Nazareth

===Israeli period===

====1948 War====
[[File:Moshe Sharett - Amin Gargurah.jpg|thumb|[[Amin-Salim Jarjora]]
 (left), Mayor of Nazareth, with Israeli prime minister [[Moshe Sharett]], 1955]]
Nazareth itself was not a field of battle during the 1948 War, which began on 15 May, before the first truce on 11 June, although some of the villagers had joined the loosely organized peasant military and paramilitary forces, and troops from the [[Arab Liberation Army]] (ALA) had entered Nazareth on 9 July. The local defense of the town consisted of 200–300 militiamen distributed along the hills surrounding the town. The defense in the southern and western hills collapsed after Israeli shelling, while resistance in the northern hills had to contend with an incoming Israeli armored unit. Not long after the Israelis began shelling the local militiamen, Nazareth's police chief raised a white flag over the town's police station.<ref name="Emmett44">Emmett 1995, p. 44.</ref>

Most of the fighting around Nazareth occurred in its satellite villages, particularly in [[Saffuriya]], whose residents put up resistance until largely dispersing following Israeli air raids on 15 July.<ref name="Emmett43">Emmett 1995, p. 43</ref> During the ten days of fighting which occurred between the first and second truce, Nazareth capitulated to Israeli troops during [[Operation Dekel]] on 16 July, after little more than token resistance. By then, morale among local militiamen was low and most refused to fight alongside the ALA because of their perceived weakness in the face of Israel's perceived military superiority and the alleged maltreatment of Christian residents and clergy by ALA volunteers. The Muslim mayor of Nazareth, Yusef Fahum requested a halt to all resistance put up by Nazarenes to prevent the town's destruction.<ref name="Emmett44"/>

The surrender of Nazareth was formalized in a written agreement, whereby the town's leaders agreed to cease hostilities in return for promises from the Israeli officers, including brigade commander [[Ben Dunkelman]] (the leader of the operation), that no harm would come to the civilians of the town. Soon after the signing of the agreement, Dunkelman received an order from the Israeli General [[Chaim Laskov]] to forcibly evacuate the city's Arabs. He refused, remarking that he was 'shocked and horrified' that he would be commanded to renege on the agreement he, and also Chaim Laskov, had just signed. Twelve hours after defying his superior, he was relieved of his post, but not before obtaining assurances that the security of Nazareth's population would be guaranteed. [[David Ben-Gurion]] backed his judgement up, fearing that expelling Christian Arabs might provoke an outcry throughout the Christian world.<ref>Derek J. Penslar, [https://books.google.com/books?id=qWsPAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA235  ''Jews and the Military: A History,''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103083953/https://books.google.com/books?id=qWsPAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA235 |date=3 January 2020 }} Princeton University Press 2013 p.235.</ref> By the end of the war, Nazareth's population saw a large influx of refugees from major urban centers and rural villages in the Galilee.<ref name="Emmett40"/>

==== 1950s–1960s ====
[[File:Habsora from selezian.jpg|thumb|View of modern Nazareth]]
In the first few years of its incorporation into Israel, Nazareth's affairs were dominated by the issues of land expropriation, [[internally displaced Palestinians|internally displaced refugees]] and the hardships of martial law, which included curfews and travel restrictions. Efforts to resolve these issues were largely unsuccessful and led to frustration among the inhabitants, which in turn contributed to political agitation in the city.<ref>Emmett 1995, p. 49.</ref> As the largest Arab town in Israel, Nazareth became a center of [[Arab nationalism|Arab]] and [[Palestinian nationalism]], and because the [[Communist Party of Israel|Communist Party]] was the sole legal political group that took up many of the local Arab causes, it gained popularity in Nazareth.<ref name="Emmett49-50">Emmett 1995, pp. 49–50.</ref> Arab political organization within Nazareth and Israel was largely stymied by the state until recent decades.<ref>Emmett 1995, pp. 50–51.</ref> Arab and Palestinian nationalist sentiment continue to influence Nazareth's political life.<ref>Emmett 1995, p. 48.</ref>

In 1954, 1,200 [[dunam]]s of Nazareth's land, which had been slated for future urban expansion by the municipality, was expropriated by state authorities for the construction of government offices and, in 1957, for the construction of the Jewish town of [[Nazareth Illit]]. The latter was built as a way for the state to counterbalance the Arab majority in the region.<ref name="Emmett52">Emmett 1995, p. 52.</ref> [[Knesset]] member [[Seif el-Din el-Zoubi]], who represented Nazareth, actively opposed the [[Israeli land and property laws#The 'Absentees Property Law'|Absentees' Property Law]], which allowed state expropriation of land from Arab citizens who were not permitted to return to their original villages. Zoubi argued that the internally displaced refugees were not absentees as they were still living in the country as citizens and wanted to return to their homes.<ref>Emmett 1995, p. 51.</ref> Israel offered compensation to these internal refugees, but most refused for fear of permanently relinquishing their [[Palestinian right of return|right of return]]. Tensions between Nazareth's inhabitants and the state came to a head during a 1958 [[May Day]] rally where marchers demanded that refugees be allowed to return to their villages, an end to land expropriation, and self-determination for Palestinians. Several young protesters were arrested for throwing stones at security forces.<ref name="Emmett49-50"/> Martial law ended in 1966.

On 5 January 1964, [[Pope Paul VI]] included Nazareth in the [[List of pastoral visits of Pope Paul VI outside Italy|first ever papal visit]] to the Holy Land.<ref name="HL">{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcatholicdirectory.com/special-feature-article/papal-visits-to-the-holy-land.html |title=Papal Visits to the Holy Land |first=Judith |last=Sudilovsky |year=2009 |publisher=Official Catholic Directory |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213055756/http://www.officialcatholicdirectory.com/special-feature-article/papal-visits-to-the-holy-land.html |archive-date=13 December 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====1980s–2010s====
As of the early 1990s, no city plans drafted by Nazareth Municipality have been approved by the government (both the British Mandate and later Israel) since 1942.<ref name="Emmett54">Emmett 1995, p. 54.</ref> This has left many people in Nazareth who vote in the city's municipal elections and receive services from its municipality effectively outside of the city's jurisdiction. Such areas include the Sharqiya and Jabal el-Daula quarters which are in Nazareth Illit's jurisdiction and whose residents had to acquire building permits from the latter city. Similarly, the Bilal neighborhood of the Safafra Quarter is located within [[Reineh]]'s jurisdiction. In 1993, the residents of Bilal became official residents of Reineh.<ref name="Emmett54"/> Nazareth's municipal plans for expansion prior to the establishment of Nazareth Illit, were to the north and east, areas that the latter city now occupy. Arab satellite towns are closely located to the north, west and southwest. Thus, the remaining area within the city's municipal boundaries available for expansion were to the northwest and the south, where the topography restricted urban development. After lobbying the Knesset and the [[Ministry of Interior (Israel)|Interior Ministry]], el-Zoubi was able to have areas to the northwest of the city annexed to the municipality.<ref name="Emmett53">Emmett 1995, p. 53.</ref>

In the 1980s, the government began attempts to merge the nearby village of [[Ilut]] with Nazareth, although this move was opposed by residents from both localities and the Nazareth Municipality.<ref name="Emmett53"/> Ilut's residents were included as part of Nazareth's electorate in the 1983 and 1989 municipal elections, which Ilut's residents largely boycotted, and in the 1988 national elections. Ilut was designated by the Interior Ministry as a separate [[local council (Israel)|local council]] in 1991.<ref name="Emmett54"/> The Israeli government has designated a Nazareth [[metropolitan area]] that includes the [[Local council (Israel)|local councils]] of [[Yafa an-Naseriyye]] to the south, Reineh, [[Mashhad (Israel)|Mashhad]] and [[Kafr Kanna]] to the north, [[Iksal]] and Nazareth Illit to the east and [[Migdal HaEmek]] to the west.

[[File:Andartnazareth.jpg|thumb|Monument to Arab Israeli casualties in the [[October 2000 events]], Nazareth]]
As the political center of Israel's Arab citizens, Nazareth is the scene of annual rallies held by the community including [[Land Day]] since March 1975 and May Day.<ref name="Emmett55">Emmett 1995, p. 55.</ref> There are also frequent demonstrations in support of the Palestinian cause.<ref name="Emmett56">Emmett 1995, p. 56.</ref> During the [[First Intifada]] (1987–1993), May Day marchers vocally supported the Palestinian uprising. On 22 December 1987, riots broke out during a strike held in solidarity with the Intifada. On 24 January 1988, a mass demonstration attracted between 20,000–50,000 participants from Nazareth and other Arab towns.<ref>Emmett 1995, p. 59.</ref> On 13 May, during a [[association football|football]] match in [[Nahariya]], a riot broke out between Arab and Jewish fans, resulting in a Jewish man being stabbed and 54 people, mostly Arabs, being arrested. A rally in Nazareth on 19 May followed, in which thousands of Arabs protested against "racist attacks" against the Arab fans and discriminatory policies against Arabs in general.<ref name="Emmett55"/>

Preparations for the [[Pope]]'s visit to Nazareth in 2000 triggered highly publicized tensions related to the [[Basilica of the Annunciation]]. In 1997, permission was granted to construct a paved plaza to handle the thousands of Christian pilgrims expected to arrive. A small group of Muslims protested and occupied the site, where a nephew of Saladin, named [[Al-Mu'azzam Isa|Shihab al-Din]], is believed{{who|date=October 2014}} to be buried. A school, al-Harbyeh, had been built on the site by the Ottomans, and the Shihab-Eddin shrine, along with several shops owned by the [[waqf]], were located there. Government approval of plans for a large mosque on the property triggered protests from Christian leaders. In 2002, a special government commission permanently halted construction of the mosque.<ref>{{cite web |title=Final Bar on Controversial Nazareth Mosque |date=4 March 2002 |publisher=Catholic World News |url=http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=17590 |access-date=1 August 2006 |archive-date=6 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106233134/http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=17590 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2006, public protests followed the disruption of a prayer service by an Israeli Jew and his Christian wife and daughter, who detonated firecrackers inside the church. The family said it wanted to draw attention to their problems with the welfare authorities.<ref>{{cite news |title=Thousands of Israeli Arabs protest attack |date=4 March 2006 |newspaper=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-03-04-israeli-arabs_x.htm?csp=34 |access-date=5 September 2017 |archive-date=28 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628120544/http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-03-04-israeli-arabs_x.htm?csp=34 |url-status=live }}</ref> In July 2006 a rocket fired by [[Hezbollah]] as part of the [[2006 Lebanon War|2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict]] killed two children in Nazareth.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rocket attacks kill two Israeli Arab children |date=19 July 2006 |agency=Reuters |url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L196187346.htm |access-date=7 August 2006 |archive-date=28 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528163548/https://news.trust.org//humanitarian/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2010, the Israeli government approved a $3 million plan to develop Nazareth's tourism industry. New businesses receive start-up grants of up to 30 percent of their initial investment from the [[Israeli Ministry of Tourism|Ministry of Tourism]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/travel/nazareth-as-a-culinary-destination.html|title=Nazareth as a Culinary Destination|first=Rachel B.|last=Doyle|date=22 December 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=27 February 2017|archive-date=16 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216092238/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/25/travel/nazareth-as-a-culinary-destination.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== 2020s ====
Riots broke out in Nazareth during the [[2021 Israel–Palestine crisis]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=9 May 2021|title=Clashes and arrests as Jerusalem protests spread to Haifa, Nazareth|url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1X4LaHOO|access-date=12 May 2021|website=ynetnews|language=en|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512150326/https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1X4LaHOO|url-status=live}}</ref>