POLITICAL ISLAM IN THE PALESTINIAN MINORITY IN ISRAEL: THE DEBATE ON LIMITED INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRATION

Political Islam is just another component of the political scenario of the Palestinian minority in Israel, together with Communists, Arab nationalists and local traditionalist groups. It has common roots with the Islamist organisations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and, just like them, it combines a traditionalist doctrine with nationalist demands which, in turn, it shares with the other Palestinian political organisations. Since 1996, after 10 years of experience in municipal politics, one branch of the Islamic Movement has taken part in legislative elections and participated in the Israeli state elections, while the other has chosen to limit its actions to extra-Parliamentary politics. The former has become the most-voted option among Israeli Palestinians since 2006, while the latter is one of the most active in terms of claims for the rights of Palestinians and for the defence of Muslims in historic Palestine.