The Bedouins in Palestine: between tradition and occupation

Abstract

Palestinian Bedouins have been unfavourably affected by occupation policies of forced resettlement, urbanisation, and demolition of their homes. This thesis examines the social and cultural change that transformed the Bedouins in the West Bank of Palestine. My research is based on a case study of the al Jahalin tribe who were expelled from their original land al-Naqab after the 1948 war and the birth of Israel. The Bedouins became refugees in scattered areas in the West Bank and after the 1993 Oslo Accord they represented an obstacle for the expansion of illegal settlements in the occupied territory and faced expulsion for the second time. As a result of the Israeli occupation displacement policy, the Bedouins in the West Bank were forcibly displaced in small villages. This research is based on interviews, which I conducted with Bedouin sheikhs, men, women and children in the West Bank as well as a direct observation between the years 2012-2018. I argue that despite Bedouin women being subjected to patriarchal rule and tradition, the military rule and occupation of the West Bank played a dominant role in oppressing, marginalising, harassing, and humiliating the Bedouin women in the West Bank. This thesis also explores the gendered nature of occupation and the loss of identity, livelihood, and changing roles concerning household power structures.