On Wednesday, 27 November 2024, the University of Galway, hosted a talk by Maynooth PhD scholar Bana Abu Zuluf titled 'The Liminality of Space: Palestinian Bedouin at the Margins of the International Legal Order'. The talk was part of the promotion for Abu Zuluf’s forthcoming Hart co-edited volume titled: Ending Impunity for International Law Violations: Palestinian Bedouin at Risk of Forced Displacement.
The talk examined the evolving borders and frontiers of Israel as a settler colonial state and their impact on Palestinian Bedouin communities. Focusing on Um al Hiran, Susiya, and Khan al Ahmar, the presentation investigates how shifting borders—including settlements, zoning plans, and military zones—annihilate land and deny Palestinian existence.
By integrating history, law, and geography within the frameworks of settler colonialism and governmentality, it highlights how Bedouin urbanism disrupts state-imposed boundaries. The presentation critiques the isolation of Bedouin spaces in scholarly discourse and stresses connecting Palestinian geographies. Using archival materials, court case law, and spatial analysis, it underscores the displacement realities of Bedouin communities and their resistance to the ongoing erasure.
This event was hosted by the Irish Centre of Human Rights at Galway University with a full room of attendance.