Occupied Jerusalem- From Arad in southern Palestine to the outskirts of Jerusalem in the central West Bank, a number of Bedouin tribes have settled, without time and modernity changing much the condition, nature and lives of those tribes.
Tel Aviv Tribune Net was a guest of Sheikh Muhammad Odeh Al-Saeedi, from the Jahalin clan on the outskirts of the town of Al-Zayyim, east of Jerusalem, which was isolated from the mother city by the Israeli wall.
Al-Saidi talked about the journey of displacing the Bedouins of the city of Arad and their spread in the desert of the West Bank, where there is pasture and water, and how they maintained their lifestyle in an environment filled with the hustle and bustle of growth and modernity.
He points to the Bedouin clans’ adherence to their customs, traditions, and tribal judiciary to resolve their disputes, as well as the rules governing engagement and marriage away from excessive costs.
Like the Palestinian people, Al-Saidi points out the occupation’s attacks on Bedouin communities, and the impact of the occupation of mountains and pastures by settler shepherds under the protection of the army.
According to previous United Nations estimates, there are 26 Bedouin communities located in the Jerusalem Governorate, inhabited by approximately 4,856 Bedouins who face harsh living conditions in terms of basic services such as water and electricity, in addition to the difficulty of reaching educational and health centers.