Displaced in place: Tracing displaceability in a housing strategy for a Bedouin community in Israel

Background: Displaceability refers to the vulnerability to displacement, a condition often experienced by Indigenous communities in the context of state-led urban development. In Israel, the Palestinian-Bedouin community in the city of Rahat encounters such vulnerability as a result of settler-colonial dynamics and housing policies that, while aimed at easing housing shortages, often intensify this precarity. Purpose: The study aims to explore how a state-sponsored housing initiative—specifically, a VATMAL (Committee for Planning Preferred Areas for Housing) plan—affects the displaceability of the Palestinian-Bedouin community in Rahat, Israel, focusing on both policy implementation and the appeals process. Research Design: This research utilizes a qualitative case study approach, examining policy documents, public records related to VATMAL planning, and official appeals submitted by residents against the plan. Study Sample: The study examines the case of the Palestinian-Bedouin community in Rahat, with particular attention to appeals filed by both Bedouin and Jewish residents in response to the VATMAL plan. Data Collection and analysis: Data were collected through a review of planning documents, analysis of residents’ appeals against the VATMAL plan, and contextual interpretation within the framework of settler-colonial theory and Indigenous land relations. Results: Findings demonstrate that, although the VATMAL plan is intended to address housing needs, it perpetuates “displacement-in-place” by altering Indigenous land relations and eroding the Bedouin ‘ontology of land.’ This process does not necessarily entailphysical relocation but instead manifests as the social death of indigeneity through loss of traditional land rights and the imposition of a settler-colonial ontology. Additionally, appeals by Jewish residents reveal internalized privatization values and Zionist ideologies, further exacerbating the displaceability of the Bedouin community. Conclusions: Urban development strategies, even when designed to benefit Indigenous communities, can perpetuate settler-colonial relations and exacerbate Indigenous vulnerability to displacement. The study calls for planning approaches that recognize and respect Indigenous understandings of land, challenging state-based frameworks of recognition, to prevent further erosion of Indigenous land rights and mitigate ongoing displaceability.