The 2009 election campaign of the Arab political parties in Israel has accentuated trends in Arab politics that have been taking place for about two decades, primarily the rise of Palestinian national politics within Israel. Whereas the 1950s and 1960s saw subdued Arab politics in Israel and the 1970s and 1980s witnessed Arab mobilization through the Communist Party, which advanced a socialist agenda, the last two decades have seen the growth of national Arab parties that have been making demands in the name of Palestinian nationalism in Israel. This paper discusses the recent trends and their manifestations through the rise of Palestinian political parties, ethnically based civil society organizations, and more recently the publication of the Future Vision documents. Following an analysis of the Palestinian demands in Israel, the paper will proceed to explain the origins of their emergence, paying particular attention to grievances, elites, and broader changes in state-society relations in Israel. It is argued that the 2009 elections, with the incursion of the Israeli army into Gaza in the background, serve to highlight the extent to which Palestinian national consciousness has become a prominent feature of Arab political activism in Israel. The analysis is largely based on interviews conducted with leaders of the Palestinian Arab community in Israel.