How does Arab Spring relate to Israel?

Answer 1

The Arab Spring is the outcome of a number of repressive policies against Arab citizens from their own governments. This anger was fomenting in the Arab populaces (at different rates in different countries) pretty much since the Independence Movements secured the European Colonizers' retreat. The reason the Arab Spring did not happen earlier is that most Arabs did not believe that they had the power to overthrow their governments. The ouster of Zine Abidine ben Ali in Tunisia changed that view and encouraged Arabs in different states to revolt against their leadership.

However, Israel has been a democratic country since independence. Minorities have always been in the Israeli Knesset. (Seif el-Din el-Zoubi was an Arab Muslim member of the first Knesset in 1949.) As a result, while there may be anger in Israel proper, it was insufficient to demand a government change. There were protests in Israel at around the same time, but these were over housing price issues.

In the Palestinian Territories, there were some protests in the West Bank over Fatah's perceived failure to create an independent Palestinian State, but there is no real opposition party or group to challenge Fatah, so many Palestinians feel desperate, but with no alternatives. There was also the fear of Israeli soldiers mobilizing against the protests. In Gaza, Hamas violently quelled any attempt at Arab Spring.

This is not to say that the changes in foreign governments that come about as a result of the Arab Spring will not affect the Arab-Israeli Conflict. The strongest change will most likely be the ending of the Egyptian-Israeli Alliance that Mubarak maintained. (This is not to say that Egypt will reneg on the Peace of 1979, but that they will not coordinate military policies with Israel.)