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Abstract
This thesis examines the historical formation and reshaping of sectarianism among Palestinian citizens of Israel through a case study of the religiously mixed city of Shefa- ‘Amr. It begins from a central paradox: while Palestinian national discourse has strengthened nationally, local politics in Shefa- ‘Amr have become increasingly structured around sectarian boundaries. To explain this dissonance, the study traces over a century of socio- political change–from the late Ottoman era to the present–situating the case within the broader settler- colonial condition of Palestinians inside Israel. Using a constructivist, multi- scalar analytical framework, and a methodology that combines historical sociology, phenomenology, ethnography, and archival research, the study analyzes two years of fieldwork, including participant observation, in- depth interviews, and extensive local archival material. The analysis follows a triadic structure examining the interaction between the state, local elites, and everyday social life. The findings show that sectarianism in Shefa- ‘Amr is neither primordial nor rooted in religious diversity. Instead, it was reconfigured after the Nakba through the interaction of Israeli state policies, socio- economic shifts, and elite strategies, which in turn produced a historical process of sectarianization that politicized religious communities and gradually made them key units of municipal governance. This process was not linear but contextual, as sectarian boundaries hardened, blurred, or receded in response to political opportunities, social conditions, and local forms of negotiation and resistance. The study seeks to contribute to scholarship on sectarianism, settler colonialism, and Palestine studies by offering a grounded account of how sectarianization unfolds in an “in- between” context linking macro- structures of domination with micro- level perceptions, spatial practices, and everyday life.