Whose autonomy? Conceptualising ‘colonial extraterritorial autonomy’ in the occupied Palestinian territories

Abstract

The notion of ‘Palestinian autonomy’ has occupied a central position in Israel’s post-1967 strategic planning in occupied Palestinian territories. Despite that, the notion remains understudied in relation to the regular understanding of political autonomy and its conceptualisation and application in theory and practice. One striking aspect of Israel’s envisioned autonomy for the Palestinians is that it does not resemble any existing model of autonomy implemented around the world today. This article seeks to bridge this conceptual gap by proposing the term ‘Colonial Extraterritorial Autonomy’ as a peculiar mode of colonial governmentality that has been developed in the aftermath of Israel’s 1967 occupation to resolve the territory/demography question in favour of Israel colonial ambition for ‘maximum land with minimum Palestinians’.