Abstract
To those observing recent events in Palestine, it becomes clear that waves of protests are common in the Palestinian territories. They are not, however, uniform. While the protests often erupt in contentious areas and refugee camps, many cities remain dormant. Thus, the question remains: who protests? I argue that there is a clear class differentiation in these protest movements, but not in the direction that the literature would have us expect. While a number of theories would predict middle-class mobilization, in the case of the West Bank, the opposite seems to be true. The middle class rarely participates in these movements. Surprisingly, those with the expected lowest level of resources (i.e. working classes in rural areas and refugee camps) are those who participate in sustained mobilizations that are both pre-organized and longer-lasting. I argue that the middle class does not mobilize precisely because its interest are tied to the status quo; mainly, the retrenchment of the Palestinian Authority and, unwittingly, the occupation. Mobilization is not determined solely by the availability of resources, both physical and human. Rather, the relation of individuals in society to the status quo regimes determines mobilization. Moreover, the working class does have particular types of resources that previous scholarship has not fully considered. It is for that reason specifically that we find mobilization concentrated in areas we would not expect: more rural, less organizational capacity, and with members that do not necessarily have more education or information.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
“About the Hay’a.” 2016. Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, August 21.
Acemoglu, Daron, and James A. Robinson. 2009. Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Agha, Zena. 2018. “Israel’s Annexation Crusade in Jerusalem: The Role of Ma’ale Adumim and the E-1 Corridor.” Al-Shabaka, March 26. https://al-shabaka.org/briefs/israels-annexation-crusade-in-jerusalem-the-role-of-maale-adumim-and-the-e1-corridor/.
Al Jazeera. 2017. “Al-Aqsa: Palestinians Killed as Jerusalem Protests Rage.” Al Jazeera, July 21. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/07/al-aqsa-palestinian-killed-jerusalem-protests-rage-170721113840496.html.
Andersen, Benedict. 1983. Imagined Communities. London: Verso.
Arafeh, Nur. 2015. “In Jerusalem, ‘Religious War’ Is Used to Cloak Colonialism.” Al-Shabaka, February 3. https://al-shabaka.org/briefs/in-jerusalem-religious-war-is-used-to-cloak-colonialism/.
Arafeh, Nur. 2016. “Economic Collapse in East Jerusalem: Strategies for Recovery.” Al-Shabaka, November 30. https://al-shabaka.org/briefs/economic-collapse-east-jerusalem-strategies-recovery/.
Arafeh, Nur, Munir Nuseibah, Mouin Rabbani, and Salim Tamari. 2017. “Focus on: Jerusalem.” Al-Shabaka, March 8. https://al-shabaka.org/focuses/focus-on-jerusalem/.
ARIJ. 2012. “Bil’in Village Profile.” Applied Research Institute—Jerusalem. http://vprofile.arij.org/ramallah/pdfs/vprofile/Bi’lin.pdf.
Beissinger, Mark R., Amaney A. Jamal, and Kevin Mazur. 2015. “Explaining Divergent Revolutionary Coalitions: Regime Strategies and the Structuring of Participation in the Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions.” Comparative Politics 48 (1): 1–24.
Burnat, Iyad. 2013. “To End the Occupation, Dissolve the Palestinian Authority.” The Electronic Intifada, December 11. https://electronicintifada.net/content/end-occupation-dissolve-palestinian-authority/12990.
Burnat, Emad, and Guy Davidi. 2011. 5 Broken Cameras (film). Palestine: Burnat Films.
Carmeli-Pollak, Shai. 2006. Bil’in Habibti (film). Tel Aviv: Claudius Films.
Collier, Paul, and Anke Hoeffler. 2004. “Greed and Grievance in Civil War.” Oxford Economic Papers 56: 563–595.
Dana, Tariq. 2016. “Social Struggle and the Crisis of the Palestinian Left Parties.” Rosa Luxemburg Foundation PAL Papers, March.
El Kurd, Dana. 2015. “Intifada’s Revenge.” Foreign Affairs, October 22.
El Kurd, Dana. 2017. “Here’s What Made Palestinian Protests in East Jerusalem Last Month so Successful.” The Washington Post, August 17.
Environmental Justice in Palestine Team and Al-Haq Organization. 2017. “Israeli Settlement Industries Polluting Tulkarem, Palestine.” Environmental Justice Atlas. https://ejatlas.org/conflict/israeli-industries-polluting-palestinian-city-of-tulkarm.
Fearon, James, and David D. Laitin. 2003. “Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War.” American Political Science Review 97 (1): 75–90.
Gurr, Ted Robert. 1970. Why Men Rebel. London: Routledge.
Humphreys, Macartan, and Jeremy M. Weinstein. 2008. “Who Fights? The Determinants of Participation in Civil War.” American Journal of Political Science 52 (2): 436–455.
International Crisis Group. 2008. “Ruling Palestine II: The West Bank Model?” International Crisis Group Middle East Report No. 79, July 17. https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/eastern-mediterranean/israelpalestine/ruling-palestine-ii-west-bank-model.
Lee, Alexander. 2011. “Who Becomes a Terrorist? Poverty, Education, and the Origins of Political Violence.” World Politics 63 (2): 203–245.
Lipset, Seymour Martin. 1960. Political Man: The Social Bases of Politics. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
McCarthy, John, and Mayer Zald. 1977. “Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: A Partial Theory.” American Journal of Sociology 82 (6): 1212–1241.
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. 2015. “Jerusalem Statistical Yearbook, 2015.” Jerusalem Quarterly 62: 110–124. http://www.palestine-studies.org/sites/default/files/jq-articles/JQ%2062_Jerusalem%20Statistical.pdf.
Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. 2016. “Palestinian Public Opinion Poll #59,” March 17–19. http://www.pcpsr.org/sites/default/files/poll%2059%20%20fulltext%20English.pdf.
Palestinian Economic Policy Research Institute. 2005. The Economics of Agriculture in the Qalqilya and Tulkarem Districts: Improving the Profitability of Farmers Affected by the Separation Wall. Jerusalem and Ramallah: Palestinian Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS).
Pappé, Ilan. 2011. The Rise and Fall of a Palestinian Dynasty: The Husaynis, 1700–1948. London: Saqi.
Parkinson, Sarah Elizabeth. 2013. “Organizing Rebellion: Rethinking High-Risk Mobilization and Social Networks in War.” American Political Science Review 107 (3): 418–432.
Popular Struggle Coordination Committee. 2013. “Final statement of Bil’in Eighth International Conference: Towards the Mobilization of Popular Resistance: Adopting a Unified Strategy.” Bil’in and Bethlehem, October 2–4. https://bilinconference.wordpress.com/.
Rueschemeyer, Dietrich, Evelyne Huber Stephens, and John D. Stephens. 1992. Capitalist Development and Democracy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Steves, Rick. 2013. “Palestine’s Complicated Borders: Complex as ABC.” The Huffington Post, May 16. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rick-steves/palestines-complicated-bo_b_3289084.html.
Tahhan, Zena. 2017. “Israeli Measures at al-Aqsa Will ‘Increase Resistance’.” Al Jazeera, July 22. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/07/israeli-measures-al-aqsa-increase-resistance-170722080648415.html.
Tartir, Alaa. 2013. “PA Industrial Zones: Cementing Statehood or Occupation?” Al-Shabaka, February 7. https://al-shabaka.org/commentaries/pa-industrial-zones-cementing-statehood-or-occupation/.
Tartir, Alaa. 2016. “How US Security Aid to PA Sustains Israel’s Occupation.” Al Jazeera, December 2. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/11/security-aid-pa-sustains-israel-occupation-161103120213593.html.
Tartir, Alaa. 2017. “The Palestinian Authority Security Forces: Whose Security?” Al-Shabaka, May 16. https://al-shabaka.org/briefs/palestinian-authority-security-forces-whose-security/.
Tartir, Alaa, and Vivienne Sansour. 2014. “Palestinian Farmers: A Last Stronghold of Resistance.” Al-Shabaka, July 1. https://al-shabaka.org/briefs/palestinian-farmers-a-last-stronghold-of-resistance/.
Taylor, Michael. 1988. Rationality and Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
“The PSCC.” 2012. Al Mufaqarah R-Exist, May 23. https://almufaqarah.wordpress.com/the-pscc/.
Tilly, Charles. 1978. From Mobilization to Revolution. New York: McGraw-Hill.
UNCTAD. 2013. “The Palestinian Economy in East Jerusalem: Enduring Annexation, Isolation, and Disintegration.” http://unctad.org/en/pages/PublicationWebflyer.aspx?publicationid=537.
Unver, Akin. 2017. “What Twitter Can Tell Us About the Jerusalem Protests.” The Washington Post, August 28. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/08/26/what-twitter-can-tell-us-about-the-jerusalem-protests/?utm_term=.a82c61c84271.
Wilson, Nigel. 2016. “Hundreds Mark 11th Year of Protests in Bilin.” Al Jazeera, February 19. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/hundreds-mark-11th-year-protests-bilin-160219161932421.html.
Wolfinger, Raymond, and Steven J. Rosenstone. 1980. Who Votes? New Haven: Yale University Press.
Yang, David. 2007. “Classing Ethnicity: Class, Ethnicity, and the Mass Politics of Taiwan’s Democratic.” World Politics 59 (4): 503–538.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kurd, D.E. (2019). Who Protests in Palestine? Mobilization Across Class Under the Palestinian Authority. In: Tartir, A., Seidel, T. (eds) Palestine and Rule of Power. Middle East Today. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05949-1_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05949-1_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-05948-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-05949-1
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)