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Here’s the Truth About How Israel Treats Its Arab Citizens

A general view picture shows part of Givat Hamatos, an area near eastern Jerusalem, November 15, 2020. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun.

The media has reported that Palestinians in the West Bank (85%) and Gaza (52%) support Hamas’ October 7th actions. However, there has been less mention of the attitudes of the almost two million Arab living in Israel and East Jerusalem. More troubling, the little that has been mentioned, gives a false view of their estrangement from the state, ignoring the strong evidence that they are more sympathetic to the current plight of their Jewish neighbors than reported.

Recently, Ragjad Jaraisy and Ofer Dagam, directors of Sikkuy-Aufoq, an Israeli NGO doing constructive work in the Arab sector, pointed to the current risks Arab citizens face. They mentioned systemic discrimination and the repression experienced after the October 7th massacre:

A Palestinian doctor was suspended from his position, Palestinian students at colleges and universities have been punished, and other people have been arrested for social media posts that were often simply misunderstood by those who don’t speak Arabic.

As to the Gaza civilian casualties, they stated that Arab citizens “are connected by family ties, language, culture and history to their fellow Palestinians in Gaza — while living, working and studying side-by-side with Jewish Israelis in the very country that caused their people’s misfortune.” (emphasis added)

Unfortunately, Jaraisy and Dagan projected their mistaken beliefs onto Arab citizens. Survey data demonstrated that the war has brought Arab citizens closer to the Israeli state. For each year, 2016-2022, the share of Arab citizens who felt a part of Israel fluctuated between 39% and 43%. But directly after the Hamas attack, it increased to 70%; and even during November as the death and destruction in Gaza mounted, it only declined to 65%. This positive assessment was largest among Druze respondents (80%), followed by Christians (73%), and Muslims (62%). Indeed, the only subgroup for which it was less than 60% was those who voted for the ultra-nationalist Balad party (43%).

At the eight-week mark of the IDF offensive, a survey indicated that a minority of Arabs held the IDF solely responsible for the harm to Gazan civilians. Among Muslims, 60% held the IDF and Hamas equally responsible with 15.5% holding the IDF solely responsible, compared to 12% who held Hamas solely responsible. This reflected the fact that among Balad supporters, none held Hamas solely responsible but 29% held the IDF solely responsible.  Among Christians and Druze, more than three times as many held Hamas solely responsible as those holding the IDF solely responsible.

Over the next five months, as war continued without an IDF victory or the return of more hostages, attitudes are interesting. An April survey asked, “Who has come off better in the war in Gaza — Israel or Hamas?” More Arab respondents think that Hamas, rather than Israel, has gained the upper hand (20% versus 14%, respectively). One-quarter thought both equally but 41% didn’t know.  Interestingly, the only other group that thought Hamas had gained the upper hand were left-wing Jews (29% to 25.5%).

What Jaraisy and Dagan and others refuse to admit is that substantial improvements in the lives of Arab citizens have led them to be more willing to separate themselves from the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. This is most illustrated by the improving situation of eastern Jerusalem Palestinians.

Mayor Nir Barkat changed decades of benign neglect by beginning to provide some needed reforms and improved services to eastern Jerusalem. Jerusalem’s new mayor, Moshe Lion, accelerated these changes. He began by cleaning up the streets and then improving basic infrastructure: the sidewalks, potholes in the streets, and community gardens. A particularly important improvement was made to the postal system. In 2010, postal services in eastern Jerusalem were barely functioning. A significant portion of the mail did not reach its destination, while much of what did arrive was delivered late. However, Leon added post offices, street signs, and house numbers, substantially improving service.

Arab residents of eastern Jerusalem have seen the benefits. Between 2010 and 2022, the share satisfied with garbage collection increased from 44% to 60%; with fire protection from 42% to 70%; and with ambulance responses from 46% to 59%. More than three-quarters of Arabs are satisfied with healthcare services, sewerage, water, and electricity.

Leon’s efforts also focused on providing an educational system that would prepare students for the matriculation exam (bagrut), required for entrance into Israeli colleges. This required switching away from the Jordanian curriculum that dominated the eastern Jerusalem educational system. No less than 32 educational institutions offering the Israeli system have been established since 2016. The effects on college enrollment have been dramatic. At the Hebrew University alone, 710 Arab students from eastern Jerusalem were studying in 2022, compared with only 36 five years earlier.

Arab women dominated this expansion. Leyla was sitting one morning with two friends in one of the cafés favored by college students. She does not cover her hair, but her two girlfriends were wearing hijabs. All three were studying at an academic college in the city. Asked what she liked the most about her studies, Leyla burst out laughing and said, “That as long as I study, my parents do not pressure me to get married.”

A major focus has been bringing jobs to eastern Jerusalem. The Silicon Wadi project will be one of the biggest public investments ever made in eastern Jerusalem. A total of 200,000 square meters will be devoted to high-tech businesses, 50,000 to hotels, and another 50,000 to commercial space. The project includes increased public transportation, green space, a new technical college for training “thousands of East Jerusalemites in advanced technology,” and incentives to “increase the integration of women in the workforce in the city’s East.”

Jerusalem City Council member Laura Wharton of the left-wing Meretz party said: “The thinking here now is to develop high-tech and other industries that will allow people from East Jerusalem to find employment in Jerusalem.”  These are the reasons why in 2022, more eastern Jerusalem Palestinians preferred Israeli citizenship than living under the control of the Palestinian Authority; more than double the share five years earlier.

While eastern Jerusalem residents, as well as Arab citizens, still face significant obstacles, it is increasingly inaccurate to see them as victims of a repression that is squelching their desires to maintain solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. It is only an unwillingness to appreciate the positive government efforts that perpetuates false narratives.

Robert Cherry is an American Enterprise Institute affiliate and author of Arab Citizens of Israel: How Far They Have Come; How Much Further They Need to Go, to be released fall 2024.

The post Here’s the Truth About How Israel Treats Its Arab Citizens first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.

Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.

“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”

GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’

Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.

“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.

“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.

“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.

After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”

RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL

Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”

Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.

“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”

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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.

People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.

“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”

Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.

On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.

Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.

On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.

“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.

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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.

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