Economic Asphyxiation and Fragmentation of National Collective Identity

The economy in the Palestinian context is no longer merely a matter of indicators, figures, budgets, financial deficits, gross domestic product, and balance of trade—everything that is taught in relevant scientific curricula. Rather, it has gradually transformed into a central arena of conflict that Israel employs through various economic tools to reshape the political and social reality towards implementing what the literature and theorists of religious Zionism refer to as the "decisive plan," aimed at undermining the Palestinian entity and burying the idea of a Palestinian state. The current economic crisis that the Palestinian people are experiencing, with its various complications, and specifically the public finance crisis, cannot be read merely as a transient financial crisis but should be viewed as a state of systematic economic strangulation whose effects go beyond the public budget, salary crises, or living standards, extending to the structure of national belonging and the collective identity of the Palestinian people.

In recent years, particularly since the rise of the Israeli right in the political scene, the Palestinian economy has faced a series of compounded pressures, which have accumulated and intertwined significantly following the events of October 7, 2023. These include the confiscation of all clearance revenues, the creation of a cash surplus crisis, the prevention of Palestinian workers from returning to their jobs in the Israeli economy, restrictions on movement and trade, disruptions to production and supply chains, the systematic destruction of the Gaza Strip, and the infrastructure in the northern West Bank, coupled with the forcible displacement of Palestinian citizens from the Jordan Valley and the southern West Bank, as well as organized attacks by settlers on the outskirts of Palestinian cities and villages, along with the heated and silent Israeli control over the areas classified as "C," among other measures. These combined factors have not only produced a financial crisis or a decline in economic indicators here or there, but have created a chronic state of economic suffocation and uncertainty. According to relevant global literature, when a person loses the ability to anticipate their economic future or provide for their basic needs, their priorities automatically shift; general thinking recedes in favor of individual survival.

Herein lies the deep relationship between the economy and national belonging. National belonging is not formed solely through political discourse or cultural symbols; it requires a minimum level of economic stability, which bolsters the resilience of the citizen and allows the individual to feel they are part of a sustainable and livable collective project. However, when securing daily income and the basic requirements of life becomes the primary concern of the citizen, the psychological and social space for public work gradually narrows, leaning toward a flight into individual survival.

Moreover, economic strangulation leads to the erosion of the middle class, an increase in the desire to emigrate, widening social gaps, and intensifying competition for resources, even if they are not limited out of fear for the future. Perhaps the current gas and fuel crises faced by the Palestinian community exemplify this competition and unrest, justified only through the lens of individual survival. Most dangerously, over time, sub-identities grow at the expense of a unifying identity, not as a result of ideological choices but as a natural reaction to economic scarcity and ongoing anxiety, eroding public trust gradually. The economic strangulation currently imposed by Israel keeps the Palestinian economy in a constant state of weakness; it is incapable of real growth, with a community that works and tries but cannot plan for the future. In this gray area between living and collapsing, the most dangerous social transformations occur, where living anxiety becomes the governing framework for individual and collective behavior. The most alarming part of this process is that it is slow and silent; it does not cause a single clear shock, but rather accumulations of small changes that alter collective behavior over time. Utilizing the term "unconscious familiarity," with continued economic pressure, society shifts from one that aspires toward its national project to one preoccupied with managing daily crises, transforming from collective political programs to individual survival strategies. Addressing economic strangulation does not start only with financial measures, but with re-establishing the concept of economics as a space for collective resilience. Enhancing local production, protecting the middle classes, and supporting marginalized groups are not merely economic policies but tools for maintaining social cohesion and national belonging. The economy is one of the most significant drivers of identity and stability, and when wielded to suffocate society, defending it becomes a defense of the very collective meaning of national existence.

In conclusion, individual survival in times of existential threat is an illusion that builds no homeland and protects no human being. Despite the dire reality, the real challenge emerges: either the illusion of individual salvation or the truth of survival together. The options are limited: we either endure together, or we collapse.