Rethinking the Condition of Indirect Rule: Metamorphosis of the Israeli Colonial Governance and the Palestinian Resistance

Abstract

Utilizing an institutional approach, this study presents a framework to understand the metamorphosis of Israeli settler–colonial governance and metamorphosis of its patterns of resistance. It argues that the system underwent three phases, each of which was marked by distinct direct or indirect rule. Each was also met with resistance from a distinct pattern of centralized or decentralized collective political agency. The study concludes that the raison d’être of the Israeli settler–colonial governance is not only shaped by colonial determination, but also by its interplay with the Palestinian resistance.