In the West Bank, Bedouin survival is threatened by the E1 plan
On the hills east of Jerusalem, the expansion of Israeli settlements is transforming the daily lives of Bedouin communities. Forced to abandon their nomadic lifestyle and to defend themselves from attacks by settlers, they continue to struggle for their livelihoods. All around them, the construction of infrastructure related to the E1 plan is making the creation of a future Palestinian state increasingly impossible.
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) – That road wasn't there a month ago. And that roundabout? They built it in the last few days. Observing the hills east of Jerusalem, one notices how the landscape is changing before our eyes. These are the signs of the continuous expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Settlers arrive and the first thing they do is plant an Israeli flag. Then a trailer usually appears, and after that, the first constructions begin.
The settlements are considered illegal under international law and are built in areas where Bedouin tribes live. Forced to give up their nomadic lifestyle, today they live mostly in shacks made of sheet metal, or in rooms made of wooden panels with plastic sheeting roofs. For some time, they have seen their herds dwindle because settlers often buy a head of cattle, place it among the Bedouin herds, and take a photo. They then go to the Israeli police, claiming the livestock is theirs, thus stealing the few remaining means of subsistence from the Bedouins.
Several groups of activists, coordinated by Israeli associations such as “Rabbi for Human Rights” and “Jordan Valley Activists,” work in these areas to protect Palestinian herders and families from attacks by settlers, particularly in the region known as E1 (East 1). It is here that the Israeli government recently decided to expand the Ma'ale Adumim settlement, effectively splitting the West Bank in two and isolating East Jerusalem from the Palestinian territories. The completion of the E1 plan, which dates back to the 1990s and was then frozen due to international pressure, would make the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state in the occupied territories virtually impossible. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich emphasized this himself when he announced the approval for the construction of 3,000 new housing units: “E1 buries the idea of a Palestinian state and continues the numerous initiatives we are taking on the ground as part of the de facto sovereignty plan that we have begun to implement with the establishment of the government.” For both critics and supporters of the project, the next step can only be the annexation of the West Bank, which the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, already approved with a non-binding motion in recent weeks.
In the middle of this conflict are the Bedouins, communities never officially recognized despite having lived in these desert areas for generations, and are therefore considered “abusive.” Despite the dramatic political situation, the children have the chance to play, learn English, and have a snack in plain, unfurnished structures, which, however, display the logos of various European cooperation agencies on the outside.
The Bedouin families have refused medical aid despite the prevalence of genetic diseases resulting from the traditional practice of marrying cousins. However, they have asked for schools for their children. In fact, the children used to walk the road to Jericho to go to school, which has now become too dangerous due to the increasing number of settlements. The older children used to attend the "tire school," a school for Bedouins built in 2009 by the Milan-based NGO "Vento di Terra" using over 2,000 tires. The presence of settlers along the way terrifies the children, so the families have asked the Palestinian authorities for help. Now, it takes them 40 minutes by bus to get to class, compared to the five minutes they used to take on foot. The settlements are increasingly surrounded by barbed wire and cameras, also becoming a place to test the latest facial recognition technologies.
In August, before classes resumed, children of all ages gathered to play, often including water games to cope with the high temperatures, which can exceed 40 degrees Celsius. But before throwing water balloons, the children enjoy having their faces painted. One of the students asked, “Will you draw me a Palestinian flag? Because I am Palestinian.”
The new generations of Israelis and Palestinians, who grew up in a climate of war, are keen to emphasize the divisions. While young Israeli girls wear necklaces showing the outline of Palestine crossed by the Star of David, among Bedouin girls, it is fashionable to wear one with the same borders but alongside a rifle. Even to visitors, after asking where they are from, the younger children don't ask for their names, but for their political preference: “Do you love Palestine? Do you love Israel?” On a colored stone, one Bedouin child, rejecting this logic, wrote in Arabic “hurriya as-salam,” which means “freedom of peace.”
While the children play, concrete mixers, cranes, and bulldozers are constantly seen moving through the hills around the Bedouin schools. Before the war on October 7, several Palestinians worked in the Israeli settlements. Now, that is no longer the case. The men are often at home without work or are forced to work on plantations established by settlers in front of the settlements. But it is mainly the women who must provide for their families. They make embroidery, soap, and candles while their children sleep. Some of them would like to start a cooperative, but it's uncertain whether it will be possible. The Bedouin families, increasingly surrounded and oppressed by new settlements, don't know where they will go when they are eventually forced to abandon the miserable shacks they live in now. But they hope to be able to continue to support themselves even when they leave.
The wives have asked for something to be done so their husbands can also return to work. Many of them have been at home for almost two years because, after October 7, all Palestinian workers who had contact with Israeli entities were fired. Some of them have taken a Hebrew course to be able to keep a job within the settlements, but also to protect themselves from Israeli authorities, who often show up with documents that the Bedouin families cannot read, so they can take possession of the land through legal subterfuge. The courts often ask for land ownership certificates, but the Bedouins, who are at the bottom of Palestinian society, have never had them. They often say that the land was given to men by God, and therefore cannot be owned by anyone.
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13/01/2023 19:16
