Rawabi : building towards a Palestinian state : a case study about a changing neoliberal environment

Rawabi: Building Towards a Palestinian State

A case study about a changing neoliberal environment

Josse Reinsma

Master thesis

Author: Josse Reinsma Student number: 10823476 Supervisor: Dr. Polly Pallister-Wilkins

Second reader: Dr. Stephanie Simon Master: International Relations Course: Geopolitics, borders & conflict

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Abstract

Rawabi, a new Palestinian city that is being constructed on the West Bank, will function as a case study of how market logic and neoliberal rationality are capable of fighting the occupation and are working towards the development of a Palestinian state. Rawabi, as a subject and reinforcer of the ongoing neoliberal changes within Palestine, is capable of bringing change. Change within social-cultural structures, the economy and political imaginaries. Along the lines of modernisation and sophistication a private developer is claiming space and building facts on the ground; Rawabi therefore becomes a space of power. In doing so they alter the Palestinian environment and everyday reality which also finds its way in the resistance. Through market logic and consumerist choice Rawabi is capable of economic cooperation with Israel. By distancing themselves from the conflict and certain forms of resistance (violent uprisings and religious forms), they abandon collective national struggle and redefine resistance in terms of neoliberalism. Working towards economic development from which it hopes to derive the strength to build its own (neoliberal) Palestinian state. They transform space, from pre-Rawabi conditions to building facts on the ground, that constitutes these changes and from which it tries to defy the Israeli occupation. These transformations, mainly constituted by the private sector and facilitated by the Palestinian Authorities, fail to address market failures and therefore one needs to be careful with the negative outcomes; social segregation and polarisation, widening inequality, weakening ties of solidarity and uneven development. Since the transformations are mainly constituted by a private developer shows that Palestine is also subject to a neoliberal, globalised world which permits this research to move away from state centric thinking and perceiving territories as fixed units of space.

Key words: gated communities, space, territory, neoliberalism, conflict, Israel, Palestine,

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Acknowledgements

This research is the result of half a year’s hard work, and a year of education at the master International Relations at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). This master program and this research specifically contributed enormously to my development in becoming an academic/ professional within the field. Being able to do research for a couple of weeks was definitely the highlight of this year’s master program and will be something I will never forget.

Many people assisted me during the process of this research. I would not have succeeded without them and I am very thankful to every one of them. Some people I would like to thank specifically. First of all I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Pallister-Wilkins for her guidance and advice that helped me shape the thesis as it is. Her professional insights contributed enormously to my thesis and to my own insights. Next, I would like to thank Chris van der Valk and Carla Huisman for their initial enthusiasm regarding my research and for introducing me to their network. Furthermore I would like to thank Nasser Sheikh Ali and Amal Abu Nimreh for helping me with my research in Palestine and helping me to get in touch with the necessary respondents. They opened many doors for me in Palestine that otherwise would have stayed shut. Next, I would like to thank my friends for the necessary beers, the accompanied hours in the library and for proofreading. Finally I want to thank my parents for their moral support. They supported me through my entire educational career and without them I would not have been where I am today.

Josse Reinsma June, 2015

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Table of content

1.2 Scientific and practical social relevance 10

1.3 reading guide 11

2. Theoretical framework 12

2.1 Neoliberalism in the urban context 12

2.2 Gated communities 14

2.3 Space & territory 16

2.4 Space, neoliberalism & states 18

3. Research design 20 3.1 Case study 20 3.2 Theoretical framework 21 3.3 Process 21 3.4 Field work 22 3.5 Interviews 23 3.6 Documents 24 3.7 Limitations 25

3.8 Reliability & validity 27

4. Introducing the case and the conflict 28

4.1 Rawabi 28

4.2 Mechanisms of control 30

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5. Analysis 38

5.1 Rawabi as a gated community 38

5.1.1 The middle class 38

5.1.2 Lifestyle, prestige & securitisation 39

5.2 Constituting change 41

5.2.1 Economic change 41

5.2.2 Public-private partnership 43

5.2.3 Market failures 45

5.3 The conflict & the resistance 48

5.3.1 Depoliticising Rawabi & the resistance 48

5.3.2 Spatial analysis 51

5.3.3 State centric thinking 55

6. Conclusion 57

References 59

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List of figures

Images:

Image 4.1: Rawabi map 28

Image 4.2: Area A, B and C of the West Bank 30

Image 4.3: Palestinian loss of land 1946 to 2000 32

Image 4.4: Facts on the ground: The APN map project 33

Image 4.5: Segregated road system 34

Tables:

Table 3.1: List of respondents 23

Table 3.2: List of documents 25

Graph:

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List of abbreviations

AMAL Affordable mortgage and loan program

BDS Boycott, divestment and sanctions

BREIC Bayti Real Estate Investment Company

GSS General Security Services

MC Municipal council

MI Massar International

OT Occupied territories

PA Palestinian Authority

PLO Palestinian Liberation Organisation

PPP public-private partnership

UvA University of Amsterdam

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1. Introduction

Bashar Masri, owner of Massar International (MI), joined forces with Qatari investors and started the construction of a new city; Rawabi, which translates from Arabic into ‘hills’. In the West Bank on Palestinian territory there is going to be the first planned Palestinian city ever. “Building a city is, in a way, fighting the occupation. It is the more progressive way, the professional way, the human way, the modern way” (Schutgens & Tan, 2012), is what Bashar Masri stated in an interview. Rawabi is going to be culturally diverse, with good economic possibilities, high tech, sustainable and equipped with the latest modern techniques. By building the first Palestinian SMART city, Masri believes that Rawabi will help build towards an autonomous Palestinian state. Masri, who participated in the resistance and has been arrested twice, now believes that economic growth can achieve what years of (violent) uprisings have not (Hollen, 2012).

With Rawabi, Masri is trying to bring change. But what exactly is it trying to change? How does building “a model town that will provide Palestine’s new middle class with luxury accommodation and a future” (Schutgens & Tan, 2012) help the Palestinians to resist the occupation or to build towards their own Palestinian state? Rawabi makes an interesting case study for every scholar interested in gated communities, spatial (neoliberal) politics and its role in urban development, conflict and resistance. The concepts of space, gated communities and neoliberalism are of vital importance in this research, since it is the transformation of space into the construction of a gated community constituted by the neoliberal thought that is capable of altering society, the economy and political imaginaries and even come to redefine the conflict and the resistance against it. Rawabi is subject and reinforcer of a changing Palestinian environment along the lines of neo-liberalisation and this research will try to map this ‘changing environment’ by taking a look at what Rawabi’s vision is and how it tries to implement this vision. Also will this research dig deeper into its underlying mechanisms and (possible) consequences. In doing so it becomes clear how the Palestinian environment is changing and what this change implies for the Palestinian cause regarding the bigger conflict and their resistance against the occupying power. An important side note has to be made here: I refer to (possible) consequences, because some of Rawabi’s consequences are already visible but some remain hypothetical (although well argumented), since Rawabi is still being

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constructed and some of its outcomes remain subject to time; henceforth will not be referred to the possibility of these outcomes.

1.1 Research questions

The following research question has been formulated:

 How does Rawabi contribute to the construction of a Palestinian state?

The main objective of this research is to try to understand the vision of Rawabi from their perspective, to understand the logic behind of what it is trying to change and how it is trying to do this. In order to understand how Rawabi contributes to the construction of a Palestinian state it is necessary to map these changes and look at their outcomes. Therefore the following sub-questions have been formulated:

- What is Rawabi’s vision and what is it trying to change?

- How does it try to implement these changes and what are the possible outcomes of it?

- What are the spatial strategies utilized by Rawabi?

Firstly, it is important to understand how Rawabi defines itself and what can be learned from it? Using theories about gated communities and their characteristics of lifestyle, prestige and securitisation help this research to analyse the position of Rawabi within Palestinian society. How it profiles not only itself but also its future inhabitants. It is like Blakely & Snyder (1997) say: “Our housing choices are far more complex than simple economic options. They symbolize what we want for our families and communities and what we don’t want, what we value and what we fear” (p. 145). Secondly, Masri stated that economic growth can achieve what years of violent uprisings have not, but how do they picture economic growth? What is their vision on economic development and why is this so important? Next, this research will dig deeper into the public-private partnership (PPP). Urban development projects are often founded by a cooperation between private developers and the government. This cooperation can vary in form, and it is through discovering which form this partnership takes within this specific context that can be learned what the role of the private developer and the Palestinian Authority (PA) really is. Who is the main instigator? What are the visions of both parties and how do they both work in trying to constitute change? The specific context of this project is

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quite extraordinary and makes this cooperation unlike your everyday partnership. Since both parties are restrained by the occupying power and the authority and capabilities of the PA are disputed. Furthermore, the possibilities of market failures will be discussed. As a private developer, emphasising on market logic, responsible for the construction of such a large scale project one needs to be careful towards possible market failures. The market failures of the neoliberal thought, whether in the urban context or a national policy scale, are well known and written about (Brenner & Theodore, 2002; Denis, 2006; Gill, 1995; Hackworth, 2007; Peck & Tickell, 2002). Through empirical examples this research will dig deeper into some of the prevalent market failures evident in the case of Rawabi. Digging deeper into these market failures will also make the PPP more evident and will show how the PA functions more as a market facilitator rather than to solve market failures.

How Rawabi is actually a highly politicised project will be discussed next. By elaborating on specific examples of encountered struggles with the Israeli state, it will become evident how Rawabi positions itself within these struggles and how it is capable of cooperation with the Israeli state. This carries implications for the resistance more generally, which will be discussed. Fifth, once this research established and ‘mapped’ all these changes it can move on to analysing the spatial aspects of Rawabi. The spatial analysis is twofold: (1) An analysis of the existing occupation is necessary to understand the strategic role of the utilization and meaning of space and territory. Once the logic of the settlement movement is elaborated on, another part of what Rawabi is trying to resist, but also how it is using some of the same strategies will become clear. (2) Although the transformation of space is highly political it is also very socially constructed. The two are intertwined but it is important to note in order to understand how the transformation of space functions to alter everyday reality and the way people experience the world and give it meaning.

1.2 Scientific and practical social relevance

By linking the neoliberal ideology and transformations within the Palestinian environment to spatial transformation this research provides -context specific- empirical evidence with regard to theories about gated communities, but mainly to the neoliberal effects of the transformation of space within the urban context. Though this topic is already highly researched (Blakely & Snyder, 1997; Davis, 2006; Denis, 2006; Hackworth, 2007; Hook & Vrdoljak, 2002; Peck & Tickell, 2002), none of these have linked it to its role in conflict situations and resistance against an occupying power. Neoliberalism and the occupation has been stressed upon (Clarno, 2009; Hanieh, 2013; Weizman, 2007), the neo-liberalisation pursuit of the PA in

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favour of a state-building strategy (Hanieh, 2013) and even its implications on the nature of the Palestinian struggle (Grandinetti, 2015; Hanieh, 2013). None though, focus on the transformation of space linked to neoliberalism within the urban development context and its role in conflict and resistance. By subjecting Rawabi to this case study empirical evidence will be gathered to make these links and contribute in this way to the already existing literature and theories.

The practical social relevance of the research exist out of contributing to describing ongoing changes within Palestinian society, economy, political imaginaries, the conflict and the resistance. A deepened understanding of more peaceful (neoliberal) resistance working towards a peace solution is of absolute vital importance to help improve this process so it can be adjusted to its full potential. Also a deepening understanding is required to fully assess if these changes and processes are desirable at all. This research is important for any activist, diplomat, policy maker and scholar working towards a peace solution.

This research is highly descriptive in nature to understand the ongoing changes; their underlying mechanisms and their effects. This will be researched by making use of interviews, document analysis and observations. The aim of this research is not to theorise, nor does it claim to prove any causal relation. Rawabi is just as much a subject of the ongoing changes as it is a reinforcer of these changes. Generalisations of this case study will be hard to make since the outcomes of this research are highly context dependent.

1.3 Reading guide

The next chapter in this research will provide the theoretical framework. Chapter three will discuss the methodology and research design and process. Chapter four offers some context and the necessary background information; in this chapter will be elaborated more on Rawabi, the political situation and history, and the logic of the Israeli settlement movement in order to understand the specific context in which Rawabi is being build and to understand what it is trying to change. Chapter five will deal with the empirical evidence and give an analysis of the gathered data. In chapter six will consist of the conclusion.

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2. Theoretical framework

This chapter will provide a theoretical overview of some of the important theories and concepts regarding neoliberalism, gated communities, space, territory and its relation to urban development and state building. First, neoliberalism in more general terms will briefly be discussed, and subsequently go into neoliberalism in the urban context. Neoliberalism in the urban context characterises itself by a flee from the (upper) middle class to suburban areas or gated communities. Theories about gated communities will therefore be discussed next. Third, the concepts of space and territory will be explained, with special emphasize on the idea of ‘human territoriality’. Finally, the role of space regarding to states will be discussed. How do states, in this more globalised and neoliberal world, conceive space and what does this teach us about the way we perceive the world?

2.1 Neoliberalism in the urban context

Technically neoliberalism refers to a set of doctrines that prescribe the appropriate framework for economic regulation. The concept was used by scholars though, to characterize the revival of market-based shifts across the world economy and to describe the organizational, political and ideological reorganization of capitalism through the free market system (Brenner & Theodore, 2005). Thatcher and Reagan were important figures for bringing the neoliberal thought to the political policy field, but also international institutions such as the Cato institute, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) promoted and reproduced neoliberalism. Hackworth (2007) argues that neoliberalism achieved hegemonic status through these administrations and institutions and by the 1990’s had become naturalized as the proper mode of governance. It is said that neoliberalism “shapes the environments, contexts, and frameworks within which political-economic and social-institutional restructuring takes place; it operates between as well as within specific sites of incorporation and reproduction, such as national and local scales” (Peck & Tickell, 2002, p. 400). Neoliberalism is rooted in a trilogy of the individual, the market-system and the non-interventionist state (Hackworth, 2007, p. 9-10). Important aspects of it are privatization, deregulation, competition and the belief that the fee market can handle everything. It are Brenner & Theodore (2002) and Gill (1995) who warn us about the differences between the ideology of neoliberalism and its everyday political operations and societal effects. It generates inequality, destructive competition, generalized social insecurity and subjects the

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majority of the population to the power of market forces whilst preserving social protection for the strong.

It is not until very recent that neoliberalism has gained attention among urbanists and socio-spatial theorists. Urbanist theories argue that real estate is arguably the leading edge of neoliberal urbanization at the local scale. As Hackworth (2007) argues, “real estate has become an increasingly common and quasi-autonomous vehicle for economic development in cities throughout the advanced capitalist world. Real estate has become quasi –autonomous because cities and capital have become increasingly reliant on it as a sector independent of the rest of the regional economy” (p. 77). Cities within the American context were characterized by outward growth, inner city decline, regulated development, and public investments in infrastructure. The neoliberal city, on the other hand, is defined by inner city and exurban private investment, disinvestment in the inner suburbs, the relaxation of land use controls, and the reduction of public investment that is not likely to lead to an immediate profit (Hackworth, 2007).

Harvey’s work on the ‘spatial fix’ (as cited in Hackworth, 2007) provides insight into how political restructuring reforms the physical landscape. City governments became more entrepreneurial in their orientation and while industrial decline accelerated in the 1970’s, cities reoriented themselves around finance, insurance, and real estate and the urban fabric was changing to accommodate these changes. Urban form was also reshaped to accommodate the larger-scale economic restructuring. Three major urban changes took place: First, the process of inner city gentrification. Second, inner suburban devalorisation and finally, the continued physical expansion of metropolitan areas. Hackworth (2007) explains how current outward growth is connected to broader social polarisation: “The places of most active suburban growth are often places where second homes and leisure activities dominate. The suburban housing of the Keynesian period is largely falling victim to disinvestment, as the wealthy flee for either gentrified neighbourhoods of the inner city or the gated ones of the exurbs” (pp. 96-97). Most of the theories have, like Harvey and Hackworth, focussed on neoliberal urbanisation within the American city context, though the accumulation of capital and the flee from the rich to suburban areas or gated communities can be seen all over the world (Caldeira & Holston, 2005; Davis, 2006; Denis, 2006; Grandinetti, 2015, Hook & Vrdoljak, 2002), even in Palestine.

Theorising this section will help understand the ongoing changes and how political restructuring reforms the Palestinian landscape and the possible consequences of it. Next

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section will elaborate on gated communities to be able to understand its characteristics and how it comes to define the reformation of landscape.

2.2 Gated communities

Gated communities are defined by Blakely & Snyder (1997) as: “Residential areas with restricted access in which normally public spaces are privatized. They are security developments with designated parameters, usually walls or fences, and controlled entrances that are intended to prevent penetration by non-residents” (p. 2). The term always refers to a spatial and a social factor. Spatial because ‘gated’ refers to the fortification of a certain space and social because ‘community’ refers to an organized social body of persons (Hook & Vrdoljak, 2002). Gated communities have been, since the 1960’s and 1970’s, mainly characterized by a (upper) middle class fencing themselves off. Blakely & Snyder (1997) have identified three main categories of gated communities in the US: lifestyle, prestige and security-zone. Lifestyle refers to shared public space that is privatized and controlled, more as a social statement than for security reasons. It is where both residential and commercial developments occur within the same spatial confines. Prestige on the other hand is creating distinction to protect an image and a place on the social ladder which is being accomplished by means of exclusivity. The justification of a security zone comes from fear. Fear of crime and outsiders. Gating the community becomes a mean to maintain values, identity and safety of the neighbourhood (Hook & Vrdoljak, 2002). The latter is emphasised upon by Denis (2006). He talks about the flee of the wealthy from the urban centre along the concepts of risks & fears. It teaches us how the middle class legitimizes their protection and exclusion, how fears and risks stigmatize subordinate groups and come to create illegitimate territories.

“Risk is understood as a social and political construct that crystallizes, sorts, and normalizes dangers, fears, and anxieties that define and limit a given society. The formulation of risks allows one to focus on modalities of individual and collective action, and to determine strategies of habitation, in order to protect integrity and the sense of being among one’s own or, simply, diversity control. […] fears define borders. They lie at the heart of the interactionist formulation of identity as relationships of domination. The spectre of risks, projected through media and representational structures normalizes collective fears (Weldes, 1999). It claims to validate legitimate worries and puts aside superstitions that appear as backward. This work authorizes a system of protection and of individual or collective control. […] It allows the legitimation of borders and of territorial command. The definition of risks

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enters into the heart of procedures that stigmatize subordinate groups, designate “scape goats”, and map illegitimate territories. […] risk remains an ambivalent object that produces exclusionary norms all while ancestral myths and beliefs are re-appropriated and remade in order to master and stabilize current forms of political monopoly” (Denis, 2006, p. 54).

Blakely and Snyder (1997) argue that the gated aspect of a community rests on the idea that unregulated and uncontrolled space is dangerous space. Rapid demographic, economic and social change in the US has resulted in a fear about the future which reflected in an increasing fear of crime. The wealthy need to protect themselves from these perceived threats. This social perception of this threat becomes a function of security mobilisation though, and not of actual crime rates (Hook & Vrdoljak, 2002).

Denis also explains how these gated communities are subject to neoliberal thoughts. With the construction of this life-style there is the transfer of power occurring from global and local developers and state agencies to businessmen. Making the construction of such communities subject to market mechanisms and “authorizes elites who live there to continue the forced march for economic, oligopolistic liberalisation, without redistribution, while protecting themselves from the ill effects of its pollution and it risks. […] The gated communities appear as a privileged window onto the reality of liberalisation facilitated by the state” (Denis, 2006, p. 53). It can often be seen that private democracy flourishes within these gated enclaves, while at the same time on a national scale, economic liberalisation goes hand in hand with political de-liberalisation.

Though most theories on gated communities have been written in the context of the urban America (like Hackworth, 2007; Blakely & Snyder, 1997), one can see this movement and characteristics all over the world, for example in Cairo (Denis, 2006), South Africa (Hook & Vrdoljak, 2002), Dubai (Davis, 2006) and Brazil (Caldeira & Holston, 2004), even in Palestine. Rawabi promotes itself along the lines of a new lifestyle and a more secure environment as well. By analysing Rawabi as a gated community shows how Rawabi defines itself along the lines of this new lifestyle and securitisation, and it teaches how this new middle class defines itself against the lower strata of society. It also shows the ill effects of this type of spatial segregation; it can constitute social segregation, uneven development, widening inequality and as Hackworth and Harvey argue it can lead to inner city devalorization while the gated ones valorise.

So far is outlined how space is being formed and transformed by neoliberal forces in the urban context. Gated communities, as an outcome of this, have a spatial aspect as well;

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they function as spatial segregation from the rest of society. Next section will conceptualise space and territory in order to understand more fully what space, territory, and this transformation actually includes and encompasses.

2.3 Space and territory

Space and territory are two seemingly similar things, but analytically very different concepts. It is necessary to differentiate between these concepts not only to understand what they mean and what they do, but also to understand how neoliberal processes transform the utilization of space and space itself, how people give meaning to this space, to understand what kind of role space plays within the bigger conflict and how Rawabi defies the Israeli status quo by its own use of space.

“Space functions as a pre-existing reality, which is subsequently transformed into territory through various political mechanisms, strategies, interventions and representations” (Raffestin, 1980, as cited in Brenner & Elden, 2009, p. 362), making territory the product of human action. Indeed, As Sack (1987) opens in one of his books: “Territoriality is a special type of behaviour in space and deserves special recognition” (p. 1). Sack talks about the meaning people give to space; places are filled with context and meaning since experience and thought are anchored to place. He distinguishes two ‘senses of space’: public/objective and private/subjective. The former describes place as location and events are only contingently, not essentially in space. The latter sees place as filled with feelings and meanings. But the association is thought to be private and subjective. Sack’s analysis of space is all about how meaning of space is individually and socially constructed and that constraints and enables human action. This human action within territory is what Sack (1987) terms territoriality and is defined as:

“The attempt by an individual or group to affect, influence, or control people and/or phenomena, by delimiting and asserting control over a geographical area” (Sack 1986, as cited in Sack, 1987). This area is het territory. […]Territories create a type of place, but not all places are territories. A place can be used as a territory at one time and not at another. A place can be a territory when control is asserted. […] Territoriality can be used to contain or restrain as well as to exclude, and the individuals or groups exercising control need not be within the territory. Both the boundaries of a territory and the means by which they are communicated can change. And considering territoriality as a strategy for differential access sidesteps the fruitless issue of whether human territoriality is in any sense biologically rooted.

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By making it a strategy, it places territoriality entirely within the context of human motivations and goals. […] Territoriality, as a component of power, is not only a means of creating and maintaining order; it is a device to create and maintain much of the geographic context through which we experience the world and give it meaning” (p. 4-5).

The Israeli/Palestinian conflict, which is being fought over space, is a clear example of how different groups give different meanings to places, how different groups have different shared experiences and are both in different ways embedded in the same territory. Territory became the battlefields on which various agents of state power and different actors confronted each other, meeting local and international resistance. Weizman (2007) analysed how planning and architecture became tactical tools utilised for political goals. How, for example, settling on the hilltops has different meanings: “Religious-ideological, seeking to settle the higher summits close to sites of biblical history; political, trying to pre-empt the possibility of territorial compromise by settling areas in and around the major Palestinian towns and cities; and economic, the search for cheap land for the construction of suburbs and urban sprawl close to the metropolitan centres” (p. 122). Not only is space the subject of conflict but has also become the mean to fight the conflict. “The various inhabitants of this frontier do not operate within the fixed envelopes of space – space is not the background for their actions, an abstract grid on which events take place – but rather the medium that each of their actions seeks to challenge, transform or appropriate. Moreover, in this context the relation of space to action could not be understood as that of rigid container to ‘soft’ performance. Political action is fully absorbed in the organizational, transformation, erasure and subversion of space” (Weizman, 2007, p. 7). It is this understanding of space that enables us to analyse how exactly political action and individual and collective experiences are fully absorbed in the organisation and transformation of Rawabi. Space functions not only as a political strategy to assert control or power, it also determines the way people experience the world. These conceptualisations help us to understand how Rawabi makes use of space and what this utilisation encompasses.

The next section will discuss space and its relation to states in a globalised, neoliberal world. What kind of role has space played in modern state building and what does this teach us about how we perceive the world as it is today? These questions are important to ask since Rawabi is claiming to build towards an own Palestinian state. The role of space in contemporary geopolitics and how it came to determine the way we experience the world can therefore not be neglected.

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2.4 Space, neoliberalism and states

Lefebvre is suggesting that the state and territory interact in such a way that they can be said to be mutually constitutive. Territory is the political form of space produced by and associated with the modern state. He relates the political form of state territory to the project of nationalization. The state shapes and reshapes territorial space into nationalized unities within a broader context defined by the world market, imperialism and its strategies, and the operational spheres of multinational corporations (Brenner & Elden, 2009). In the phase of nation state building and the transition to capitalist modernity, new space gets produced according to Lefebvre, which he terms ‘abstract space’: “In contrast to the ‘absolute’ spaces of precapitalist social formations, which were organized with reference to politico-religious differentiations among sacred and profane locations, abstract space appears to be homogeneous, and thus devoid of differences” (as cited in Brenner & Elden, 2009, p. 358).

Three notions are important to stress at this point: First, abstract space is inherently political. Second, not only does the production of abstract space include transformation in political practices and institutional arrangement, but also in political imaginaries. It includes new ways of envisioning, conceiving, and representing the spaces within which everyday life, capital accumulation and state actions unfold. Third, abstract space is inherently violent and geographically expansive. It provides a framework for linking economic, bureaucratic and military forms of strategic intervention. The rationality of the state would make economic growth possible and draw strength from that growth for its own expansion (Brenner & Elden, 2009). Agnew and Corbridge (2002) link these ideas of the modern nation state to the ideas of human territoriality: “The division of the world into territorial entities we call ‘states’ produces actors that operate on a territorial definition of space i.e. a world divided into discrete and mutually exclusive blocks of space. The spatial practices of everyday life have maintained a place-specificity that defies the intellectual assumption of growing state-territorial homogeneity. […] More generally, social groups are often defined by their spatial configurations: their relative spatial isolation and claims to territory are the root and symbol of their existence” (p. 14).

Lefebvre sees states as the main actor that transforms space, while Agnew (1994) warns not to fall for, what he terms, ‘the territorial trap’. In this globalised, neoliberal world Agnew teaches that seeing states and its borders as fixed units of sovereign space, with a clear demarcation between the domestic and foreign spheres and as containers of society is analytically absurd. Applied to the case of Israel and Palestine, Pallister-Wilkins (2011) shows us indeed how absurd these assumptions are. She therefore argues that it is necessary to

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reconceptualise the traditional concepts of the state and its relationship and role in the shaping of space, as state centric thinking that assumes fixed territoriality; meaning that assumptions concerning fixed locations and boundaries and its omnipotence are problematic. The central role played by the state in constructing and shaping space is also problematic when applied to an age of increased neoliberal economics and a multiplication in the sites and locations of power (Pallister-Wilkins, 2011, p. 1857).

Applied to the situation of Israel and Palestine there can be seen that the construction and resistance against the West-Bank wall was not the fabric of top-down state planning (Pallister-Wilkins, 2011). Just like the settlement movement, where different (independent) actors are at play, with different kind of ideologies behind their reason for settling, were capable of changing space1. There were social, economic, national and strategic forces at play, which al played their part and were also subject to time. The territories are elastic, but chaos was one of Israel’s foremost strategies. This strategy, also named ‘constructive blurring’, creates conditions too complex and illogical to make any territorial solution in the form of partition possible (Weizman, 2007). Without a state centric top down planning and without a clear state ideology supporting it, the strategy of chaos gave the state the possibility to support it but at the same time not to take responsibility over it (Weizman, 2007). This teaches how, in the case of Israel and Palestine, one need to move away from the territorial trap and need to reconsider the role of states and other actors capable of altering the landscape.

As soon as market forces take over the power from the state to control or change space one needs to move away from state centric thinking. For that matter, Rawabi is a perfect example of the manifestation of neoliberalism regarding power over space. Rawabi, a privatized initiative, driven by market forces, other than the state is claiming space, producing ‘facts on the ground’, therefore (re)shaping space and constituting change. Through its use of space, Rawabi becomes itself a location of power.

1 _{That the government could be pressured into authorizing and establishing settlements becomes evident by}

taking a look at Gush Emunim, a settler organization, who’s most effective tactic was to settle without

government approval with the intention of forcing it to give retrospective legitimacy. Therefore the settlements became a tool in the modern struggle between the people and the sovereignty of the state of Israel (Weizman, 2007, p. 90).

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3. Research design

In order to justify the research process and its findings it is important to discuss the research methods and argue why they were chosen. Firstly, very briefly and in general terms, the nature of this research design will be discussed. It will be brief and general, because the justification of the nature of the research design will become more evident throughout this chapter. This will be shortly followed by arguing why Rawabi can be considered an appropriate case study. Secondly, this section will explain how the theoretical framework is used as a guiding tool throughout the research. Thirdly, this section will describe the ongoing process within the research, making use of ‘constant comparison’. Next, the actual sources are presented: First, doing field work in more general terms and making observations. Second conducting interviews, and third documents analysis. Then the limitations of the research will be discussed more in depth. Finally the reliability and validity of the research will be discussed.

3.1 Case study

This research is highly qualitative in nature. This research is qualitative because an interpretative approach has been used to understand the situation and context, to create understanding from the point of view of the researched subjects. The conducted methods include interviews, document analysis and observations. The nature of my research question determined the nature of my research methods.

This research will be a case study of Rawabi and how neoliberalism finds its way in a changing Palestinian environment through the utilization of space. Yin (2009) distinguishes three criteria where every case study should comply with in order for a case study to be an appropriate form of research:

- The researcher is interested in ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions. - When a phenomenon of everyday reality is being studied.

- When the researcher has no control over the events or behaviour.

Since the main question of this research is how Rawabi is contributing to the construction of a Palestinian state, the first criteria of Yin is met. Second, Rawabi, a new city that is being constructed, can be considered a phenomenon of everyday reality. Third, as a researcher I did

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not control any of the events or behaviours. I was solely trying to understand the ongoing events and behaviours without having any authority, power or control over them. My role as a researcher might have influenced their behaviour though, but this will be further elaborated on in the limitations section. Since this case study of Rawabi complies with all three criteria it can therefore be considered an appropriate case study.

3.2 Theoretical framework

Qualitative research often has a tense relationship with conducting a literature study of already existing theories, because the literature can provide a perspective that hinders researchers to be able to place themselves in the vision and view of their subjects (Boeije, Hart, & Hox, 2009). This means that every researcher has to prepare themselves adequately, but at the same time still need to be open for new findings. I therefore applied the concept of ‘theoretical sensitivity’. This is described by Strauss (1987) as: “Sensitive to thinking about data in theoretical terms” (as cited in Boeije, 2005, p. 80). It is the ability of the researcher to have creative findings in the research data by looking with a certain theoretical perspective at the data (Boeije, 2005). It allowed me to look at the gathered data with the right lens.

A way to do this is to use sensitizing concepts. These concepts guide your view to relevant subjects without hindering you in keeping an open mind (Boeije, Hart, & Hox, 2009). With the theory as my lens I guided myself to relevant subjects all the while by keeping an open mind for new and interesting aspects within the gathered data. The theories and concepts being used are discussed and justified within the theoretical framework.

3.3 Process

Before any empirical research has been conducted I engaged in a literature study of existing theories and (historical) descriptions of the ongoing conflict. The literature (partially) determined the niche of my research, and provided me with useful concepts that served as a guide in my research. My analysis was based on the principle of ‘constant comparison’. It is a working method in which data-gathering and analysis are being constantly interchanged. If interesting topics emerged within interviews I took this with me to the next interview and added it in my topic list. If certain topics proved to be less relevant I dropped them. After (almost) every interview I analysed the data which helped me to fine-tune the topic list for the following interview. Sometimes the time between interviews was too short to analyse the data which hindered me in this process. While I was conducting interviews I also received documents from which I then again picked certain interesting topics which I added to the

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topic list. The same goes for using my own observations. In doing so the principle of constant comparison was part of my research process. Interviews had been transcribed and those transcriptions have been coded by using NVivo to make the data more accessible and to provide me with a better overview of the gathered data. The interviews were divided into several categories, which were mainly determined by the topic list being used. My own observations and interesting notes from the document analysis were not added in the coding process.

3.4 Field work

For three weeks I visited Palestine to be able to see Rawabi and conduct the necessary interviews. The context in which people live and work is often determining the way they give meaning to their environment, and it determines their behaviour and their attitude (Boeije, Hart, & Hox, 2009). Visiting this context has provided me with the possibility to actually see the city with my own eyes and to see the ‘other’ city against which Rawabi defines itself. This helped me to render visible certain features and characteristics of these places, but also to ‘catch the atmosphere’. Observations were made which helped me with the interpretation of the data.

Being in the field enabled me to visit Rawabi and I got a tour with the head of the engineering department. This enabled me to use observations and to take a look at the environment to render visible certain important features and characteristics of Rawabi. Though Rawabi is still under construction, the first two neighbourhoods were already finished and a lot of its features and characteristics could already be seen. Because Rawabi was still under construction I stayed in Ramallah and Birzeit. This enabled me to also use observations within the ‘other’ big city (Ramallah) and see how people live there and to render visible ‘everyday life’ within this city. Birzeit on the other hand is a small village more up north of Ramallah, and showed me another side of life within Palestine, away from the city2. These experiences enabled me to position Rawabi against the already existing cities and lifestyle. My overall stay in Palestine enabled me to speak to a lot of local people to experience their point of view on Rawabi. Though the opinions of these people regarding Rawabi has not been the focus point of my research and therefore none of these conversations have been recorded or written down to use them as official interviews within this research, they did provide me with a more general view and take on Rawabi. These talks were interesting to see how

2

Ramallah is said not to be representative of the rest of Palestine. T. Rafidi even referred to it as ‘the bubble’ (personal communication, May 7, 2015).

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‘excluded’ people felt about it, to capture the attitudes towards Rawabi within the bigger society instead of solely the people working and building on it. Visiting Rawabi also enabled me to just see how space gets transformed and to see the comparison with the Israeli settlements.

Finally, doing fieldwork enabled me to conduct interviews with several people

involved in Rawabi. Since e-mailing did not seem to be very common in Palestine’s culture3,

actually being there gave me access to several interesting respondents. To conduct those interviews eye to eye gave me a more flexible approach within the interviews and enabled me to observe the respondents attitudes and behaviours regarding certain questions within their own environment.

3.5 Interviews

To be able to understand the vision and context of Rawabi I have conducted interviews with several people involved in its construction. I have interviewed people working for the project developer, the Municipal Council (MC), and the PA to provide me with a broad understanding from different groups on their take on Rawabi. To be able to untangle their vision, but also to untangle their vision of each other, to bring forward the underlying relations between these groups. For a complete list of names and their job titles see table 3.1.

Table 3.1: List of respondents

Name: Title:

Amal Abu Nimreh Head of engineering department Rawabi (used to work for MI, now works for the MC)

Amir Dajani Deputy executive officer at BREIC

Carla Huisman International programme advisor Palestine at VNGi

Chris van der Valk Project manager at VNGi

Majed Abdulfattah Mayor of Rawabi (MC)

Nasser Sheikh Ali Resident program manager at VNGi

Tami Rafidi Municipal council member

Dr. Tawfeeq Budairi Deputy assistant for the minister of local governance at the PA

All respondents that were interviewed were all highly educated and considered to be knowledgeable, experienced and/or experts within their field. Most of them are used to being

3

Often when I send out emails to Palestinians or Palestinian organisations they remained un-answered. Actually showing up and being there proved to be a better way to get in touch with people.

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interviewed and may or may not have received media training. Evasive and diplomatic answers were part of some of the interviews and asked a considerable amount of capabilities from my side to be able to break through these answers.

For my research I was partially dependent on several people who arranged interviews for me. Nasser Sheikh Ali and Amal Abu Nimreh were the ones who provided me with access to my research subjects, although they themselves were part of that group as well. I got access to them through Carla Huisman and Chris van der Valk, both employees at the Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten international (VNGi). They are involved with the MC of Rawabi to help them develop the city as a SMART city and to strengthen their local governance capacities.

The interviews that I conducted were open interviews and semi-structured in nature. Though I did prepare a topic list, I wanted to keep an open mind towards possible new directions. Often the structure of the interviews was determined by the way the interview evolved. This enabled me to attain a flexible position and I could, at the spot, determine if a certain new topic was interesting to dig into or not. While at the same time have a guiding tool (the topic list) to assist me through the research.

Almost every interview was recorded which might have influenced the openness of the interviewee with regard to answering sensitive questions. Only one interview was not recorded. In this case I took field notes in order to remember certain important topics but also to write down important observations. After every interview I took notes as well, for example if something interesting happened which could not be recorded on tape. For example if the environment in which we talked was important for the way the interview went, or if a certain facial expression or attitude towards a certain topic was to be seen.

3.6 Documents

The documents that I used for my analysis were provided by the MC, Bayti Real Estate Investment Company (BREIC), and VNGi. The objectivity of these documents is non-existing, since all of them are used for branding and marketing purposes. This does not mean that they were useless. As a researcher I was aware of these subjectivities and they were very important to interpret and understand their way of visioning. By analysing them they told me something about Rawabi’s vision. The way they framed this appeared to be quite useful in my analysis. The following documents were used (table 3.2):

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Table 3.2: List of documents

With Rawabi is meant either the project developer or the MC. Unclear is who exactly made these documents but they are in the interest of both. The MC as well as the developer is interested in branding, marketing and getting people to come to Rawabi and thus their intentions and goals are intertwined and both benefit from the existence of these documents. Though some of these documents are online available, not all of them are and actually being there enabled me to lay hands on them. Besides these documents I used the website of Rawabi (Rawabi.ps) and a documentary shot a few years ago by a Dutch independent company (tegenlicht).

3.7 Limitations

First of all I would like to stress my role as a researcher within this research. Every observer and interviewer should be aware of his own perceptions and attitudes regarding the researched subjects. Every researcher influences the respondents in a way which might determine the outcome of the interviews. My own questions and reactions to answers might have influenced the outcome. Especially since the interviews were only semi-structured it obligates me to say that another researcher might have had different answers and different outcomes. By using constant comparison my interpretations determined the questions of the next interview. My own bias as a researcher has influenced the outcome of the research as well, sometime I was aware of this, probably sometimes I was not. I noticed for example in one of the interviews that my own critical opinion towards some of the ongoing changes pushed the respondent in a more defensive position, partially shutting him down. My own cultural background and frame of reference might have biased the evolvement of the interviews and my interpretations of the data. A different researcher might have had different observations, different interpretations, therefore different interviews and therefore different outcomes. Though I tried to remain as

Title: Provided by:

Strategic directions Rawabi VNGi and the MC

The emerging ICT Hub in Palestine Rawabi

The first Palestinian ICT Hub – Rawabi city

Rawabi

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objective as I could, it is possible that aware and unaware I took a stance within the interviews which have influenced the outcome of the interviews.

Before every interview started I explained the respondents about my research and how I was going to use the data. I did not raise the issue of anonymity because all respondents were used to being interviewed because of the high level of media attention. All respondents agreed on me interviewing them, without asking for anonymity as well. At one point one respondent stated he/she wanted to declare something of the record, in which case I (off course) granted the respondent anonymity. Every interview was recorded (with consent), which could also have influenced the outcome. Finally, I would like to stress my own experience as a researcher. Since my experience within the field and doing research is lacking to a certain degree it could be possible that a more experienced researcher would have been more able to break through evasive and/or diplomatic answers and/or could have been able to see more or different things.

The number of respondents (n=8) is relatively small. I often used the answers of one person as speaking for their entire group. For example, I considered A. Dajani to be speaking for the private developer, M. Abdulfattah for the MC and T. Budairi for the PA. These were just the answers of one person which I sometimes generalised as the view of the group they were part of. I am aware that these generalisations might not be correct. But the respondents all interviewed me within a certain role, from their authority derived by their job title. So these persons were aware of speaking as a representative of their group. For example, in one interview when I asked someone on his own opinion I got the answer: “My own opinion does not matter”. This exemplifies how the respondent was fully aware of the role he was in and was speaking for the group he belonged to. I do feel the need to stress that although sometimes referred to as the opinion or view of the developer, MC or PA this was often just by the hand of one respondent. My interpretations allowed me to judge whether the respondent answered as a representative or not, which regulates this limitation to a certain degree. If I interviewed more respondents this would have been more controlled for. Due to a lack of time, money and capabilities this was unfortunately not possible. Time, since I was restricted by a deadline set by the UvA. Certain limits had to be made within the research to make it tangible within the provided amount of time. Money, since doing fieldwork in Palestine comes along with a price tag and a limitation of money restricted me in staying longer, which restricted me in gathering more data. Capabilities, because a more experienced researcher, or someone more familiar with the culture and environment, someone with a

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bigger network might have been able to conduct more research and gather more data within the limited amount of time.

As already stated the VNGi helped me to conduct my research by providing me with useful contacts and respondents. This made me partially dependent on their help. This dependency had some restraints, for example, I was not able to conduct interviews with people they did not have access to. Another possible restraint is that they ‘steered’ me in a certain direction with the respondents they were able to arrange a meeting with. This last point I deem not very likely because they mostly arranged meetings with people I wanted to speak with and the people were from different groups. Though Sheikh Ali was present at one of my interviews and did intervene by also answering questions and/or explaining certain topics, which might have influenced the outcome of the interview and the ability of the respondent to speak freely, VNGi did neither intervene in any other of my interviews nor the research process nor did I got the idea they wanted to affect or change my research in any way. Their intentions for helping me out appear to be altruistic of nature which enabled me to keep my independence, for a great part, as a researcher.

3.8 Reliability & validity

By choosing for a less standardised character of the research methods enabled me to have a more flexible approach to adjust myself to relevant topics. This contributes to the validity of my research but functions as a disadvantage regarding its reliability. This permitted me to, at the spot, dig deeper into relevant issues and move away from irrelevant ones (validity). Due to the use of a topic list and semi-structured interviews, instead of structured interviews, it is not likely that my research could be repeated in exactly the same way (reliability). In general, repeating fieldwork has proven not to be very easy, i.e. nearly impossible (Boeije, Hart, & Hox, 2009). Conducting qualitative methods made my research quite uncontrollable. However, this section above should function as an important guideline and justification of my choices and taken steps in the research.

To enhance reliability and validity I used method triangulation. I have been conducting interviews, document analysis and made use of observations. This depended on the specific subtopic being researched though. Method triangulation was not something that was applicable to every subtopic within my research. Due to a lack of time though, repeating interviews and observations have not been possible. Although this might be bad for the validity and reliability of the research, this short amount of time spent here does make the phenomenon of ‘going native’ and reactivity less likely.

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4. Introducing the case and the conflict

In this chapter there is going to be a more in depth introduction of Rawabi and the conflict. In order to fully understand where Rawabi is coming from and what it is trying to accomplish it is necessary to elaborate on Rawabi and provide a short overview of the conflict and resistance against it. Political and social-cultural changes have affected the struggle over the years and to be able to position Rawabi within the contemporary situation a brief introduction into Rawabi and the conflict seems necessary. Important to note here is that a short overview will be given. The history of this conflict is long and complex and only the relevant points that contribute to my research and argument will be elaborated on.

4.1 Rawabi

Rawabi is going to be an entire new city, the first planned Palestinian city. Planned and constructed by a private investor: Bashar Masri. Bashar Masri and his company MI, together with investors from Qatar, formed BREIC. This latter is the company responsible for the construction of Rawabi. It is situated 25 kilometres south of Nablus and 25 kilometres north of Jerusalem, as the crow flies (image 4.1).

Image 4.1: Rawabi map Source: Rawabi.ps

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It is supposed to home, when finished, about 40.000 people by delivering more than 5.000 housing units spread across 23 neighbourhoods. It will have all the needed facilities, services and more; with movie theatres, cafes, bars, a hotel, fitness centres and even an amphitheatre. It is going to be the first Palestinian SMART city, with the latest sustainable technologies. It is the largest private sector undertaking in Palestinian history and the investment will ultimately exceed more than one billion US dollar. A city with a vison that is supposed to lead to economic development while at the same time functions as a mean to fight the occupation.

The very idea of Rawabi is possible through neoliberal reforms that have taken place in Palestine over the years. Grandinetti (2015) talks in her article how the Oslo Accords (1993) were products of the neoliberal thought. The Oslo negotiations were driven by the United States and Israel’s desire to integrate in the Middle Eastern markets. More importantly, she talks about how the PA adopted Israel’s neoliberal economic development to a certain degree, especially evident when Salam Fayyad (former IMF economist) became prime minister in 2007. He implemented a neoliberal logic of privatization on the economy that had been systematically destroyed by its occupier (Grandinetti, 2015). The PA‘s neoliberal pursuit of economic development is obviously constrained by Israel, since the economic framework has been designed to minimize the PA’s policy space; any form of trade liberalisation must track Israel’s trade policies, the PA lacks a centralized independent bank, and Israel’s regime of spatial control as well as its ongoing settlement activity within the West Bank ensures its power over the Palestinian economy (Grandinetti, 2015). The Oslo Accords operates to make the occupation less costly and more efficient for Israel, as critics state (Weizman, 2007; Gordon, 2008).

As explained, real estate is believed to be the leading edge of neoliberal urbanization at the local scale, and as Weizman (2007) states: “During the urban euphoria of the Oslo years (1995-2000) a real estate boom in Palestinian cities was fuelled by wealthy returnee elites, and new neighbourhoods were built on the peripheries of Palestinian cities and towns” (p. 127). Especially present in Ramallah, this city has been the main incubator for a new globalized urban middle-class ethos and lifestyle (Grandinetti, 2015). It is the neoliberal reform and the flight from the urban upper middle class that made the very idea of Rawabi possible. Only now it is not a flight to a new neighbourhood but the flight to an entire new city.

Though the PA’s neoliberal pursuit of economic development is obviously constrained by Israel, it is Gordon (2008) who takes it one step further by arguing that the PA itself is a product of the occupation. After the Oslo Accords all of the civil institutions were passed

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from Israel to the hands of the PA. Israel transferred responsibility for the occupied inhabitants and in this way dramatically reduced the occupation’s political and economic cost, while continuing to hold on to most of its territory and without renouncing its sovereignty over the two regions. The Oslo Accords resulted in the following map (image 4.2). Area A being under full control of the PA; Area B under governmental control of the PA but under Israeli military control; Area C under full Israeli control.

As one can see the Palestinian land got divided into fragments. How Israel came to annex land and uses this land to exercise control needs further elaboration in order to understand how space functions within the Israel/Palestinian conflict. To be able to understand what it is Rawabi is trying to resist and to be able to understand how some of the same strategies are being used by Rawabi in their resistance.

4.2 Mechanisms of control

The Palestinian landscape has been architecturally developed by Israel to transform it into a fully operating site of control. This architecture of occupying the West Bank, as Weizman

Image 4.2: Areas A, B and C of the West Bank Source: Gordon (2008)

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(Sousa, 2014) explains, creates material damage and cuts apart the fragile Palestinian fabric. The entire Israeli/Palestinian frontier exists out of fences, walls, blockades, checkpoints, roads, settlements and buffer zones to shrink and expand the terrain at will. It is creating separation and works to exercise control of the landscape. This section briefly takes a look at how these mechanisms of control exactly use space to exercise control. The role of space is of utmost importance within the conflict; since it is fought over space but also since space is utilized and transformed in such ways that power and control are imposed through it. It teaches us first; what it is that Rawabi is trying to resist and second; how it uses some of the same strategies to resist.

One of the objectives of the Jewish strategy to occupy the land has been to confiscate as much land as possible without integrating the population. With the outcome that many Palestinians have been cut off from their land (Gordon, 2008). The mechanisms of this dispossession changed over the years, but as Gordon argues, were always characterized by two mechanisms: bureaucratic-legal mechanisms were implemented to seize land legally by making it state property and then settlements and roads were built on the land in order to transform the “de jure confiscation into a de facto annexation” (p. 119). Not only settlements and roads were used to create facts on the ground: the construction of military bases, the establishment of Jewish outposts, the transfer of Jewish citizenry across the green line4 into the Occupied Territories (OT) and the construction of the separation barrier (Gordon, 2008). Not only land annexation and building facts on the ground is part of Israel’s control apparatus. Jeff Halper talks about what he terms the ‘matrix of control’: “It is a maze of laws, military orders, planning procedures, limitations on movement, Kafkaesque bureaucracy, settlements and infrastructure that serves to perpetuate the occupation and to conceal it behind massive Israeli facts on the ground and a bland façade of ‘proper administration’” (ICAHD, Matrix of control). The entire Israeli apparatus was used to authorize and legalize administrative detention, house demolitions, land confiscation and other daily forms of control institutionalized by a legal system, the high court of justice, the general security services5 (GSS), military forces, administrative bureaucracy, permit regime and surveillance (Gordon, 2008). In order to focus on the spatial strategies though, this research will now focus on the

mechanisms of control regarding space.

Through the annexation of land, justified by a bureaucratic legal system, is how Israeli

4 _{The green line refers to the border as determined in the 1949 agreements between Israel and its neighbouring}

countries after the 1948 Arab-Israel war.