DEFINING THE OTHER Israeli Securitization of the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza since 2009

Abstract

The aim of this research paper is to understand and explain a range of extraordinary policies enacted by the Israeli state towards Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip from 2009 to the present using different models of securitization. There is a relative dearth of Israeli case studies in the securitization literature, as well as a need to fully explore alternative models of securitization. This paper will therefore discuss securitization theory and its main critiques, then apply those proposed models to topics drawn from the Israel-Palestine conflict from 2009 to the present day. Doing so reveals that the original model of securitization still offers the most utility for explaining a wide range of events, though this is most likely due to the other schools being underdeveloped rather than fundamental weakness in their argument.