Palestinian society in the West Bank: trust and self-sacrifice

AbstractAnalysts strive to predict future scenarios of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, concentrating on the question of whether Palestinians will be willing to pay the costs of violent struggle. In contrast with various policy assessments, this paper takes political trust as a factor that enables...

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Main Authors: Gadi Hitman, Igal Shiri, Eyal Lewin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Cogent Social Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2024.2336699
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author Gadi Hitman
Igal Shiri
Eyal Lewin
author_facet Gadi Hitman
Igal Shiri
Eyal Lewin
author_sort Gadi Hitman
collection DOAJ
description AbstractAnalysts strive to predict future scenarios of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, concentrating on the question of whether Palestinians will be willing to pay the costs of violent struggle. In contrast with various policy assessments, this paper takes political trust as a factor that enables us to anticipate Palestinian social reactions as a point of departure. We interviewed 90 West Bank inhabitants, focusing on six major issues: the armed struggle against Israel, democracy and human rights, the internal PLO-Hamas rift, the standard of living, corruption in the PA, and political trust in the PA. Our findings match the quantitative results of Khalil Shikaki’s PCPSR public opinion polls of the West Bank. We conclude that the lack of democracy, the continuing internal rift, the low standard of living, and the manifestations of governmental corruption erode political trust within Palestinian society. Based on research from other places around the globe, such a loss of trust dissuades recruiting people for national struggles. Accordingly, a new popular intifada seems unlikely. However, the Palestinians interviewed also objected to the occupation and its ramifications, which is not an encouraging insight for peace-seekers in the Middle East.
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spelling doaj.art-3c0839d4e68c4557b697295080813c182024-04-04T16:11:50ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Social Sciences2331-18862024-12-0110110.1080/23311886.2024.2336699Palestinian society in the West Bank: trust and self-sacrificeGadi Hitman0Igal Shiri1Eyal Lewin2Middle East and Political Science Department, Ariel University, Ariel, IsraelMiddle East and Political Science Department, Ariel University, Ariel, IsraelMiddle East and Political Science Department, Ariel University, Ariel, IsraelAbstractAnalysts strive to predict future scenarios of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, concentrating on the question of whether Palestinians will be willing to pay the costs of violent struggle. In contrast with various policy assessments, this paper takes political trust as a factor that enables us to anticipate Palestinian social reactions as a point of departure. We interviewed 90 West Bank inhabitants, focusing on six major issues: the armed struggle against Israel, democracy and human rights, the internal PLO-Hamas rift, the standard of living, corruption in the PA, and political trust in the PA. Our findings match the quantitative results of Khalil Shikaki’s PCPSR public opinion polls of the West Bank. We conclude that the lack of democracy, the continuing internal rift, the low standard of living, and the manifestations of governmental corruption erode political trust within Palestinian society. Based on research from other places around the globe, such a loss of trust dissuades recruiting people for national struggles. Accordingly, a new popular intifada seems unlikely. However, the Palestinians interviewed also objected to the occupation and its ramifications, which is not an encouraging insight for peace-seekers in the Middle East.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2024.2336699Palestinianstrustself-sacrificeWest BankGuangchao Charles Feng, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong KongCitizenship - Political sociology
spellingShingle Gadi Hitman
Igal Shiri
Eyal Lewin
Palestinian society in the West Bank: trust and self-sacrifice
Cogent Social Sciences
Palestinians
trust
self-sacrifice
West Bank
Guangchao Charles Feng, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
Citizenship - Political sociology
title Palestinian society in the West Bank: trust and self-sacrifice
title_full Palestinian society in the West Bank: trust and self-sacrifice
title_fullStr Palestinian society in the West Bank: trust and self-sacrifice
title_full_unstemmed Palestinian society in the West Bank: trust and self-sacrifice
title_short Palestinian society in the West Bank: trust and self-sacrifice
title_sort palestinian society in the west bank trust and self sacrifice
topic Palestinians
trust
self-sacrifice
West Bank
Guangchao Charles Feng, School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong
Citizenship - Political sociology
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/23311886.2024.2336699
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