MAS Discusses the Effectiveness of Basic Services in Bedouin Communities and Remote Areas: Urgent Recommendations to Strengthen Resilience

Wednesday, 13 August 2025

The Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS) held its fifth roundtable of the year, titled “Effectiveness of the provision of primary services (health, education, sanitation) to Bedouin communities and remote areas.” The background paper was funded with support from the Heinrich Böll Foundation-Palestine and Jordan, and the session brought together a group of specialists and stakeholders, both in person at the Institute’s headquarters and via Zoom. The paper was prepared by MAS researcher Ahmed Alawneh. Remarks and discussant interventions were delivered by Ms. Asmaa Qudsi, Director of the Assistance and Health Insurance Department at the Ministry of Social Development; Dr. Walid Habbas, researcher and economist; and Mr. Hasan Mleihat, General Supervisor of the Al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights.

The session was opened by Research Coordinator Dr. Sameh Hallaq, who underscored the importance of the topic and noted that Bedouin communities in the West Bank are among the population groups most exposed to marginalization and structural exclusion. He pointed out that these communities face increasing forced displacement, adding that Israeli policies targeting them have intensified since 7 October 2023 as part of a settlement campaign receiving direct protection from the occupation forces.

In presenting the paper, Alawneh explained that its objective is to analyze the effectiveness of basic services provided to Bedouin and remote communities in the West Bank, specifically in the areas of health, education, and sanitation. The paper seeks to understand the availability, quality, and continuity of these services under the restrictions imposed by the occupation, and highlights the stark disparities between these communities and the surrounding Israeli settlements.

The paper aims to map the state of systematic deprivation and to propose urgent interventions to improve the situation of these communities in the near term, while strengthening their resilience over the longer term.

The paper is organized into three axes. The first addresses the geographic and demographic landscape of Bedouin communities and provides an analysis of residents’ reliance on livestock alongside the challenges arising from the continuous shrinkage of grazing areas. It also documents statistical discrepancies in estimating the number of communities and calls for a unified data and classification reference to ensure precise and coordinated interventions.

The second axis sheds light on the current status of basic services—health, education, and sanitation. It notes the absence of fixed clinics and reliance on mobile clinics that face demolition orders, as well as the difficulty of accessing emergency services. With respect to education, the paper notes school dropouts due to long distances or the lack of transportation. In sanitation, the absence of sewerage networks forces residents to use rudimentary systems, which in turn heightens health and environmental risks.

The third axis proposes indicators for measuring the effectiveness of services, including geographic coverage, sustainability of support, availability of personnel, the level of inter-sectoral coordination, and the safeguarding of basic rights.

Urgent response and interventions

The paper presents a number of required interventions for each of the three primary services. In health, it calls for establishing emergency health centers operating 24 hours a day and distributed geographically in line with the spread of Bedouin populations and their ability to reach these centers; providing a fully equipped ambulance to operate in tandem with these centers; ensuring joint coordination among the various forms of health work committees to deliver care in an organized manner that avoids duplication and ensures long-term service provision; providing residents with focused first-aid courses and equipping them with emergency medical kits in addition to medicines and medical supplies; and strengthening mental health care for Bedouin communities, especially given their exposure to violence and settler attacks.

In education, the paper recommends integrating e-learning technologies into the educational process; directing support from telecommunications companies—for example, waiving costs for Bedouin users when activating roaming on the occupation’s networks and providing them with (3G) internet services to enable e-learning; and channeling private-sector corporate social responsibility toward providing alternative energy for Bedouin communities, including supplying solar panels.

In sanitation, the paper recommends providing temporary infrastructure in some Bedouin communities to mitigate environmental damage that affects health and increases the spread of disease; collecting wastewater and establishing basic treatment units to reduce environmental impact and curb health disasters; and intensifying the efforts of local and international organizations to set up designated sanitation facilities—given that these are repeatedly demolished and removed—in order to preserve the dignity and safety of Bedouin residents in meeting their basic needs.

Ms. Qudsi affirmed that the occupation is the primary reason for the challenges faced by Bedouin communities in the West Bank and stressed the importance of establishing a comprehensive, up-to-date database on these communities as an essential tool for directing services to meet actual needs. She emphasized that data accuracy is a fundamental entry point for improving the effectiveness of interventions and services.

Dr. Habbas called on ministries to include clear budgetary allocations for areas classified as (C) and highlighted the importance of forming popular committees, as well as guard and early-warning committees, to protect these communities and enhance their capacity to face ongoing challenges and threats.

For his part, Mr. Mleihat explained that Bedouin communities suffer from an acute shortage of educational resources: their schools lack computers and laboratories and rely on makeshift buildings that do not even provide safe drinking water. He added that health services are nearly non-existent: there are no functioning clinics, and buildings constructed as health centers have for years remained without medical staff or equipment. Mr. Mleihat criticized what he described as governmental marginalization of these communities, which exacerbates their suffering across basic areas of life.

The session concluded with a recommendation from Director General Raja Khalidi for donors to adopt a policy of emergency universal income for communities located entirely within Area (C) —especially Bedouin

communities—. This would ensure the basic income needed to secure essential living requirements for approximately 23,000 residents distributed across more than 90 communities and villages, at both the individual and household levels.

This comes amid an intensifying pace of Israeli settler restrictions on grazing lands—the primary reason for Bedouin presence, given their dependence on livestock and the surrounding pastures for their livelihoods.