In the Master thesis “Working for the occupier: Palestinian youths navigating the colonial settlement”, Davide Fabris investigates how young Palestinians make it through the daily challenges and precarity of working in a Israeli settlement. The main research question of his research is: ”How are young Palestinians experiencing and dealing with labour incorporation within the Israeli settlements’ economy?”.
The research is based on qualitative fieldwork in Palestine (West Bank), making use of semi-structured interviews, informal conversations and observations. The research first unpacks precarity in settlements, showcasing how the spatial, social, economic organization of the settlement allow for the precaritization of Palestinian workers. The settlement per-se is presented as an encroaching entity, that facilitates exploitation through fragmentation of the Palestinian territory and the control over labour and movement.. Following the steps of young workers inside the settlement, and deep diving into their peculiar working context, this research underlines how the incorporation of Palestinians within the settlement economic life is marked by securitization and dispossession. As workers experience precarity, they deal with it through different approaches and a variety of practices, according to their agency and to specific social conditions. Some workers only focus on their job performance, avoiding any form of ties with colleagues and supervisors. Others are very sociable, relying on the special protection of their supervisor or eventually initiating proper workers unions.
The research hence demonstrates how settlements’ precarious conditions are navigated by Palestinian youths individually and collectively. Social navigation might therefore entail a variety of practices, ranging from silencing and normalization to proper initiatives against (and even beyond) the oppressive work system of the settlement. According to their specific work sector and working conditions, Palestinians might adopt a low-key approach, focusing on simply obtaining their salary, as well as unify and sue legal protection to see their rights fulfilled. Furthermore, this research questions the meaning of such practices, unravelling their inner motivations and highlighting those social activities that attempt to challenge the settlement’s status quo. While doing so, it gives voice to young workers’ claims for a better life that can hardly be achieved within the current domestic job market.
The research is relevant, as it addresses a highly sensitive and understudied topic. It provides valuable insights concerning the inner challenges and problematics of workers reactions in informal and institutionalised ways, paving the way for a deep reflection on an important topic of contention of the current times.
Davide Fabris. 2024. Working for the occupier: Palestinian youths navigating the colonial settlement, master thesis International Development Studies, Wageningen University, Wageningen. Supervisors Lotje de Vries and Joost Jongerden