“Imagine this horrible situation. There is a genocide going on against your people and, at the same time, we are not allowed to raise our voices against the killing of our people,” says Shehadeh, a Jaffa-based politician.
Arab citizens make up 21 per cent, or 2.1 million, of Israel’s population, and identify themselves as Palestinians or Arab by nationality, but Israeli by citizenship.
Since last October, when Israel launched its deadly war on Gaza, it has simultaneously conducted a violent crackdown on its Arab citizens, targeting them for any sort of protest against the war or for advocating for Palestinians.
A simple post on social media, or protests against the war have led to harsh and severe consequences, with students being expelled from universities and professionals losing their jobs.
Many have been detained, arrested and even slapped with terrorism charges by the Israeli state, while instances of verbal and physical abuse have been frequent, along with boycotts of Palestinian-run businesses.
Crackdown on free speech
Adi Mansour, a human rights lawyer associated with Adalah, a Palestinian-run legal centre in Israel, says Palestinian citizens of Israel are facing “an extreme and radical repression and crackdown on their rights”.
“We are talking about, in many instances, the complete denial of the right to protest and the right to free speech,” he told Anadolu in a video interview.
“We saw a statement by a police commander who said very specifically that anyone who wants to protest against the war … can move in a bus to Gaza.”
Shehadeh, a former member of the Israeli Knesset and leader of the Balad party, which is dedicated to advocating for the rights of Palestinians in Israel, says Israeli society is “sick” for giving space to politicians calling for more blood and killings of Palestinians.
“All these voices are considered legitimate, while the rational voices calling to stop the war, end all this violence and go for a political solution … are considered illegitimate,” he says.