"ethnic cleansing"
Cut the crap.
Arab citizens of Israel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arab citizens of Israel (also termed Arab Israelis, Israeli Arabs or Palestinian Israelis) [2] is a term that refers to the segment of non-Jewish Israeli citizens of Arab cultural and/or linguistic heritage.[3][4] As of 2008, Arab citizens of Israel comprise just over 20% of the country's total population. The majority of these identify themselves as Palestinian by nationality and Israeli by citizenship.[5] Many have family ties to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Israeli Bedouin Arabs tend to identify more as Israelis than other Arab citizens of Israel.[6] The Druze are drafted into the Israel Defense Forces.[7][8]
As of December 2007, survey data shows that a majority (62%) of Arab citizens of Israel would prefer to remain Israeli citizens rather than become citizens of a future Palestinian state.[9][10]. However, more recent surveys show that various factors — including the Second Lebanon War, stalemate in negotiations with Palestinians, failure to implement recommendations of the Or Commission, and closure of the case against Israel Border Police troops who shot dead Israeli Arab protesters in October 2000 — have caused a radicalization in the positions of Israeli Arabs towards the State of Israel, with only 41% of Israeli Arabs willing to recognize the country's right to exist as a "Jewish and democratic" state (compared to 65.6% in 2003), and only 53.7% believe Israel has a right to exist just as an independent country (compared to 81.1% in 2003).[11].
Arabs living in East Jerusalem, occupied and administered by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, are a special case. They became permanent residents of Israel shortly after the war. Although they hold Israeli ID cards, few have applied for Israeli citizenship, to which they are entitled, and most maintain close ties with the West Bank.[12] As permanent residents, they are eligible to vote in Jerusalem's municipal elections, although only a small percentage takes advantage of this right.
The remaining Druze population of the Golan Heights, occupied and administered by Israel in 1967, are considered permanent residents under the Golan Heights Law of 1981. Few have accepted full Israeli citizenship and the vast majority consider themselves citizens of Syria.[13]
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