Strengthening the Role of Palestinian Popular Forces in Marginal Communities in Confronting and Managing the Corona Pandemic in Light of Marginalization and Conflict with the Israeli Occupation in Areas on the Outskirts of the City of Jerusalem
(The town of Kafr Aqab—a case study)
Abstract
The marginal areas in the suburbs of East Jerusalem, including Kafr 'Aqab, serve as a unique global model due to their dual control under Israeli security and administrative authority. Additionally, the inability of the Palestinian National Authority to directly intervene in these areas, Palestinian grassroots movements play a critical role in reducing the adverse impacts of COVID-19 spread in these regions. Nevertheless, there is no information on how these movements operated during the pandemic amid political rivalry and ignorance of the government. This study aims to investigate potential ways to enhance the role of Palestinian grassroots movements in the peripheral areas of East Jerusalem in addressing and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, given the limitations of the Palestinian Authority and the ongoing Israeli occupation. We collected and analyzed primary data through observation and personal interviews to understand the role of Palestinian grassroots movements in marginal areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study demonstrated an increase in COVID-19 cases in the outskirts of East Jerusalem, particularly in Kafr 'Aqab, primarily as a result of workers from the occupied Palestinian territories in 1948 (Israel) who failed to follow preventive measures during the closure of Palestinian areas. The Palestinian National Authority's failure to intervene and address health and security measures, in contrast to Israel's deliberate disregard, has resulted in disparities in health care, social services, and security during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the other hand, through the interview, this study revealed that the grass-root movements, the Palestinian political organizations, the local community institutions, the families, and the clans offered support to the limited and weak attempts by the Palestinian government to cope with this crisis in the peripheral areas. However, these political actors primarily align with one political faction, the Palestinian National Authority, and they do not represent all societal perspectives, as the public is currently debating their roles in managing COVID-19.
References
2. السقا , أباهر (2021) . وباء كورونا : السياسات الاجتماعية للسلطة الفلسطينية و سياسات الاحتلال الحيوية لإسرائيل. فضا, جامعة بيرزيت.
3. السكري, أحمد ( 2016). التخطيط لتنمية المجتمع الحضري , دراسات نظرية و تطبيقية . الاسكندرية : دار الوفاء لدنيا الطباعة و النشر.
4. الجدبة , فوزي (2011). الاستيطان الاسرائيلي في شرقي القدس 1967-2009 دراسة في الجغرافيا السياسية. مجلة جامعة الاقصى (سلسلة العلوم الانسانية ) . 5(2), ص 98-125.
5. الجهاز المركزي للاحصاء الفلسطيني( 2108 ).كتاب القدس اإلحصائي السنوي 2018 رقم "81 ." رام الله - فلسطين.
6. حمودة,دعاء و حمايل, ليالي و ولشمان, لين (2016). ما وراء الحيز المكاني:القدس الشرقية, كفر عقب, و سياسات المعاناة اليومية. مجلة الدراسات الفلسطينية (وقائع القدس), 27(108) ص 149.
7. خميس , موسى ( 1999). مدخل الى التخطيط , عمان : دار الشروق للنشر.
8. خمايسي, راسم (2007). أهداف و سياسات التخطيط الحضري الاسرائيلي في القدس و محيطها. مجلة الدراسات الفلسطينية, 18(72), ص44.
9. عليان، ربحي و غنيم، عثمان. (2013). أساليب البحث العلمي : النظرية و التطبيق. عمان : دار الصفاء.
10. عاصي , يارا (2020). الاحتلال في زمن كوفيد-19: صحة الفلسطينيين مسؤولية إسرائيل , موقع شبكة السياسات الفلسطينية . تم الولوج الى الموقع بتاريخ (20-8-2021( https://al-shabaka.org
11. غنيم, عثمان (2001) التخطيط أسس و مبادىء عامة , عمان : دار صفاء للنشر و التوزيع.
12. قناوي , عبد الرحيم ( 2013). العشوائيات مشاكل و حلول . القاهرة: مكتبة الأنجلو المصرية .
13. كامل, سميرة (1996), التخطيط من أجل التنمية , الاسكندرية : مؤسسة شباب الجامعة.
14. هلال, جميل و السقا, أباهر ( 2015). قراءة في بعض التغيرات السوسيو حضرية في رام الله و كفر عقب . مركزدراسات التنمية – جامعة بيرزيت.
15. وكالة قدس للانباء (2020) . "الصليب الأحمر": كورونا سيدمر مناطق الحروب. موقع وكالة قدس للانباء. تم الولوج الى الموقع بتاريخ (20-8-2021( . نشر بتاريخ 31-3-2020 https://qudsnet.com/
16. يعقوب, نصر (2016). تفعيل دور التعبئة المجتمعية من أجل تحسين الظروف المعيشية في الاحياء الفقيرة في القدس – تقييم الاحتياجات الاساسية في كفر عقب. الملتقى الفكري العربي.
1. Amado, M. P., Santos, C. V., Moura, E. B., & Silva, V. G. (2010). Public participation in sustainable urban planning. International journal of human and social sciences, 5(2), 102-108.
2. Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ), 2014. Locality Profiles and Needs Assessment for Jerusalem Governorate. Bethlehem
3. Baah FO, Teitelman AM, Riegel B. Marginalization: conceptualizing patient vulnerabilities in the framework of social determinants of health—An integrative review. Nursing Inquiry. 2019;26(1):e12268.
4. Bernard, H. R. (2011). Research methods in anthropology: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Rowman Altamira.
5. Chiodelli, F. (2013). The Next Jerusalem: Potential Futures of the Urban Fabric. Jerusalem Quarterly, (53).
6. Dionne, K. Y., & Turkmen, F. F. (2020). The politics of pandemic othering: putting COVID-19 in global and historical context. International Organization, 74(S1), E213-E230.
7. Douglas, I., Champion, M., Clancy, J. et al. The COVID-19 pandemic: local to global implications as perceived by urban ecologists. Socio Ecol Pract Res 2, 217–228 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42532-020-00067-y
8. El-Atrash, A. (2016). Politics of Informal Urbanization and the Battle for Urban Rights in Jerusalem. Jerusalem Quarterly, (65), 104.
9. Hammoudeh, W., Kienzler, H., Meagher, K., & Giacaman, R. (2020). Social and political determinants of health in the occupied Palestine territory (oPt) during the COVID-19 pandemic: who is responsible?. BMJ Global Health, 5(9), e003683.
10. Kaiser, E. J., Godschalk, D. R., & Chapin, F. S. (1995). Urban land use planning (Vol. 4). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.
11. Makerani, H. M. (2007). Citizen Participation in Informal Settlements; Potentials & Obstacles–The Case of Iran, Shiraz, Saadi Community. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, International Journal of Civil, Environmental, Structural, Construction and Architectural Engineering, 1(4), 36-41.
12. Ministry of Local Government (MLoG), (2016). State of Palestine: Cities Report. Palestine.
13. Nassar, D. M., & Elsayed, H. G. (2017). From Informal Settlements to sustainable communities. Alexandria Engineering Journal.
14. Raddad, S. (2016). Integrated a GIS and multi criteria evaluation approach for suitability analysis of urban expansion in southeastern Jerusalem region-Palestine. American Journal of Geographic Information System, 5(1), 24-31.
15. Sevelius, J.M., Gutierrez-Mock, L., Zamudio-Haas, S. et al. Research with Marginalized Communities: Challenges to Continuity During the COVID-19 Pandemic. AIDS Behav 24, 2009–2012 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-020-02920-3
16. Tarsi, E. (2014). Citizens’ participation in the urban regeneration of informal settlements: policy innovations and their limits in the Nova Constituinte neighborhood in the city of Salvador, Brazil. Urbana: Urban Affairs & Public Policy, 1-22.
17. UN-HABITAT (2012), Housing & slum upgrading,
18. Wagner, Marcus. 2009. “Non-state Actors.” Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, edited by Rüdiger Wolfrum. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
