Israel's crackdown on Palestinian citizens could lead to return of military rule

Many in the western world believe that Israel was a democratic and legitimate state from 1948 to 1967, with its issues beginning only with the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. 

This perspective ignores the atrocities committed during the Nakba and in its immediate aftermath, when Palestinian refugees were prevented from returning home, despite UN Resolution 194. Moreover, Palestinian citizens, who comprise 20 percent of Israel’s population, lived under military rule until 1967. 

These two decades of military oppression against civilians allowed Israel to develop surveillance and control methods that were later applied to the military occupation of the West Bank.

Even after the period of direct military rule ended, Israel’s security services continued to monitor and intervene in the lives of Palestinian citizens, often targeting political figures, community leaders and educators.

Less than a decade after the end of military rule, Palestinian citizens confronted the state of Israel over the confiscation of 2,000 hectares of land, leading to the killing of six Palestinian citizens by Israeli security forces. Decades later, during the outbreak of the Second Intifada in the year 2000, Israeli forces killed 13 Palestinians. 

These events highlighted the political identity of Palestinian citizens, whom the state prefers to call “Israeli Arabs”. Yet, all Arab parties that have successfully been elected to the Knesset have identified as Palestinian, while any party that has tried to adopt the “Israeli Arab” identity has failed to pass the electoral threshold. 

Parties across the Israeli political spectrum have attempted various strategies to address the identity question, especially after the Or Commission report probed the problematic relationship between Palestinian citizens and the state. 

Legal foundations

While the Zionist left historically believed that budget investments could integrate Palestinian citizens, right-wing forces, especially after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rise to power in 2009, began enacting laws to reduce the civil status of Palestinian citizens.

These ran the gamut from the Nakba Law, which enables the Israeli finance minister to cut the budget of any state-funded body that undermines the state’s Jewish identity (such as by marking Nakba Day), to the 2011 Admissions Committees Law, which effectively allows certain communities to reject new Arab residents. 

Follow Middle East Eye's live coverage of the Israel-Palestine war

In 2014, an increase in the electoral threshold aimed to hinder Arab parties, leading to their unification as the Joint List. In 2017, the Kaminitz Law gave the government increased powers to demolish homes, a practice mainly targeting the Arab community. 

The following year, the nation-state law denied self-determination to any group but Jews between the river and the sea. Since 7 October and the onset of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, this push has intensified, aiming to drastically reduce the status of Palestinian citizens. Palestinians opposing the war have faced arrests and denial of their rights, while politicians have proposed laws that would effectively redefine the status of Palestinians in Israel. 

These include proposals to arrest anyone disseminating or possessing videos of resistance groups, to fire anyone accused of terrorism, to expel students accused of terrorism, and to arrest those who deny the events of 7 October.

The question now arises: how do Palestinians in Israel view this legislative push? Are we seeing the legal foundations for a new military regime? 

In addition, an emergency law allows the government to shut down media channels deemed a security threat. And last month, legislation allowing the state to revoke citizenship over “incitement” passed a first reading - even though the term is not clearly defined, and incitement against Palestinians, citizens or otherwise, is openly tolerated in Israel.

There have also been increasing calls to involve the Shin Bet in addressing crime in Palestinian neighbourhoods. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently criticised National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for failing to crack down on illegal weapons in the Arab community - not because they endanger Arab public safety, but because they could be used against Israel.

The question now arises: how do Palestinians in Israel view this legislative push? Are we seeing the legal foundations for a new military regime? 

While there might not be checkpoints at the entrance of every Palestinian community in Israel, as seen in the occupied West Bank, the mobilised Israeli public is today willing to monitor and report on their Palestinian neighbours more than ever before, as the state continues to violate their basic rights. We may be on the brink of a military regime 2.0.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.