Psychological Legitimization-Views of the Israeli Occupation by Jews in Israel: Data and Implications

The chapter explains how the psychological legitimization of the occupation emerged by presenting the various orientations regarding the status of the occupied territories and the perceptions of the Palestinian nation that have prevailed among Israeli Jews from 1967 until the present. It focuses on their reflection in the platforms of the political parties, in the beliefs of the leaders and in public opinion. Viewing the territories as being liberated because they are part of the Jewish homeland, and as belonging exclusively to Jews, and/or that these territories are of supreme importance to secure the existence of the State of Israel, has had imprinting effects on the issue of determining borders, removal of settlements and the division of Jerusalem, as well as on the establishment of a Palestinian State. This view was marginal before the 1967 war, but with the conquest of the West Bank and Gaza Strip it has become a dominant position among the Jewish-Israeli leaders, elite and the public.