of connections between Umm al-Fahm and Jenin and Nablus 311 was, and remains, at the heart of Israeli political concerns.312 Significantly, the new geopolitical conditions brought about by the Israeli occupation of the West Bank in 1967, allowed for the restoration of social, economic and cultural bonds among Palestinians on both sides of the Green Line, notably as a result of the reinstatement of a transportation network between Umm al-Fahm, Jenin and Anin. Consequently, economic prospects were enhanced for the residents of Umm al-Fahm, a significant number of whom would eventually move to Jenin for employment and housing opportunities.313 For a period, this restored connectivity, revitalized the Palestinian identity and fostered ethics of resistance all over Mandatory Palestine. Resistance among Palestinians intensified – those from camps, cities, villages, and the Diaspora all resisted – not only because the borders were open, but also due to the inception of a new generation that had a clear vision and felt undefeated. During this period, political forces that linked their projects to the Palestinian historical right [to resist] began to form […]. Loai al-Khatib, member of Abnaa al-Balad Interview: Umm al-Fahm, 7 November 2019 The ensuing First and Second Intifadas demonstrated the potential strength of a united Palestinian people on both sides of the Green Line in the struggle against Israeli oppression. This propelled an increase in Israel’s policies of segregation, fragmentation and isolation,314 under which manipulation and appropriation of the transportation network played a key role. Some of the mechanisms that Israel utilized to re-fragment Umm al-Fahm and thereby disrupt Palestinian sociopolitical cohesion are outlined below. • Cessation of the bus network: Having been reinstated after Israel occupied the West Bank, the Shakhsheer bus company was again forced 311 Yehezkel Lein, Land Grab: Israel’s Settlement Policy in the West Bank (Jerusalem: B’Tselem, 2002), 14, available at: https://www.btselem.org/download/200205_land_grab_eng.pdf 312 “If we don’t do something the partition plan of 1947 will materialize right in front of our eyes. It has in fact already begun. There is a connection from Lebanon through the Galilee to Jenin and the triangle,” Brig. Gen. (res.) Eival Gilady, “The Galilee as a challenge and national priority”, Herzliya Conference, 23 January 2006; “We want to Judaize the Wadi Ara area ... The state wants to put this place in order so that the Arabs won’t rear their heads,” Interior Ministry-appointed head of local council Nissim Dahan, in 2008, cited in White, supra 300, 55. 313 Jabbarin, supra 281. 314 Fahmawi Youth Movement, supra 301. 79