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Studies 25 November, 2024

Colonial Paternalism under Israeli Military Rule (1967-1977): “Social Welfare” as a Tool of Control

Ashraf Othman Bader

​Research Fellow at the Arab Council for the Social Sciences. He holds a PhD in Social Sciences from Birzeit University, Palestine.

Asem Khalil

​Professor of Public Law at the Faculty of Law and Public Administration at Birzeit University, Palestine. He received a PhD in Public Law from the University of Friborg, Switzerland.

This study examines the system of colonial paternalism that Israel imposed during the first decade of its post-1967 military rule over the Occupied Palestinian Territories. acrobat Icon It interrogates the system’s legal and financial frameworks and forms of Palestinian resistance to it. Drawing on newly released archival material from the minutes of Directors-General Committee of Israeli ministries, records of Israeli military orders, and interviews with Palestinians, the study illustrates how the Israeli “social welfare” system cemented policies of control, regulation, and exploitation of the Palestinian population. It forced Palestinians into accepting financial arrangements and purchasing “subsidized” goods from the Israeli market, while simultaneously framing Israel as a caring guardian of their interests. The study enriches the theoretical debate on settler colonialism and the logic of policies governing the Palestinian population.


* This study was published in the 16th issue of AlMuntaqa, a peer-reviewed academic journal for the social sciences and humanities. You can read the full paper here.