Motivations and Forms of Palestinian Political Activism

By: Nils Mallock 

Introduction

“Our bullets stop on the body, but the effect of your brush travels all over the world, so it is a dangerous tool”, Taqi Sabateen remembers being told by an Israeli officer.0F1 The artist from the Palestinian village of Husan near Bethlehem had been detained by the military for placing graffiti and paintings on the eight-metre-high wall separating parts of the West Bank from Israeli territories. Depicting soldiers and journalists, his artworks explore various political themes from racism to the isolation felt by many Palestinians today.

Sabateen’s story is no isolated case. Instead, it is just one illustration of the unique nature of modern political activism in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which overall features high participation rates by international comparison. In 2022, at least one in eight Palestinians engaged in direct political action in some capacity; during the days of the second intifada two decades earlier, some 75% of male and 42% female youth took to the streets.1F2 Yet while core grievances are identified rather consistently throughout the three territories as (1) Israel’s external control over the Gaza Strip, (2) unemployment and poverty, and (3) the continuing occupation of the West Bank,2F3 the specific methods by which people try to address these political issues diverge drastically. Palestinian activism frequently manifests in public demonstrations and spreading of political messages, but also through cultural (e.g., art-based) channels or ‘passive activism’ behaviours such as resisting home evictions. At the extremes of the spectrum, nationalist groups advocate for political violence and armed struggle, while many other Palestinians are not engaged in any form of political expression at all.

From the well-documented challenges of life in the Palestinian Territories3F4 and proclamations by activist movements themselves, it is often concluded that political activism is primarily a reaction to perceived oppression through the Israeli military occupation, expansion of illegal settlements, and administrative corruption within the Palestinian Authority. But at the individual level, the reality today raises two paradoxes. First, being politically active even in less confrontational forms (such as distributing leaflets or organising social media campaigns) requires personal sacrifice beyond time and resource commitment. Amidst ongoing tensions, Palestinian activists face a substantial risk of arrest, injury, death, harassment or property loss. While these costs are borne by activists individually, their political objectives (such as ending the occupation) would usually benefit a larger population and offer no specific rewards to those who fought for them. In light of this unattractive outlook, what motivates some Palestinians to take action nonetheless while others remain inactive? And subsequently, what causes those who become active to do so in fundamentally different ways despite a similar socio-political context and shared goals?

Contrasting the majority of research focusing on societal or group dynamics, this study investigates these questions from an individual psychological perspective. Using both qualitative and quantitative data from field interviews with activists in the West Bank and a representative survey across the Palestinian Territories, it contributes differentiated insights into the motivational drivers of political activism. Results are placed in a discussion of the regional context and policy recommendations are formulated.

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