A Palestinian resident protests efforts by Israeli settlers to claim land and establish a presence by pitching tents in his village, al-Sawahira, near Abu Dis, East Jerusalem, September 20, 2019.
This incident reflects the broader pressures facing Palestinian communities in the area, where settlement expansion, land appropriation, and the construction of the Separation Wall have all contributed to the fragmentation of daily life and communal ties. The construction of the wall through Abu Dis, in particular, has physically divided many Palestinian communities. One striking example is the Bedouin tribe of ‘Arab al-Sawahira, long rooted in this region, who now find themselves physically and administratively split. Some members live in the Palestinian neighborhood of Jabal Mukabbir, which was annexed by Israel to East Jerusalem and falls on the Jerusalem side (“inside”) of the wall, while others reside in al-Sawahira al-Sharqiyya (East Sawahira) and Sheikh Sa‘d, which were not annexed and remain outside the wall’s boundaries. This division results in further dislocation, with some holding Palestinian Authority (green) IDs and others Israeli permanent-resident (blue) IDs, deepening the sense of separation among the formerly cohesive community.
The Ma‘ale Adumim settlement, which is located nearby, was established and expanded on land expropriated from several Palestinian villages, including Abu Dis and al-Sawahira.1 More recently, in March 2020, Israeli authorities demolished two residential structures and an animal barn in the eastern part of the village, reportedly to facilitate the expansion of nearby settlements.2 The ongoing construction of settlements in the area poses a growing threat to the Palestinian presence, further fragmenting their communities and undermining their territorial continuity.