Monday, March 2, 2009

West Bank Bedouins

"Today, Arab Jahalin is the largest group of Palestinian Bedouin in the West Bank, both in terms of the large area of land they inhabit and in terms of population, which numbers around 7,500. The forced displacement of Arab Jahalin began in the Naqab in 1948, and continued throughout the 1970s until the present day, and now threatens the very existence of the community. Every time a new Jewish settlement is established or an existing one is expanded, expulsion of the indigenous Bedouin communities, including Arab Jahalin, follows. Furthermore, due to the fact that the Jahalin are spread around Jerusalem, they are harshly affected by the construction of the Wall and the continued expansion of the settlements. Thus, for Arab Jahalin the Nakba – the mass displacement of Palestinians from historic Palestine in 1948 – has never ended."

Arab Jahalin: Story of An Ongoing Nakba

by Reem Mazzawi

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