Pastoral Settlement: Policies to Combat the Latest Models of Settlement and Economic Exploitation

Abstract

This article argues that the accelerating practice of pastoral settlement is one of the most ominous forms of Israeli settlement, and discusses its economic, social, and demographic impacts on Palestinian Bedouin and pastoral communities in the West Bank, particularly in Area C. It analyses the impact of land confiscation and displacement on livelihoods, especially for shepherds, livestock breeders, and farmers. The study highlights ongoing Israeli land violations aimed at consolidating the settler–colonial project to seek a comprehensive socio–economic understanding of the dynamics of the conflict. It combines interviews with relevant institutions and a field survey using a sample of Bedouin communities living in Area C. The study reveals that pastoral settlement has deprived herders of their traditional grazing lands, forcing them to change their livestock feeding patterns and increasing the costs of rearing livestock, all in the absence of effective support programs.