Prior to 1948, approximately 950 000 indigenous Palestinians comprised the majority of inhabitants in historical Palestine, owning 94% of the land. Following the establishment of the State of Israel, around 530 Palestinian villages and localities were destroyed. More than 800, 000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes and became Diaspora refugees or international displaced persons.

The Palestinians who remained within the Green Line borders became citizens of the new Israeli state. Today they number approximately one million, and comprise nearly 20% of Israel's citizens. Some 250, 000 (25%) are internally displaced, and like the Palestinian community in Diaspora, are still denied the right of return to their homes.

Political Participation Over Time

The strategies and goals of the Palestinians participating in the Israeli political process have changed and developed over the past five decades. Below is a brief overview of some noticeable trends:

1948 - 1967
During this time, the State imposed a Military Administration exclusively on its Palestinian citizens, severely restricting their civil liberties. Political organization during this period was forbidden and could lead to direct confrontations with the military. Most early Palestinian political activism that did take place therefore focused on the military regime.
1967 - 2000
With the lifting of the Military Administration in 1967, Palestinians were able to shift their efforts toward the struggle for political equality and increased services and resources. The massive land confiscations of the 1960's and 70's quickly became a symbol of the Israeli State's violations of Palestinian rights. On 30 March 1976, in response to the Israeli confiscation of huge tracts of Palestinian land in the Galilee, Palestinians united to participate in the first ever national General Strike. The police response to the strike and the ensuing demonstrations left 6 Palestinian citizens dead and 96 wounded. Commemorated annually since 1977 with marches and strikes, Land Day still represents Palestinian political activism in the face of gross injustices.
The creation of the High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Affairs (composed of Arab MKs, local government representatives, union leaders and representatives from civil society) in the late 1970's brought a new sense of national unity to Palestinian political activism.
The Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, and the start of the first Palestinian Intifada in 1987, bred feelings of solidarity amongst Palestinian citizens of Israel with fellow Palestinians living under Israeli military occupation. Soon after, however, Palestinian citizens watched in frustration as their needs were ignored by the Oslo framework created in 1993. This frustration resulted in the realization that Palestinians in Israel had to take responsibility for their own political future by strengthening Palestinian political and non-governmental institutions.
2000 - present
In October 2000, demonstrations in solidarity with fellow Palestinians living under occupation in the West Bank and Gaza were met with State violence. Thirteen Palestinian citizens of Israel were killed by State forces in circumstances similar to those of Land Day 1976. Many concluded that the State's violent reaction to unified Palestinian protests might not be an anomaly but rather a predictable response. Palestinians in Israel continue to search for ways to work within the political framework of a racist State in order to meet their community's needs without negating their own identity.