Constructing a Collective Palestinian Identity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel

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Constructing a Collective Palestinian Identity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel

State of the Art

Since the period of Ottoman Empire until the present there was a shift in the collective Palestinian identity. Before 1948 (during the Ottoman Empire), Palestinians mainly identified themselves as Arabs, Muslims and Ottomans. During this period, it was mainly an Arab unity which was politically organized to repel a Jewish national home in historical Palestine. During the mandate period, tribal identities became stronger, which resulted in the weakening of the collective Palestinian identity. It was only after the 1967 war, that the Palestinian identity became stronger. Different Palestinian identities arose, and Palestinians started to organize themselves politically. The collective Palestinian identity was at its strongest point during the Al-Aqsa Intifada, since this was rather a struggle for Palestinian self-determination than a Arab or Muslim struggle. Afterwards, the Muslim identity in Palestine became stronger, but the Palestinian identity remained the strongest.

Collective identity is defined by MiAri as the sense of belonging to a group, or number of groups, in which membership is claimed. Membership is a subjective state, but lays on objective features.

Different scholars emphasize different aspects in the construction the collective identity. In the case of the Palestinian identity, there has been reported a major importance of the collective memory. Sayigh already reported that continual crisis played a major role in defining the Palestinians. She argues that their history of displacement and oppression and the rise of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation and the resistance movement are part of the Palestinian identity . Also more recently, scholars argued the importance of the Palestinian history mainly the Nakbah as an important part of the collective Palestinian identity.

This immediate leads towards the second aspect of the Palestinian identity which is being touched in the literature, the continuously struggle the Palestinians are facing. Through this struggle, Palestinians identify themselves in contract with the other.

Shabaneh argues that the United Nation Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugee in the Near East (UNRWA) had a major influence in the construction of the Palestinian identity. UNRWA made institutions and organizations which structured Palestinian society and enabled them to organize themselves.

Indigenous communities usually do not identify themselves with the culture. Due to their marginalized position in society, they distance themselves from everything which is not like them. In Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the Bedouins have this marginalized position. Literature on how they identify themselves and what their relationship towards the Palestinian identity is, is not published. We could only assume they are identifying with Palestine, since they face the same struggle and share the same history.

Methodology

The construction of the Palestinian identity in the Bedouin minority in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel will be analyzed through a multi-sited ethnographic approach. Participatory observation and formal as well as informal interviews.

The research will be a case study, implemented on three sites: Arab al Jahalin village, Susya Unrecognized Village and Umm Al-Hiran Unrecognized village. The sites are diverse, and all have their own history, but are in a similar condition. The residents of Al Jabal are from the Jahalin tribe. Due to the conflict in their original townships (in the mountains around Jerusalem) the families were forces to move to the central village of Al Jabal, which lays on area C. In this centralized village, 150 refugee Bedouin families are living with whom UNWRA is actively working. Susya is an Unrecognized Bedouin village in the Southern Hebron Hills. The village has been demolished by Israeli forces several times. The village lays next to an ancient Jewish mosque, which strengthens the interest of Israel to displace the people of Susya. Until today, the village of Susya is threatened by demolishment. (3) Umm Al-Hiran is an Unrecognized Bedouin village in the Naqab/Negev Desert, near the city Beer Sheba. On May 5, 2015 the Supreme ourt of Israel decided that the unrecognized status of the Bedouin village would remain and allowed the state of Israel to demolish it. The village still stand until today, but demolishment action by the Israeli forces are still being implemented.

On these three sights, participatory observation will take place by participating in the daily lives of the Bedouin tribes. Besides participatory observation, formal as well as informal interviews will take place with a set of informants. Also, formal interviews with humanitarian aid workers and employees of other NGOs will take place to get a greater understanding of the ideas they are transferring. In each observation sites, there will be a observation of a longer period (at least three month).

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