Abstract
ABSTRACT This research aims to assess how the responses of Palestinian sceptics to COVID-19 are used to discredit, vilify, and morally exclude the Palestinian political institutions. To comprehend this phenomenon, a collection of 1,819 Facebook comments was gathered and analysed using the concepts of subject positioning and interpretative repertoires. The positioning of scepticism was identified either through a direct denial of the virus or through a more interpretive approach that shifted its meaning to different contexts. This positioning was primarily motivated by contrasting categorizations and self/other representations (Palestinian people vs. Palestinian political institution). While self-representation was associated with attributes such as fragility, purity, and being breadwinners, the other-representation was characterized by deception, opportunism, and greed. Palestinian sceptics were found to frame their positions through interpretative repertoires such as ‘the pandemic was deceitfully planned by the Palestinian government’, ‘the virus is a conspiracy’, ‘the virus is an act of God’, and ‘the virus is a normality’. Upon conducting a comprehensive analysis of the Palestinian context, various political factors emerged as contributors to the formation of these repertoires. Among these factors were corruption, occupation, and the mishandling of the pandemic crisis. These repertoires revealed contested objectives and narratives, with a tendency to shift blame and amplify accountability of the Palestinian political institution.
Published Version
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