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In Pictures: West Bank Bedouins

Israel’s plans to expand settlements in the E1 corridor represent a threat to poor Palestinian Bedouin communities.

A young boy from Abu Nowar Bedouin community with Ma(***)aleh Adumim settlement in the background. Like Khan al-Ahmar, the community is part of a cluster of Bedouin communities living in or near the E1 corridor, which is slated for expansion. Already served with demolition orders, the 118-person community bides its time.

By Tanya Habjouqa

Published On 17 Dec 2012

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Khan al-Ahmar, occupied Palestinian territories – Israeli authorities recently approved plans to build more settlement units in an area known as E1, which links Jerusalem with Ma’aleh Adumim.

Khan al-Ahmar is part of a cluster of Bedouin communities living in or near the E1 corridor, and is deemed one of the few remaining obstacles to long-held Israeli plans to link the holy city directly with the third-largest Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

Eid Khamis is the head of Khan al-Ahmar, a community that was forced to leave the Negev Desert during the 1948 war.

These Bedouin of the Jahalin clan set up their homes in a dusty valley – now nestled between the Israeli settlements of Kfar Adumim and Ma’aleh Adumim – about 10km from Jerusalem.

Khamis, 47, said the community’s traditional way of life has been under threat by Israeli authorities for as long as he remembers. The encampment has no running water and is not connected to the electricity grid. Israel refuses to provide Khan al-Ahmar with basic infrastructure, and prevents it from building even to sustain the natural growth of its population.

And now, communities such as Khan al-Ahmar face a new threat, as Israeli authorities recently approved plans to build more settlement units.

The E1 expansion announcement came after Palestinians won an upgrade in their status at the UN General Assembly to non-member observer state.

According to the Palestinian negotiating team, if the proposed settlement building goes ahead, it would effectively bisect the West Bank and sever the physical link between Palestinian territories and Jerusalem.

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While camel herding is a diminishing feature for the Palestinian Bedouin since they lack the financial ability to maintain them, each family has a herd of goats and sheep, essential to their survival for meat and dairy. More than 200 families were relocated from the area in the 1990s, with more than 85 per cent reporting they had to abandon their traditional livelihoods.
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Generators provide electricity for a few hours each night. Electricity in Bedouin communities is rare, as the Palestinian Authority does not have access to provide for the communities and they are not given services by Israel. None of the communities have access to the electricity network, and only half are connected to the water network.
Many of the classrooms in the Khan al-Ahmar school are outdoors. During the cold season, only a tarp shelters the children from the rain.
A young man from Khan al-Ahmar relaxes in his home. A graduate of the only school in area for the Bedouin, he plans to work illegally as a builder for various Israeli construction projects.
A couple from Khan al-Ahmar displays their images used for identification cards at the start of their marriage. The couple could not afford photographs to be taken for their wedding.
Khan al-Ahmar spokesman Eid Abu Khamis and his wife. According to Khamis, the residents of Khan al-Ahmar and other Bedouin communities are pessimistic about the future. 
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Young girls prepare for school in their living room. The older daughter volunteers in the Khan al-Ahmar school with dreams of pursuing an education, but without access to transportation to get to the nearest city of Jericho. Her younger sister is one of the brightest in her class, but her education will stop at age sixteen.
A baby takes a nap while her twin is bathed. Her father was wounded while working illegally on a construction site for Israeli company and his unable to work. Despite the hardships, the family were thrilled when they gave birth to twins.
Children from Abu Nowar with Ma(***)aleh Adumim settlement in background. Like many other communities in the E1 corridor, residents have all lost access to land due to settlement expansion, and most have demolition orders pending against their homes.