In an interview with Karan Thapar, Dalal Iriqat, a professor at the Arab American University of Palestine and one of the most distinguished Palestinian scholars, answers the question, “What is it like to be a Palestinian in Israel?”
Three categories of Palestinians living in Israel. First, Palestinians who are citizens of Israel. Then, second, Palestinians who live in the West Bank, where Israel is effectively a colonising power. And, third, Palestinians who live in Gaza, blockaded and besieged by Israel.
There are two million Palestinians who are citizens of Israel. Iriqat says they are second and third-class citizens. She says the Jewish National State Law of 2018 specifically distinguishes and discriminates between the rights of Jews who are citizens of Israel and the rights of Palestinians who are citizens of Israel.
For example, Israel has a Law of Return which allows Jews from anywhere in the world to come to Israel and get automatic citizenship but family members of Palestinians, who were born in Palestine but left at the time of the nakba or 1967 war, are specifically and explicitly denied this right. Iriqat points out this is in defiance of UN Resolution 194, which conferred on all Palestinians the right to return to their land.
Iriqat also talks about how Hamas is viewed by the three categories of Palestinians. She also speaks about how popular it is in Gaza today.
Asked if a free, fair and credible election were to be held in Gaza today, the way it had happened in 2006, would Hamas win a victory, Iriqat categorically said no. In fact, she clearly suggested that a free and fair election is perhaps the best way of diminishing and reducing Hamas. But the Israelis, she says, will not allow a free and fair election.
Finally, Iriqat says she agrees with what Gideon Levy told The Wire in an earlier interview – a one-state solution would be the ideal answer provided, of course, there are equal rights for Jews and Arabs. She agreed that a two-state solution is no longer feasible or practical.
