Invisible Palestinian Women

Abstract

One of the outcomes of the ongoing Israeli—Palestinian conflict has been the phenomenon of hasty marriages of convenience between Palestinian women from the Occupied Territories and Israeli Arab men. The children of these couples are Israeli citizens, while their mothers find themselves living in Israel illegally for years on end, ineligible for services that are provided to legal residents and in constant fear of deportation. This article is based on semi-structured interviews with 30 such women about the issues surrounding their situation. Findings were analysed using Lukes’ three-dimensional theory of power. Mann’s concept of organizational outflanking is cited as a possible explanation for the way in which the women are kept silent. Recommendations for practice are made.