Locating and relocating oneself as a Jewish settler on the West Bank: Ideological squatting and eviction

This paper presents a qualitative analysis of an eviction episode experienced by a group of Jewish Israeli settlers on the West Bank. It uses data from in-depth interviews conducted during the Oslo and Camp David Peace Negotiations with 11 settlers who were active in the Jewish settlement movement in Samaria (the northern part of the West Bank) from its inception in the mid-1970s. The specific episode of the 1979 eviction from Rujeib, a fledging settlement near Nablus, is explored contextually in light of the past history of Jewish settlement in Israel and the current situation of political uncertainty, including the threat of settlement removal. The Rujeib experience is presented through verbatim segments of the settlers' narratives. The analysis focuses on (1) an elaboration of "ideological place attachment" as a sub-category of cultural place attachment, (2) post-traumatic responses to eviction, and (3) "Derech," being on the way, as a place experience in which mobility contributes to rootedness.