Palestinian Bedouin Community Battles Eviction
Palestine’s ancient Bedouin community has been threatened with eviction by Israel, which plans to use their land to expand settlement operations, reports Jihan Abdalla.
WADI ABU HINDI, West Bank — To get to the Palestinian Bedouin village of Wadi Abu Hindi, you would have to drive 4 km through an unnamed dirt road, past a large landfill leachate pool and under a narrow bridge.
Living in makeshift tents and raising livestock, Jahalin Bedouins have inhabited the barren hills lining both sides of the road from Jerusalem down to the Dead Sea for decades. But their ancient lifestyle is slowly dying, as Israel increasingly tries to evict them from the land.
The Bedouins say that, before 1967, the year Israel occupied the West Bank, they were semi-nomadic herders with access to vast amounts of grazing fields and water. They made a good living selling off their produce in several cities, mostly in Jerusalem.
But over the years, Israeli restrictions on their movement and access to land and water have forced them to relinquish important aspects of their ancient way life.
