Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-10-2025
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Croft Institute for International Studies
First Advisor
Steven Schaaf
Second Advisor
Kate Centellas
Third Advisor
Ian Gowan
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
This thesis examines how public and community health in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) functions as both a site of structural violence and a potential space for future peacebuilding. Drawing on the framework of medical apartheid, I argue that healthcare in the OPT has been deliberately obstructed and weaponized under Israeli occupation. Public health is not simply a technical issue or humanitarian concern—it is a political tool that shapes and reflects broader systems of control, inequality, and resistance.
The study combines historical analysis, international organizational reports, and original regression analysis using Arab Barometer data to assess how health infrastructure, service access, and public opinion interact. Chapters explore the historical dismantling of Palestinian health systems, the contemporary challenges of movement restrictions and service availability, and the correlation with healthcare system satisfaction and normalization with Israel.
Key findings include disparities in access to care within the West Bank and Gaza, significant delays and denials in medical permit systems, and a strong relationship between infrastructural insecurity and dissatisfaction with healthcare. The data also suggests that Palestinian satisfaction with healthcare services is associated with increased openness to normalization with Israel, though significant future research is needed to see the full extent that public health can influence public opinion.
This thesis contributes to both peacebuilding and public health literature by showing how addressing health inequality is not only necessary but strategically vital. It reframes public health as a foundational part of conflict management in Israel-Palestine while showing that it can and should be included in relation to other conflicts.
Recommended Citation
Woods, Mabrie E., "Protracted Conflict and Health Disparities: Medical Apartheid in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" (2025). Honors Theses. 3361.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3361
Creative Commons License
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Included in
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