From historical resolution to intractable conflict: A historical analysis into the evolution of Israel’s security culture as manifested in its practices towards Palestinians during the Oslo process (1993-2000) and the Second Intifada (2000-2005)

Abstract

This thesis examines the evolution of Israel’s security culture during the Oslo process (1993–2000) and the Second Intifada (2000–2005), with a specific focus on shifting security practices towards Palestinians. Adopting a historical lens through the conceptual framework of security culture, understood as the interplay of threat perceptions, interest assessments, and ensuing practices, it traces the transformation of Israeli security policy, particularly through the actions of the IDF, the state’s principal security community. The thesis situates these developments within the historical trajectory of Israel’s security culture, shaped by Jewish historical experiences and the formative Yishuv period, which cultivated a doctrine of self-reliance, deterrence, and military strength. The early phase of the Oslo process (1993–1995) appeared to signal a departure from this paradigm, introducing formal recognition of the PLO, a focus on territorial compromise, and increased international engagement. However, this shift proved fragile, undermined by internal fragmentation and the influence of radical actors on both sides. During the second phase (1996–1999), escalating violence and deepening mutual distrust facilitated a reversion to Israel’s pre-Oslo security ethos, which, in turn, reinforced the process’s breakdown. A decisive rupture occurred following the collapse of the Camp David Summit (2000) and the outbreak of the Second Intifada (2000–2005), which catalysed the emergence of a fundamentally new security paradigm. This period witnessed intensified militarised repression, systemic human rights violations, strategies of self-fortification, and the institutionalisation of a permanent state of exception under the rubric of the global war on terror. These shifts were reinforced by societal developments, including the rise of religious-nationalism, right-wing populism, and the growing dominance of a conflict-oriented worldview. Together, these developments continue to shape Israel’s contemporary approach to the Palestinians and sustain the self-reinforcing cycles of violence and retaliation that define the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.