Bedouins in the West Bank: Policies of Displacement and Marginalization

Research on Palestine is a seminar series hosted by the Institute for Palestine Studies in Beirut. It is geared towards up-and-coming researchers, but the series will discuss any new research in Palestinian Studies. It gives researchers the opportunity to reflect on the story behind their projects as well as their research findings. The intervention is divided into three aspects. The first of which discusses the absence of studies covering the Bedouin life and society in the West Bank, and the forced displacement of Bedouins. The second aspect discusses the problems entailed in field research in Palestine, and will focus on the researcher’s experience of doing field work and the problems encountered while studying the Bedouin and farming communities in the Jordan Valley. Such problems arise mainly because of the colonial Israeli policies in this area, as well as because of the work mechanisms employed by development and relief agencies. The third aspect sheds light on the nature of Bedouins in the West Bank from their perspective, their repeated displacement, and the reasons behind the intensification of the colonial campaign against them, and their coping mechanisms with the colonial policies and practices.