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Developing an Israeli Grand Strategy toward
a Peaceful Two-State Solution
state authorities, allowing some of the internally displaced
to return to their original localities and/or providing them with
adequate compensation for their expropriated lands), it could
not only contribute to a significant improvement in relations
between the Jewish majority and the Arab-Palestinian minority
in Israel, but could also be seen as a positive gesture that
would win respect among the entire Palestinian people and
contribute to the process of rebuilding trust between Israel
and the Palestinians.
At the same time, efforts must be made to significantly
improve the state of the villages that took in the internally
displaced, and as a result doubled their population, without
any planning for the integration or resettlement of refugees in
them. Over time, these villages have become overcrowded
and suffer from critical social and economic problems.
Summary and conclusion
The Palestinian citizens of Israel represent the first case
in human history in which Arab Muslims live under Jewish
rule. The democratic character of the State of Israel, even
if somewhat flawed in terms of its relationship to its Arab-
Palestinian citizens, is yet another anomaly in the Middle
East and Arab countries, with the exception of Tunisia to
some extent. The unique experience of the Arab-Palestinian
citizens of Israel – who appreciate and cherish the values of
democracy and that they live in a democratic society, and
the vast majority of whom are opposed to anti-democratic
developments both in Israel and in the countries of the Middle
East (such as the failed coup in Turkey in July 2016) – can
serve as a source of inspiration for the peoples of the region
as they undergo the processes of democratization, which
began with the Arab Spring in late 2010 and have been cut
short for now (except in Tunisia).
Despite the failure of the Arab Spring, the yearning for
democracy in the Arab world continues to surge among wide
circles, with one of the signs of change being the development
of a new approach towards Israel. This is reflected in the
establishment and development of new think tanks in Arab
countries, where interest in Israel is constantly increasing.
The impact of the Arab Spring is felt in Arab society in Israel
too, which will continue to be influenced by events in Israel,
the region and the world. The Arab Spring has created
new opportunities for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel to
connect with and demonstrate their solidarity with the Arab
region, primarily due to the ongoing discrimination against
Arab society by Israel’s state authorities and Jewish majority.
This constitutes a major barrier to the social, economic and
cultural progress of the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel
and their full integration into Israeli society. The Arab Spring
represents a new opportunity for the Arab-Palestinian citizens
of the state to connect with the Arab expanse all around and
highlight the national dimension at the expense of the civil
dimension, at least symbolically. This would counterbalance
the alienation they feel as a marginalized minority in Israel. Of
course, there are certain similarities between the motivation
behind the Arab Spring (such as a demand for social justice
in general, and in places such as Tunisia, considerable
frustration especially among academics, many of whom
are unemployed) and the issues that are important to Arab
society in Israel (social justice, fighting poverty, expanding
employment opportunities, especially also for academics
and women).
As mentioned above, the Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel
have an advantage over all the other Arabs in the Middle
East and the world in that they have been living since 1948
as citizens of a democratic regime in a country with a
Jewish majority. As a result, they are very aware not only of
the advantages and limitations of democracy (in general,
and in Israel in particular) but are also familiar with Jewish
society in Israel – for better or worse.
Despite the discriminatory attitude of the Israeli authorities
towards Israel’s Arab-Palestinian citizens, interaction between
Arab society, on the one hand, and Jewish society and the
State of Israel, on the other, is present in all areas of life.
Arabs are an integral part of Israeli society and have made
important contributions to its development, mainly thanks to
Israeli Arab intellectuals and experts, who have contributed
and continue to contribute throughout all the years of Israel’s
existence to the public and academic discourse in the country.
The academic and intellectual cooperation between Arab
and Jewish scholars highlights the richness of thought and
the potential for future cooperation between Arabs and Jews.
Moreover, the academic activity among Arab intellectuals and
academics is dynamic, with new research areas constantly
cropping up, whose pursuit may contribute new directions
for resolving the conflict.
The models proposed by Arab-Palestinian intellectuals who
are citizens of Israel to improve Israel’s democracy offer new
beginnings for the relationship between the state authorities
and Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, between Israel and
the Palestinians in the territories, and between Israel and
Arabs and other relevant actors in the Middle East and the
Muslim world.
The discourse of the elites and the discourse of the ordinary
people are twomain axes for understanding the characteristics
of the identity and consciousness of Palestinians in Israel.
Yet another important reference group within Arab society in
Israel that this article points to is that of the internal Palestinian
refugees in Israel. The discourse among the ordinary people
is more personal and local, whereas the intellectuals take
a more systemic, global view, intertwined with local history,
but one that also relates to processes that the Palestinian
people experience as a whole. The discourse of the internal
refugees adds further layers to the internal discourse in
Arab-Palestinian society in Israel. Understand the viewpoint
of internal refugees and how they shaped the Arab society in
Israel as a result of the new challenges created both on the
local and national level, as well as those that occurred in the
social fabric created after 1948 is especially important. This
is because the experience of internal migration experienced
by those internal refugees – along with that of the villages
