The identity of Palestinian citizens in Israel has undergone a long evolution since 1948. In the Introduction, I referred to the use of the ‘evolution’ metaphor to indicate the ‘undesigned identity evolution’ of Palestinians in Israel. Undesigned evolution should not be misinterpreted as being random. Identity, according to Anthony Smith, is ‘a product of both “natural” continuity and conscious manipulation. Natural continuity emerges from pre-existing [...] identity and community; conscious manipulation is achieved via commemoration, ideology, and symbolism’ (Cerulo 1997: 390–1). The above chapters show that Palestinian identity evolution is based on pre-existing identity and community, as well as ‘conscious manipulation’. Palestinian novels reflect a process by which Palestinian citizens in Israel (re)considered and (re)evaluated their contemporary life conditions in the light of existing conditions.

Novels published during the first twenty years of Palestinian life under Israeli rule show the gradual adaptation and evolution of Palestinian identity. Palestinian adaptation takes into consideration the balance of power between this community and Israel; for example, the defeat in the 1948 war, with the devastating effects it had on Palestinian society, as well as life under military rule. The writings of Tawfiq Mu‘ammar express the remnants of Palestinian national discourse prior to the Nakba, documenting the horrors of the war and expressing the notion that Palestinians, as the indigenous people of the country, should be allowed to take part in ruling themselves. The balance of power between Israel and its Palestinian citizens, also emphasised in Zionist- Israeli discourse, brought the Palestinians to adopt a modernising approach, aiming to close the gaps between the two societies. As we have seen in Chapter 1, proponents of the modernisation approach express the idea that such a process is multifaceted and comprehensive, including social, political and economic modernisations. The aim of closing the gap between Palestinians and Jewish-Israelis, according to both Palestinian and Israeli modernists, was to facilitate Palestinian integration into Israel. Such an approach marks an evolutionary phase from the earlier discourse, that of Mu‘ammar, also aiming at Palestinian integration in the country. The difference between the two stages of this evolution lies in their respective attitudes towards the political and historic relations between Israel and the Palestinians. Whereas Mu‘ammar aimed to preserve Palestinian history and memory, Palestinian modernisation discourse inherently erased them.