Status: In progress 

Home demolitions have horrid consequences on Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, including East Jerusalem and “Area C.” The discriminatory punitive measures of the Israeli policies have a detrimental impact on every aspect of life. In addition to its influence over life matters (such as marriage and procreation, education, and travel,) the effects of house demolitions have disastrous psychological effects on young Palestinians. These include living in constant fear, anxiety, stress, loss, and abandonment. With that said, the youth have demonstrated exceptional resourcefulness and resilience. Whether through social media or immediate confrontation, they have been standing up against raids and attacks on their homes. This calls for stakeholders to better understand the diverse forms of youth agency and build strategies towards supporting their efforts and attaining their rights.

Status: In progress

In light of the forcible eviction of Palestinians from their homes, women in particular find themselves in situations of multiple discrimination. This evidently escalates the risk of violence. It has been emphasized across the years that women and girls are more susceptible to abuse, violence, and exploitation in conflict settings. In this regard, the Israeli policies (such as the prohibition of the access to movement and housing) continue to have imminent dangers on the safety and wellbeing of women. The consequences of home demolitions and the reality of living through constant anxiety, instability, invalidation, and lack of privacy, particularly during the global pandemic, have been known to exacerbate gender-based violence. Meanwhile, some of the cultural norms within Palestinian society also have a negative impact on women – and much of them become worse in conflict situations due to the chaos of having no safe shelter.

Status: In progress

Palestinians often find themselves baffled and overwhelmed by Israeli policies that directly affect their lives in unprecedented ways. More than 2000 Palestinian houses have been demolished since the start of the occupation in 1967.In East Jerusalem and Area C in particular, Palestinians are prevented from legally building homes. Furthermore, those who already live in their houses may receive military orders demanding them to leave their properties or threaten to have their homes demolished as per the law. While the belligerent occupant is obliged to maintain the status quo ante bellum of the territory, and to alter laws in the occupied territory that do not meet the minimum humanitarian guarantees advanced in the Geneva Conventions, the Israeli legislations, meanwhile, are generally vague, and their intent is horrifying for the person receiving them. They are articulated in Hebrew, and hardly understood by the people whose lives will be directly influenced by them. This brief delves into the legal context and provides an understanding of some of the most important laws pertaining to home demolitions. This is a highly relevant and important subject as it calls for the collective education of Palestinians on the legal perspective pertaining to home evictions.

ISSRAR is an international research project focused on understanding young Palestinian’s responses to house demolitions and how these responses impact on their ability to cope with violence, maintain dignity and build sustainable development for Palestinians. 

The research began in 2018 and aims to understand and explore young Palestinians’ every day, informal and cultural responses to demolitions.

The contemporary period of Israel’s occupation of Palestine is marked by house demolition as a form of collective punishment and means to further land sequestration. Destruction of Palestinian houses to make way for the expansion of Israeli territories, however, has a long history. Since 1948, the prospective and material loss of home has been central to Israel’s control over Palestinian place and people. Palestinians can find themselves in positions of great precarity where memories, experiences and threats of violence and demolition over long periods create fear and anxiety around the future loss of home.

To actively engage young people in our research process whilst addressing policy makers and NGOs, we use an interdisciplinary participatory methodology. This approach builds on research that identifies aesthetic, embodied and cultural meaning in the coping strategies of young Palestinian’s and how fear can facilitate narratives of hope despite denial of agency and citizenship. 

This interdisciplinary research mixes qualitative, visual and material-orientated approaches grounded in design anthropology, combing methods from Cultural Probes to Narrative Analysis.