understand
that their political status as Israeli citizens and their protracted
contact with Israeli society has differentiated them from other
Palestinians. Although most of them support the establishment
of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, few
would pursue the possibility of relocating there if such a state
comes into existence. |
