Palestinian Territories Research Articles

Perceived barriers and opportunities of providing quality family planning services among Palestinian midwives, physicians and nurses in the West Bank: a qualitative study

BackgroundDespite advancements in family planning (FP) services, several barriers persist in the Occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), blocking women’s access to suitable, high-quality and equitable FP services. The aim of this study was to understand how healthcare providers perceive their abilities, barriers and opportunities in providing good quality FP services. Furthermore, it seeks to explore knowledge and training regarding FP among healthcare providers engaged in providing FP services.MethodsA qualitative study was undertaken from August to September 2022 in seven Primary Health Care (PHC) clinics distributed in three governorates and operating under the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) in the West Bank. Semi-structured, in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with 13 health providers (Physicians, midwives and nurses), using an interview guide in Arabic language. Transcripts were subsequently analyzed using the six phases of reflexive thematic analysis.ResultsFP services face various challenges, including shortages in resources such as staff, supplies, infrastructures and FP methods. Midwives possess significant potentials to offer accessible, high-quality, efficient and equitable FP services, yet, their capacities remain underutilized, representing a missed opportunity for a country like Palestine. The study provided a current overview of FP services while illustrating the need for quality FP services and the need for an updated continuous education and training, updated standardized guidelines and protocols and supportive supervision are needed across all levels of healthcare providers. Finally, providers reported a wide range of structural barriers to FP services.ConclusionsIt is crucial to meticulously address both community-related and health system factors to enhance the fulfillment of FP needs and reduce unintended and closely spaced pregnancies. Policymakers should invest in the development of laws and regulations regarding FP services, promoting a comprehensive and holistic approach to FP services. This includes formulating supportive policies, capacity building of human resources and maintaining security of FP commodities.

Indonesia's Role in the Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Territories: New Order Era to The Reformation

This research examines Indonesia's involvement in the Israeli occupation of Palestine during the New Order and Reform eras. It employs a qualitative approach, utilising a literature review to analyse the role of Indonesian diplomacy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The results demonstrate that Indonesia played a significant role in resolving the conflict through diplomacy. Indonesia demonstrated a firm stance of neutrality and freedom. Indonesia prioritised diplomatic efforts over those undertaken through the use of military force. In terms of international relations, Indonesia employs a multi-track diplomatic approach towards Palestine with the objective of achieving peace. Indonesia's multi-track diplomacy towards Palestine represents a form of diplomacy conducted by Indonesia with the aim of achieving world peace. The prolonged conflict that occurred when Israel occupied the Palestinian territories attracted the attention of various parties, including countries, governments, non-governmental organisations and individuals. It is crucial to acknowledge that the Indonesian government is not the sole entity engaged in conflict resolution on a global scale. This underscores the significance of Indonesia's multilateral diplomacy as a model for other countries to emulate.

Interventions to promote mental health in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Palestinian refugees: A scoping review.

The long history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has resulted in a public and mental health crisis. Despite the significant mental health burdens facing the Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and refugee camps, this issue remains comprehensively unexplored. This scoping review identified mental health interventions and assessed their effectiveness among populations in the OPT and Palestinian refugee camps, while addressing delivery challenges. A scoping review was conducted using 14 databases to include relevant studies published through March 2024 using PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews. Analyzing 31 intervention studies meeting the inclusion/exclusion criteria, revealed varied outcomes in interventions targeting post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and overall mental well-being. While some interventions showed potential, others had limited effectiveness, underscoring the complexity of mental health needs in conflict zones. Gender- and risk-specific effectiveness was observed, emphasizing the need for tailored approaches. Challenges like low attendance rates and systemic barriers hindered intervention success. The profound impact of war on children stresses the urgency for targeted interventions. Empowerment and community connectedness are vital for resilience, along with the importance of family and community involvement and research that balances the need for strong evaluation designs with the need for ongoing mental health services. Advocacy for systemic changes is crucial to implement the complex sustainable interventions necessary to assure mental health in any population. This review highlights the importance of holistic, contextually relevant approaches for mental health intervention in OPT and refugee camps, emphasizing rigorous evaluations and community-driven approaches.

Considerazioni introduttive sul sistema palestinese alla prova del rapporto tra diritto e religioni

Preliminary remarks on the Palestinian legal system to the test of the relation between law and religions ABSTRACT: The aim of this essay is to shape a very first physiognomy of the political and religious Palestinian system. While international current events seem to concentrate especially on the hypotheses of formal State recognition for the Palestinian territories, a different approach to the study of that legal order and the associative forms that make it distinctive might improve the knowledge of the ongoing claims and the petitions for pacification. The analytical purpose consists in underlining a general framework much more articulate and diversified: not a vague, monolithic, block, but an everyday changing combination of interests and belongings never disregarding the relationships between law and religion. SOMMARIO: 1. Una premessa sui contenuti dell’analisi: la necessità di un approccio differente dalle contingenze politiche - 2. Demografia religiosa e pluralità sostanziale in un territorio controverso - 3. Rappresentanza e movimenti sociali: un quadro in divenire - 4. Possibili considerazioni conclusive: la riemersione della statualità e l’attualità delle proposte di autonomia nel dibattito interno e internazionale

Boikot Barang Israel: Strategi Perlawanan Dan Solidaritas Global Dalam Mendukung Perjuangan Palestina

One of the main reasons behind the boycott of Israeli goods is to condemn Israeli actions that are considered to violate international law and human rights in the Palestinian territories. Boycotting Israeli goods is also a political and economic resistance strategy used by many countries and international organizations to support a sustainable peace solution between Israel and Palestine. By pressing Israel economically. This research is in accordance with the descriptive qualitative method with a library approach. Qualitative research was chosen as the type of research used in this research. The choice of qualitative research is because there are several factors that take precedence in terms of elaborating and explaining a phenomenon to be studied. In qualitative research there is also more explanation, description and analysis using an inductive approach. The data collection techniques used by researchers are techniques from relevant sources. In this case, the focus of various in-depth reference sources is the presence of key informants who have previously been given access to provide in-depth questions related to the topic of the problem being researched. The direct economic impact of the boycott has broader social and political impacts including increased international awareness of the Palestine-Israel issue, increased polarization, and political responses from governments and societies around the world.

War on Palestine: How the fates of Gaza and Julian Assange are sealed together

Commentary: Were they being properly reported, two critically important court hearings in February 2024, in London and The Hague, would expose the US ‘rules-based order’ as a hollow sham. Both posed globe-spanning threats to our most basic freedoms. Neither received more than perfunctory coverage in Western establishment media such as the BBC. One was a week-long hearing by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over a United Nations General Assembly request for an advisory opinion over Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories and the other was a last-ditch appeal of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange against efforts by the United States to extradite him so that he can be locked away for the rest of his life. EDITORIAL NOTE: After the editorial of Pacific Journalism Review and the lead article in this edition (Vol 30, No 1&2) about the fate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange were printed, the Australian journalist was set free and he arrived back in Australia after a plea bargain. The winner of his country’s Walkley Award for journalism excellence, Assange was freed by a US federal court in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, on 26 June 2024 after a plea bargain to plead guilty to one charge of violating the US Espionage Act and the judge sentenced him to 62 months, jail time already served in the UK on remand. His 14-year struggle for freedom was over, but his lawyers say they will press for a full US presidential pardon.

War on Palestine: How the fates of Gaza and Julian Assange are sealed together

Commentary: Were they being properly reported, two critically important court hearings in February 2024, in London and The Hague, would expose the US ‘rules-based order’ as a hollow sham. Both posed globe-spanning threats to our most basic freedoms. Neither received more than perfunctory coverage in Western establishment media such as the BBC. One was a week-long hearing by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over a United Nations General Assembly request for an advisory opinion over Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories and the other was a last-ditch appeal of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange against efforts by the United States to extradite him so that he can be locked away for the rest of his life. EDITORIAL NOTE: After the editorial of Pacific Journalism Review and the lead article in this edition (Vol 30, No 1&2) about the fate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange were printed, the Australian journalist was set free and he arrived back in Australia after a plea bargain. The winner of his country’s Walkley Award for journalism excellence, Assange was freed by a US federal court in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, on 26 June 2024 after a plea bargain to plead guilty to one charge of violating the US Espionage Act and the judge sentenced him to 62 months, jail time already served in the UK on remand. His 14-year struggle for freedom was over, but his lawyers say they will press for a full US presidential pardon.

Between the Hammer of Tradition and the Anvil of Occupation: Men and Masculinity in the Palestinian Occupied Territories

The current study focuses on the notion of masculinity in Palestinian culture and the challenges Palestinian civilian men face while attempting to fulfill their traditional gender-based roles within the context of occupation. The core elements of Palestinian manhood and masculinity are established through an in-depth examination of a body of proverbs that are still in circulation in Palestinian society today. Drawing on recent discussions related to masculinity, this study is the first of its kind to illustrate how proverbs contribute to the sociocultural construction of ideas on manhood and promote patriarchal views and sexist ideologies, which are harmful to men, women, and the family as the core unit of the social fabric. Through exploring the current living situation of civilian men in the occupied Palestinian territories, we aim to highlight the fact that the entrapment between the anvil of rigid traditions and the hammer of the oppressive practices of a military occupation negatively affects the wellbeing of men and often leads to displaced aggression and violence.

Psychological and social interventions for the promotion of mental health in people living in low- and middle-income countries affected by humanitarian crises.

Because of wars, conflicts, persecutions, human rights violations, and humanitarian crises, about 84 million people are forcibly displaced around the world; the great majority of them live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). People living in humanitarian settings are affected by a constellation of stressors that threaten their mental health. Psychosocial interventions for people affected by humanitarian crises may be helpful to promote positive aspects of mental health, such as mental well-being, psychosocial functioning, coping, and quality of life. Previous reviews have focused on treatment and mixed promotion and prevention interventions. In this review, we focused on promotion of positive aspects of mental health. To assess the effects of psychosocial interventions aimed at promoting mental health versus control conditions (no intervention, intervention as usual, or waiting list) in people living in LMICs affected by humanitarian crises. We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, and seven other databases to January 2023. We also searched the World Health Organization's (WHO) International Clinical Trials Registry Platform and ClinicalTrials.gov to identify unpublished or ongoing studies, and checked the reference lists of relevant studies and reviews. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing psychosocial interventions versus control conditions (no intervention, intervention as usual, or waiting list) to promote positive aspects of mental health in adults and children living in LMICs affected by humanitarian crises. We excluded studies that enrolled participants based on a positive diagnosis of mental disorder (or based on a proxy of scoring above a cut-off score on a screening measure). We used standard Cochrane methods. Our primary outcomes were mental well-being, functioning, quality of life, resilience, coping, hope, and prosocial behaviour. The secondary outcome was acceptability, defined as the number of participants who dropped out of the trial for any reason. We used GRADE to assess the certainty of evidence for the outcomes of mental well-being, functioning, and prosocial behaviour. We included 13 RCTs with 7917 participants. Nine RCTs were conducted on children/adolescents, and four on adults. All included interventions were delivered to groups of participants, mainly by paraprofessionals. Paraprofessional is defined as an individual who is not a mental or behavioural health service professional, but works at the first stage of contact with people who are seeking mental health care. Four RCTs were carried out in Lebanon; two in India; and single RCTs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jordan, Haiti, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the occupied Palestinian Territories (oPT), Nepal, and Tanzania. The mean study duration was 18 weeks (minimum 10, maximum 32 weeks). Trials were generally funded by grants from academic institutions or non-governmental organisations. For children and adolescents, there was no clear difference between psychosocial interventions and control conditions in improving mental well-being and prosocial behaviour at study endpoint (mental well-being: standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.06, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.17 to 0.29; 3 RCTs, 3378 participants; very low-certainty evidence; prosocial behaviour: SMD -0.25, 95% CI -0.60 to 0.10; 5 RCTs, 1633 participants; low-certainty evidence), or at medium-term follow-up (mental well-being: mean difference (MD) -0.70, 95% CI -2.39 to 0.99; 1 RCT, 258 participants; prosocial behaviour: SMD -0.48, 95% CI -1.80 to 0.83; 2 RCT, 483 participants; both very low-certainty evidence). Interventions may improve functioning (MD -2.18, 95% CI -3.86 to -0.50; 1 RCT, 183 participants), with sustained effects at follow-up (MD -3.33, 95% CI -5.03 to -1.63; 1 RCT, 183 participants), but evidence is very uncertain as the data came from one RCT (both very low-certainty evidence). Psychosocial interventions may improve mental well-being slightly in adults at study endpoint (SMD -0.29, 95% CI -0.44 to -0.14; 3 RCTs, 674 participants; low-certainty evidence), but they may have little to no effect at follow-up, as the evidence is uncertain and future RCTs might either confirm or disprove this finding. No RCTs measured the outcomes of functioning and prosocial behaviour in adults. To date, there is scant and inconclusive randomised evidence on the potential benefits of psychological and social interventions to promote mental health in people living in LMICs affected by humanitarian crises. Confidence in the findings is hampered by the scarcity of studies included in the review, the small number of participants analysed, the risk of bias in the studies, and the substantial level of heterogeneity. Evidence on the efficacy of interventions on positive mental health outcomes is too scant to determine firm practice and policy implications. This review has identified a large gap between what is known and what still needs to be addressed in the research area of mental health promotion in humanitarian settings.

Postpartum depression symptoms: prevalence, risk factors, and childbirth experiences in Palestine

BackgroundWorldwide mothers are suffering from postpartum depression (PPD) which impairs mothers’ well-being, children, and families, and leads to adverse outcomes for mothers and their growing newborns. Low and middle-income countries have a higher prevalence of PPD and limited studies about it. This study assessed the percentage of Palestinian mothers experiencing PPD nationally, identified mothers at a higher risk of PPD, and studied the correlation between PPD and mistreatment during childbirth.MethodsThe study is based on a secondary data analysis from a cross-sectional study in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). A total of 745 telephone-based interviews with mothers were done within 2–4 weeks post-childbirth. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used as a screening tool for PPD. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used for analyzing the data.ResultsIn the context of descriptive epidemiology, we observed that 12.6% of the selected Palestinian mothers experienced PPD, with a higher occurrence of PPD among mothers living in the Gaza Strip, a politically and economically unstable region in Palestine, compared to mothers living in the West Bank (Adjusted Odd Ratio (AOD: 2.2, Confidence Interval (CI): 1.4–3.44). Older mothers were two times more likely to develop PPD compared to young mothers (AOR: 2.03, CI: 1.070–3.84). Mothers who experienced disrespectful behaviors represented by any abuse, negligence, abandonment, ineffective communication, or poor pain management in childbirth settings were more likely to report PPD than those who were not exposed to the disrespect.ConclusionA notable percentage of Palestinian mothers were identified as experiencing PPD, especially among mothers who experienced mistreatment in childbirth settings. It is essential to support healthcare providers to improve their practices and attitudes to eliminate mistreatment and abusive behaviors of mothers during childbirth.

Manajemen Risiko Penyaluran Donasi Infaq dan Sedekah Ke Palestina pada Lembaga Kemanusiaan Mer-C Indonesia: Medical Emergency Rescue Committee

Donation or donation is a voluntary element and does not expect a return of service or voluntary reward to have a noble value. It’s more of a human or human interest. A gift that is generally material or non-material. This study discusses the risk management of the distribution of donations to Palestine at the humanitarian agency MER-C Indonesia. This research was carried out with the aim of finding out the process of donation distribution and risk management of the distribution of donations to Palestine by MER-C Indonesia. Djohanputro defines risk management as a structured and systematic process in identifying, measuring, mapping, developing alternative risk management and monitoring and controlling risk management implementation. (2019:112) The type of research used is a descriptive qualitative approach. The data used in this study are primary data in the form of interviews with staff or employees of MER-C Indonesia and secondary data of scientific journals. Data collection using triangulation techniques; i.e. observations, interviews and documentation. Further data processing techniques used in this research include editing, organizing and discovery of results. As for the results of the research, donations were distributed to Palestine through two programmes, the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza development program and the humanitarian aid program. Moreover, risk management of donation distribution is carried out MER-C by sending Indonesian volunteers to Palestine, making Egypt an alternative in channeling essential aid from outside the Palestinian territory, cooperating with various media partners and constantly updating through social media in the distribution of donations to Gaza, Palestine.

Comparing health systems readiness for integrating domestic violence services in Brazil, occupied Palestinian Territories, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Domestic violence (DV) is a global prevalent health problem leading to adverse health consequences, yet health systems are often unprepared to address it. This article presents a comparative synthesis of the health system's pre-conditions necessary to enable integration of DV in health services in Brazil, Nepal, Sri Lanka and occupied Palestinian Territories (oPT). A cross-country, comparative analysis was conducted using a health systems readiness framework. Data collection involved multiple data sources, including qualitative interviews with various stakeholders; focus-group discussions with women; structured facility observations; and a survey with providers. Our findings highlight deficiencies in policy and practice that need to be addressed for an effective DV response. Common readiness gaps include unclear and limited guidance on DV, unsupportive leadership coupled with limited training and resources. Most providers felt unprepared, lacked guidance and felt unsupported and unprotected by managers and their health system. While in Brazil most providers felt they should respond to DV cases, many in Sri Lanka preferred not to. Such organizational and service delivery challenges, in turn, also affected how health providers responded to DV cases leaving them not confident, uncertain about their knowledge and unsure about their role. Furthermore, providers' personal beliefs and values on DV and gender norms also impacted their motivation and ability to respond, prompting some to become 'activists' while others were reluctant to intervene and prone to blame women. Our synthesis also pointed to a gap in women's use of health services for DV as they had low trust in providers. Our conceptual framework demonstrates the importance of having clear policies and highlights the need to engage leadership across every level of the system to reframe challenges and strengthen routine practices. Future research should also determine the ways in which women's understanding and needs related to DV help-seeking are addressed.

(In)Security in social media: exploring Israeli and Palestinian narratives

ABSTRACT The persistence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict profoundly influences the perceptions of both Israelis and Palestinians, shaping successive generations and posing a complex challenge for security scholarship. This article examines these contrasting socially constructed realities through the lens of Securitisation Theory, analysing public social media discourses on Facebook between 1 January 2021 and 29 April 2022 in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. By bridging high-level theorising with empirically driven methodology, the study enriches the understanding of securitisation processes using Balzacq’s framework and engaging with perspectives from Cote, Stritzel, and Vuori, including the active role of target audiences and the complexity of securitisation as a speech act. Through this approach, the research not only advances theoretical insights into Securitisation but also demonstrates that leveraging social media analysis provides both a valuable means of theory testing and a more comprehensive understanding of securitisation dynamics in the Israeli-Palestinian context.

Jurisdiction of ICC Over Alleged War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Against Palestinians Under the Complementarity Principle

This study aims to reveal how the International Criminal Court (ICC) can exercise its jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed by Israelis under the complementarity regime. This paper discusses the ICC's jurisdiction on the alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Israelis against the Palestinians under the complementarity principle which is provided in Article 17 of the Rome Statute. Also, to study the principles of international criminal responsibility for individuals, whether they are military superiors or subordinates, who commit acts that constitute a crime against humanity and a war crime under the Rome Statute. The significance of this study appears in shedding light on the jurisdiction of the ICC over Israeli perpetrators, even though Israel is not a party of the Rome Statute. To answer these questions, a qualitative analysis will be applied as its research methodology where both primary and secondary sources will be thoroughly examined. This article concludes that the Israeli national courts did not conduct genuine investigations or prosecutions domestically under the complementarity principle. Thus, the ICC has the authority to exercise its jurisdiction as a court of a last resort over crimes against humanity and war crimes in Palestinian territories as a party to the Rome Statute.

Smart and Resilient Mobility Services Platform for Managing Traffic Disruptive Events

This article aims to develop a smart mobility solution to enhance the travel experience of individuals facing traffic disruptive events. Unlike prior research focusing on isolated solutions for managing these events, this study takes a holistic approach combining real-time monitoring, predictive modeling, route guidance, and effective communication to create efficient traffic disruption management. The study introduces the Smart and Resilient Mobility Services Platform (SRMS), specifically designed to address mobility restrictions as a form of disruptive events in the Palestinian territories, West Bank. SRMS empowers users to make well-informed decisions by providing services such as real-time mapping of mobility restrictions, a prompt notification system, informal route mapping, and alternative path suggestions. Moreover, it aims to enhance engagement among travelers and citizens by adopting spatial crowdsourcing as the primary data source for potential restrictions and embracing the User-Centered Design (UCD) approach to enrich users’ interaction with the developed solution. The methodology involves presenting the architectural layering system of the SRMS platform, and detailing the prototyping and design development considering the UCD approach. Results present the practical implementation of the SRMS tailored to the Palestinian context and adopted UCD.

A critical inquiry into the discourses of war and occupation in the wake of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza

The aim of this article is to use one central assumption of Wittgenstein’s philosophy – language games – to review some important aspects of communication and language issues that typically have arisen in the aftermath of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. I draw specifically on a critical inquiry of purposefully selected samples of discursive and linguistic practices accompanying the war in Ukraine and the occupation of its territory by Russia, and the war in Gaza and the occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel. References will also be made to the types of language games used by mainstream western media to categorize other wars and occupations discursively and socially, such as those of Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan. I argue that the use of language is crucial for the understanding and representation of these wars and occupations, and a cause of failure in intercultural interaction. The central argument is as follows: While language games have different senses and not all people attach the same meaning to them, in case of conflict and controversy, those with power attach additional or different interpretations to them in a way they think is reasonable to change or at least rearrange their meanings. According to Wittgenstein’s deliberations of language games, the meaning of each of the various linguistic utterances, like words, sentences or symbols, is defined in terms of its setting and use. To unravel how and why certain linguistic practices are reinforced, and others are thwarted, the article supplements Wittgenstein’s deliberations of language with Hollihan and Baaskes’ definition of rhetorical source credibility, Thomas Hobbes’ ‘Leviathan discourse’ and Foucault’s notion of discourse and power.

Sustainable Urban Design Model for Residential Neighborhoods Utilizing Sustainability Assessment-Based Approach

The sustainable urban design of residential neighborhoods plays an important role in the efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals and alleviate the effects of climate change. This paper aims to develop a model for the sustainable urban design of residential neighborhoods, taking into account the local condition in Palestinian territories. This model is built on various international neighborhood sustainability assessment (NSA) tools, based on the review of existing assessment tools, to study the sustainability status of Palestinian neighborhoods, and to develop a sustainable indicator model for local sustainable neighborhood assessment. Computer tools like Urbano and GIS tools as well as qualitative assessment methods are used. Results from the case study showed that the satisfaction of the preferred location indicator was not sufficient to maintain its sustainability. The assessment of measured indicators found that weaknesses were almost double the count of the satisfactory indicator. Moreover, some indicators from the (NSA) tools were partially or completely met, and some gaps appeared because of the lack of strengths in the selected indicators of the international tools when used for local social, ecological and governmental aspects, and there are issues in the inclusion of economic and environmental elements in current urban configurations. The proposed local model offers valuable insights for local governments, municipalities, and construction developers.

From Jamestown to Bethlehem: Local connections of geopolitical violence

In this visual intervention, I demonstrate connections between Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and rural Jamestown, Pennsylvania, USA, through 14 photos of surrounding landscapes. This intervention demonstrates how local geopolitical landscapes between two settler colonial nations perpetuate violence in the occupied Palestinian Territory (oPT), specifically through photos of “less-lethal munitions” in the West Bank and the site near the Pennsylvania manufacturer. While many scholars have demonstrated how US media and broader geopolitical discourses shape violence in everyday, intimate ways on bodies and people, this photo essay demonstrates how geopolitical violence and rhetoric manifest in everyday, local landscapes. Photos in this essay come from Aida Camp in the occupied West Bank outside of Bethlehem and rural Ohio and Pennsylvania, USA, on the route to where Combined Systems, Inc. manufactures rubber bullets, tear gas canisters, and other “less-lethal munitions and launching systems” deployed by the Israeli Security Force (ISF) in Aida.

Urbanization and Bottom-up Politics in Palestine: The Case of Yatta

The West Bank (occupied Palestinian Territories) is a fragmented network of urban clusters while the rural area is slowly chipped away by Israeli settlers and military apparatus. Palestinians’ bodies are squeezed between checkpoints, razor wire, apartheid walls, military watchtowers, barracks but also between state bureaucracy, incorporation of labourers and cultural dispossession. The occupation through multiple devices produces dispossession and the national struggle explodes with violent and unforeseen forms against Israeli settlers and soldiers. The present paper is a reflection based on one year of fieldwork in Yatta’s urban cluster and its rural area in the southern West Bank. By analysing Israeli’s occupation law, the present work aims at explaining how the Palestinian urbanization process is forced under colonial rule with interlinked consequences on cultural and material dispossession, and youth liminal identities. Within the frame of this set of socio-spatial fragmented relations, the distrust of political parties is growing, and political forms are re-territorialized in local struggle. The research inquires why radical subjectivity is emerging in the Yatta social-spatial context produced by occupation law. How, despite the devices of Israeli occupation, aiming at drawing docile bodies and geography, the bottom-up political phenomenon emerging from Yatta’s urban context explodes in sudden violence.

Backdirt as a Means of Deconstruction of Archaeological Procedure: The Case Study of Tel Burnat, The Occupied Palestinian Territories

ABSTRACT This paper will examine the case study of Tel Burnat, located to the north of Nablus in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, to demonstrate how the concept of backdirt may be employed to deconstruct the interrelation between academic archaeological discourse and public archaeological discourse in the neoliberal era. Building upon the reconfiguration of the concept of backdirt by Carvalho (this issue) and Rivera Prince and Morales (this issue), it is my claim that backdirt serves as a subversive component in archaeological procedure. As such, it invites a critical examination of how different components of archaeological procedure attribute different degrees of importance to the same archaeological findings.