Introduction: The conflict between Palestinians and Israeli occupying forces constitutes one of the most significant struggles in the contemporary world. Contemporary events represent a continuation of a violent, organized process that began in 1948, aimed at replacing the indigenous Palestinian population with Jewish settlers through expulsion, the destruction of communities, and the erasure of culture and identity. This settler-colonial project involves sustained structural and systematic violence. Palestinian resistance against this form of genocide and ethnic cleansing over several decades has created a distinctive phenomenon. As the Israeli occupation permeates every aspect of daily life, the arena of resistance has similarly expanded beyond armed confrontation into the realm of the everyday. This article seeks to assemble the lived experiences of Palestinians to understand this distinct dimension of resistance through the lens of daily life.
Methods: This study employed a qualitative and phenomenological approach, focusing on the commonalities of Palestinian lived experience, to understand the essence of everyday resistance from the participants’ perspective and to provide a rich, detailed description of this phenomenon. The aim was to access the meaning of their lifeworld and their experience of it, thereby achieving a deep understanding of the phenomenon. Phenomenological research emphasizes the importance of investigating the lifeworld, encompassing social realities exactly as they are experienced in daily life; it therefore necessitates a return to the direct, pre-theoretical experience of phenomena. Accordingly, this study collected data describing this experience directly. To this end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a number of Palestinians present at the Rafah border and in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. Furthermore, the data were supplemented by reference to existing interviews in sources that address the narration of Palestinian everyday life. Finally, the data were qualitatively coded and analyzed within a phenomenological framework.
Results: According to the findings, the lived experience of Palestinians under Israeli occupation is shaped by a dual structure of domination and resistance. The mechanisms of domination include the persistent induction of fear and intimidation, systematic humiliation in everyday life, psychological suffering, and pervasive anxiety over ordinary activities—all of which serve to exhaust Palestinians and pressure them to abandon their land. These effects are institutionalized through two primary tools: military checkpoints, which function as sites of discipline and degradation, and a complex bureaucratic permit system that restricts movement and construction, effectively suspending normal life. In response, Palestinians cultivate sources of resilience that make life not only possible but meaningful. These include maintaining hope and aspirations, transforming the fear of death into an acceptance of martyrdom, nurturing a deep attachment to their homeland, and finding meaning and satisfaction in acts of resistance. Key strategies of this resistance are integrating the struggle into everyday routines, where survival itself becomes an act of resistance; fostering social solidarity rooted in shared suffering; educating children with the core value of resistance; and the unwavering decision to remain on their land despite repeated displacement. Ultimately, Palestinian resistance emerges as a profound, life-affirming response to domination—an enduring expression of agency, identity, and hope woven into the fabric of everyday life.
Discussion: The Palestinian struggle against Israeli settler-colonialism has persisted for nearly a century. From a sociological perspective, examining the mechanisms and tools of domination alongside the corresponding strategies and sources of Palestinian resistance is both essential and illuminating. This study, by focusing on the lived experience of resistance in the everyday lives of Palestinians, aims to identify and understand these mechanisms and strategies of both domination and resistance. The most significant mechanisms of domination in Palestinian life are the instillation of fear and intimidation, systematic humiliation, the infliction of psychological suffering and pressure, and the creation of pervasive anxiety in daily life. These are primarily enforced through two key instruments: military checkpoints, which serve as sites of control and degradation, and a complex bureaucratic permit system that restricts movement and construction, thereby disrupting normal life. In contrast, Palestinians have not been passive. Their enduring resistance over decades has generated its own strategies and institutional foundations. The key sources of resistance against domination include sustaining hope and aspiration, the embrace of death and martyrdom, love for the homeland, and finding meaning in resistance. These are established and strengthened through tangible practices. The most important of these is the integration of struggle into daily life. The act of living itself, the creation of new modes of existence through the fusion of life and resistance, and even transforming everyday tasks such as cooking and serving food into expressions of defiance have become powerful strategies to wear down and frustrate the occupiers. This fusion of life and resistance stands out as one of the most effective approaches Palestinians have developed to confront the occupation. Moreover, fostering social solidarity, instilling the values of resistance through the education and upbringing of children, and steadfastly remaining on the land despite repeated displacement are vital strategies in the Palestinian repertoire of resistance. Among these, the unwavering commitment to remain rooted in their land, the adaptation of daily life to the realities of occupation, and-most significantly-the transformation of everyday existence into a form of resistance emerges as the most vital mechanisms for counteracting the objectives of the occupiers.