Abstract
This article examines the role of Palestinian civil society organizations in resistance struggles against Israeli military occupation in the 1970s and 1980s. The research focuses on the civil society transformation and shift from national resistance in the politically motivated framework of Israeli–Palestinian conflict of the 1970s and 1980s to internal and depoliticized processes in the 1990s. The overall purpose of this study is to provide knowledge about the role of civil society organizations in Gaza and the West Bank in the Palestinian national struggle and promote a deeper understanding of the changing role of Palestinian civil society following the Oslo peace process in the 1990s. The research methods are based on a supportive and integrated combination of theory and field research including interviews with civil society and academic representatives. The main findings and conclusions suggest that the transformation of Palestinian nationalist and secular grassroots organizations and the shift towards depoliticization and liberalization in the 1990s is the result of the Oslo peace process and the subsequent creation of a Palestinian “liberal civil society” in response to the requirements of international donors and their liberalization agenda.
Highlights
This article focuses on civil society and politics within the broader question of peace and conflict issues
It sought to contribute to existing literature and promote a deeper understanding of Palestinian civil society and relevant complex processes including the role of grassroots organizations in national resistance struggles, the Oslo peace project, the creation of a Palestinian authority in the occupied territories, international aid, and the role of international donors and civil society transformation including depoliticization and liberalization
The article examined the conceptual framework of civil society resistance as proposed by Antonio Gramsci and liberal civil society approaches as suggested by Michael Edwards, Roland Paris and David Lewis within the liberal peace theory
Summary
This article focuses on civil society and politics within the broader question of peace and conflict issues It focuses on the emergence of a liberal version of civil society in the context of the liberal peace project and the implications of this approach for the role of national civil society in politically motivated conflicts and struggles. The concept of resistance in this article refers to the participation of civil society activists in national activities aimed at undermining Israeli military occupation in Gaza and the West Bank and supporting Palestinian independence. As will be explained later, these resistance activities included institution-building, political education concerning Palestinian national goals, civil disobedience actions such as national strikes and boycott of Israeli courts, refusal to pay tax, promoting local economic products, delivering food provisions to deprived areas under curfews, demonstrating solidarity with bereaved families and newly released political prisoners, and organizing nonviolent protests.
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