Palestinian Moderates, 1967–1987: A Forgotten History

The years between 1967 and 1987 are often described as a period of calm and economic improvement for Palestinians, but beneath the surface a different story unfolded. Palestinians who advocated coexistence or pragmatic compromise were threatened, marginalized, or assassinated, while resistance culture became the only acceptable public stance. This silencing shaped the political landscape that led to the First Intifada.

In 1976, hiking in Samaria, I encountered hostility from Palestinian women working the terraced fields. Their looks contradicted the narrative I later absorbed — that the post‑1967 years were prosperous and calm. Israel brought water, electricity, jobs, and education, but gratitude was not safe to express in a society where moderation could be fatal.

From Despair to Hostility: The Middle Ground Erased

The 1967 Six‑Day War reshaped Palestinian life. Between the despair of 1948 and the hostility of the 1980s, there was a brief middle ground of Palestinians seeking pragmatic coexistence. These voices were silenced by their own community and by the PLO in exile.

When Arab leaders in Jerusalem were invited in July 1967 to join a unified municipal council, Mayor Ruhi al‑Khatib rejected the idea as recognition of annexation. Other notables explored quiet contacts with Israelis, though public alignment was impossible.

Education and the Making of Resistance

Schools expanded after 1967, but formal education was supplemented by underground political indoctrination. Mohammad Massad recalled how, at age six, a former PLO prisoner gathered neighbourhood children, bought them candies, and taught anti‑Israeli songs. Children learned Palestinian identity not from moderates but from resistance fighters.

Economic integration improved living standards dramatically: life expectancy rose, infant mortality fell, and access to electricity and water soared. Expressing satisfaction was dangerous. Many suicide bombers in later years came from middle‑class families — a sign of the political pressure to reject any appearance of accommodation.

Resistance Culture and the Silencing of Moderates

Land Day in 1976 established a culture of defiance that made compromise shameful. Still, moderates tried to chart a different path.

Mustafa Dodin and Palestinian activists sought to form a Village League in 1978 to promote local leadership and negotiations with Israel. The PLO branded them collaborators; Israel distrusted their autonomy efforts. The initiative collapsed.

Moderate mayors like Elias Freij and Rashad Shawa maintained good relations with Israeli officials, hoping for coexistence. They faced threats, car bombs, and denunciations. Arafat warned in 1989: “Whoever thinks of stopping the intifada… I will give him ten bullets in the chest.” Freij withdrew his proposal for a ceasefire within hours.

Journalist Hanna Siniora acknowledged Israel’s permanence and urged realism. His newspaper faced constant pressure to radicalize. Abu Rahmeh argued that peace required moderation. Zafer al‑Masri, mayor of Nablus, improved city infrastructure but was assassinated two months into his term. His murder terrified others who shared his views.

How Accommodation Became Treason

Moderates were silenced through:                          

• Social ostracism — anyone cooperating with Israelis was labeled a collaborator.
• Physical intimidation — the PLO issued death sentences; local groups carried out assassinations.
• Media pressure — newspapers were forced to avoid “normalization.”

By the late 1980s, even economic relations became politicized. The Beit Sahour tax revolt reframed prosperity as complicity. Cultural expression also reflected political pressure: folktales, embroidery, and storytelling shifted from humour and devotion to exile, grief, and resistance.

The women who glared at me in 1976 may not have chosen hostility; it may have been chosen for them. The systematic silencing of moderates ensured that by 1987, “No voice is higher than the voice of the Intifada.”

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