Search

Arap devletleri, Batı Şeria’daki Yahudi yerleşimlerinin, Dördüncü Cenevre Sözleşmesi’nin 49 (6) Maddesi’ni ihlal ettiğini ve İsrail’in Batı Şeria’da işgalci olduğunu savunurlar. İsrail sağı ise, bir işgal olmadığını, sorunun tartışmalı topraklar sorunu olduğunu öne sürer. İsrail sağına göre, İsrail Batı Şeria’yı ilhak edebilir. Türkiye’de yaygın olarak İsrail sağının Batı Şeria’daki hak iddiası dinsel gerekçelere göre açıklanır. İsrail sağının Batı Şeria’nın statüsüne dair hukuki yaklaşımı önemsenmez. Bu ise, İsrail siyasetini anlamayı sınırlandırır. Çalışma ile Türkçe literatürdeki bu eksikliğin giderilmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Çalışmada, İsrail sağının, Doğu Timor, Batı Sahra, Suriye-Lübnan ile Vietnam-Kamboçya örneklerine bakışı açıklanmakta ve böylece İsrail sağının Batı Şeria’nın statüsüne dair temel tezinin anlaşılması sağlanmaktadır. ABD’nin Batı Şeria’nın statüsüne yaklaşımı ele alınmakta ve İsrail sağının tezi üzerinden tartışma yürütülmektedir. İsrail sağının Batı Şeria’nın statüsüne dair temel tezi Pompeo Doktrini’nin iskeletini teşkil ettiği için, çalışma Pompeo Doktrini’ni doğru değerlendirmeye imkan sunmaktadır. Çalışma ile İsrail’e yönelik çifte standardı görmek mümkündür., Arab states argue that Jewish settlements in the West Bank violate the Article 49 (6) of the Fourth Geneva Convention and that Israel is the occupier in the West Bank. On the other hand, the Israeli right argues that there is no occupation and that the problem is the disputed territories. According to the Israeli right, Israel can annex the West Bank. In Türkiye, the claim of the Israeli right in the West Bank is widely explained on the religious ground. The legal approach of the Israeli right on the status of the West Bank is ignored. This limits the understanding of Israeli politics. With this study, this deficiency in Turkish literature is aimed to be eliminated. In the study, the perspective of the Israeli right on the examples such as East Timor, Western Sahara, Syria-Lebanon and Vietnam-Cambodia is explained, so it is provided that the basic thesis of the Israeli right on the status of the West Bank is understood. The USA’s approach on the status of the West Bank is handled and a discussion is conducted on the thesis of the Israeli right. Since the basic thesis of the Israeli right on the status of the West Bank constitutes the skelaton of the Pompeo Doctrine, the study provides an opportunity to evaluate the Pompeo Doctine correctly. With the study, it ia possible to see the double standard towards Israel.

Road safety comparison between countries can be used to identify where there is potential for safety improvements. The main subject of this study includes the descriptive comparison between the Greece and Palestine (West Bank) in terms of road safety situation expressed by mortalities rates and factors of drivers involved in these accidents. Specifically, the difference of the number of traffic accidents was examined based on variety classifications of drivers in terms of gender and age categories based on authorised data during the period (2012–2017). The presented study is a part of a general comparative analysis of the road safety performance between the two countries in the framework of a PhD research. Most of the accidents data records collected from Hellenic Statistical Authority for Greece and from the Palestinian Traffic Police for Palestine. In addition to the stage of data analysis, which included descriptive analysis, statistical tests for each part separately and comparison between the two countries were presented. Countries’ differences in structure and culture not only have an impact on the size and nature of road safety problems but they are also influencing the possibilities to reduce the problem effectively and efficiently.

Israeli plans to partially annex West Bank territory have mainly been perceived as frustrating the two-state solution, and as putting Palestine/Israel on a path leading to the one-state alternative. This paper analyses partial annexation plans without assuming that the future of Palestine/Israel would necessarily abide by either statist resolution. It argues that by ostensibly distancing Israel's hold of the West Bank from an identifiable configuration of a belligerent occupation, partial annexation is offered to Jewish Israelis as a path for detaching the futurity of the two nations, and as a trajectory for normalising the Israeli state, without having to make what much of this public would see as painful concessions. It further explores settlers’ objections to such plans, claiming that even a partial incorporation of West Bank territory into formal Israel is expected to erode the exclusivity of Jewish domination which Israel has been upholding in its settler-colonial frontier.

This study will explore how certain factors have affected the contemporary Israeli-Palestinian peace process and why this stalemate has continued to plague peace negotiations. While there are many causes of the breakdown of peace, I will focus on three primary catalysts for unrest. Namely, the rise of the Israeli right-wing and its hawkish policies, the growth of the settlement movement as an obstruction to a two-state solution, and the rise of Hamas as a spoiler for negotiations. This study will demonstrate how strangling the peace process serves to legitimize and empower Hamas and the Israeli right-wing to the detriment of peace. Thus, my research suggests that for reasons of personal and party gain, negotiations are more likely to fail under a right-leaning Israeli government, an increasingly powerful settlement movement, and the emboldenment of organizations such as Hamas who actively seek to sabotage peace work.

A total of 79 species of local vertebrates (birds, mammals, and reptiles) are found to be in illegal trade in the West Bank, Palestine, during 2013–2020. Data were collected from visits to the animal markets in the main cities of the West Bank (Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, Jericho, Nablus, Ramallah, and Salfit) and from advertisements in social media. Birds were the most traded animals represented in 59 species (74.7%), followed by 12 species of reptiles (15.2%) and eight species of mammals (10.1%). Nineteen species are listed under CITES appendices (17 birds and 2 mammals under appendixes II and III, respectively). As for the conservation status according to the IUCN Red List, two bird species (Streptopelia turtur and Serinus syriacus) and one reptile (Testudo graeca) are listed as VU, while two mammals (Hyaena hyaena and Gazella gazella) are listed as NT and EN, respectively. Based on the local status, three species of bird are considered critically endangered (Coturnix coturnix, Asio flammeus, and Aquila chrysaetos), one bird is endangered (Falco subbuteo), and two mammals (Hyaena hyaena and Gazella gazella) are considered endangered and vulnerable respectively. This study reveals the urgent need to control animal trade in the Palestinian Territories.

At the end of the Ramesside period when the royal power in the south decreased, the conservation and the construction of sacred buildings became the responsibility of the high priests of Amun in Thebes. This responsibility included as well the reburial of royal mummies in the valley of the kings on the west bank of Thebes. Several high priests were linked with the preservation of royal buildings and the restoration and the reburial of royal mummies. This study aims at investigating the role played by those priests, how they recorded the different activities and the terms they used for their documentation of their work. The paper starts with a historical background followed by the work of restoration of each high priest in a chronological order with a commentary and analysis. The study ends with a main conclusion.

This article examines Jordanian postage stamp depiction of the West Bank as part of the Hashemite Kingdom from 1952 to 1985. The majority of maps of the West Bank are featured as part of Jordan, both during Jordanian rule of the West Bank (1948–1967) and after Israel conquered the land during the 1967 war. Sometimes the West Bank is delineated from Jordan to suggest a territorial dispute with Israel, while other times, the West Bank is shown as part of Palestine. The ambiguous representations of the West Bank as Jordanian territory, disputed territory, and Palestinian territory reinforce Hashemite sovereignty claims to the West Bank while also supporting Palestinian rights and acknowledging Jordanian rule of the West Bank was conditional upon settlement of the Palestinian issue. Finally, this analysis seeks to explain why stamps stopped showing the West Bank as part of Jordan in 1985, three years before the kingdom formally severed all legal and administrative ties to the land.

This article explores the impact of disasters on conflict areas through the example of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict during the 2020-1 COVID-19 crisis. The author points to three main variables that determine how pandemics affect conflict and diplomacy: the structure of the conflict arena, domestic politics, and the progression of the pandemic. It contributes to the literature on ‘disaster diplomacy’ and provides analysis for those working in diplomacy by examining the conditions under which an ongoing pandemic might lead to either conflict or a peace process., How do disasters influence conflict and diplomacy in conflict areas? The scholarship shows that while they can provide opportunities for cooperation and ‘disaster diplomacy’ between parties to a conflict, they can also intensify tension and hostility. This article uses the Israeli–Palestinian conflict during the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study, exploring the impact of the crisis on relations between the rival parties and examining the conditions under which an ongoing pandemic might lead to either conflict or cooperation in a conflict area. The research is based on within-case analysis, comparing three conflict arenas: Israel–Palestinian Authority relations in the West Bank; relations between Israel and the Palestinian community in East Jerusalem; and Israel–Hamas government relations in the Gaza strip. The article outlines the possibilities and limitations of ‘disaster diplomacy’ in intractable conflicts and contributes to the literature by identifying how different contexts, relations and actors in each conflict arena affect the development of patterns of conflict and cooperation with regard to the pandemic. The study analyses the factors that shape how the pandemic affects the conflict, and the COVID-19-related diplomacy, in each sub-case, with attention to three main variables: the structure of the conflict arena, domestic politics and the developments in the pandemic. The analysis addresses the unique conditions of an ongoing global pandemic, as opposed to an isolated disaster event, and traces the changing impact of the pandemic on the conflict and on disaster-related cooperation at various stages.

Oslo agreement was signed in 1993 between the Palestinians and the Israelis as a gesture of hope for the autonomy of the Palestinians on their lands. Palestinians lands was divided into three administrative regions: Areas A, B, and C. These divisions were signed as a temporary transitional period of 5 years, during which the transfer of control over areas C and B to the Palestinian National Authority, was not implemented until the time of writing this research. This work aims to shed light on the impact of the geopolitical division on the possibility of exploiting renewable energy resources on C areas, and the role of that in achieving the Palestinian vision of reducing total dependency on the Israeli side as a net importer of Energy. To conclude, 96% of the total potential of solar energy is in West Bank, while Gaza has only 163 MW. Area C obsesses over 62% of solar energy potential, while about 75% of the potential in area (A + B) is upon the roof tops. It is expected, 98% of the total renewable energy potential is solar energy potential. Only 0.12% of the total A and B lands are suitable for producing solar electricity.

The public policy field generally answers the question as to what a government should or should not do. In the case of Palestine, the Water Reform Process has however been characterized by a gap be...

In this paper, the expressway engineering case along the west bank of Qinghai Lake is taken as the research background, and the typical “aquatic grassland” silt on the west bank of Qinghai Lake is taken as the research object. Through the geotechnical test, wet-dry cycle test, and direct shear test, the influence of moisture content and wet-dry cycle on the shear strength of silt and its indexes are studied. The results show that the shear strength index c and φ of unmodified silt first increase and then decline with the increase of water content, and the optimal moisture content of the shear strength is about 30%. The values of c, φ, and shear strength of remolded silt decrease with the increase of wetting and drying cycles. When the cycles exceed 5 times, the moisture content does not have much effect on the shearing strength.

Palestine, a historical land inhabited by both Jews and Arabs, has been the source of disagreement for the two ethnic communities since their establishment in this territory. Over time, as a consequence of this antagonism, the Middle East region has hosted a multilateral conflict generated by a number of factors (historical, ethnic, national and religious), which is currently manifested in three subsequent disputes: Arab-Israeli, Israeli-Palestinian and religious. The social dispute was initially generated by the inter-communal misunderstandings between Arabs and Jews, in the territory of the British mandate of Palestine and degenerated into a series of wars between Israel and the Arab states that led to an open armed conflict between Israel and Gaza. Also, the religious dispute, which permanently accompanied the other two, is related to the equally claiming by Jews and Muslims of both the entire territory of this historical land, as well as Jerusalem. The paper is intended to be a clarification of what the historic Palestinian region represents and how it has transformed under the impact of the conflict generated against the background of the desire for statehood expressed by Jews and Arabs in the same space. In the following, some aspects will be shown presenting the historical sources of territoriality, statehood and conflict in the region, and current forms of Palestinian multilateral conflict, as well as the predominant side of the conflict in the contemporary period, focusing on developments in the first half of 2021, but also some trends that are expected in the evolution of the Palestinian issue.

Background: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) rapid manifestation and spread have disrupted world norms and affected people's daily activities and life. Many ministries chose mass lockdown protocol as a way to control the virus spread. Though this protocol has shown to be effective in limiting the Virus transmission, it might have a negative impact on the population's psychological status, such as boredom, confusion, psychological stress, anxiety, depression, and physical effects. Objective: This study aimed to find the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Palestinian adults' psychological status by assessing the participant's practices, reports of anxiety and depression during the pandemics Methods: An observational descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among Palestinian adults in the West Bank, at the occupied Palestinian territories, between July and September 2020. The questionnaire was structured into two domains: the first domain includes nine questions about sociodemographic data. The second consisted of 33 (yes and no) questions evaluating the participant's psychological status. Results: 739 participants with a mean age of 31.76, filled the online questionnaire. Around one-third of respondents revealed having many signs of anxiety, and around 42% of respondents expressed having many signs of depression. Females were significantly more likely to have signs of depression, whereas front-line COVID-19 health care workers were significantly the least likely to have signs of depression and no signs of depression were found among participants with high incomes. Conclusion: COVID-19 pandemic has a negative effect on mental status; most participants have signs of anxiety and depression.

This paper uses the concept of ‘Slow Violence’ in a Palestinian village to explore the political ecology of the Israeli settlers-colonial paradigm. Slow Violence is violence that manifests graduall...

Many members of minority groups clash violently with state agents. The case of the Israeli West-Bank Settlers’ Right-Wing Activists is particularly paradoxical. Unlike disempowered groups whose abi...

Traditional communities have wide knowledge and experience of wild plants as natural resources that have historically been important for food, medicine, spiritual and hygienic uses. These communiti...

Social work professionals experience job-related stressors often associated with compromised mental health. In low-resource, conflict settings, such as the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), s...

This article aims at challenging the widely accepted argument that Israel has failed to enforce the law on Jewish communities in the West Bank. It argues instead that, since the 2000s, there has be...

The radiographer is one of the most important and needful components of the workforce in the health care system. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of depressive symptoms and explore its associated risk factors among radiographers working in the West Bank hospitals. A cross-sectional design was used for the study. Beck's depression inventory-II Arabic version was administered to respondents and Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS v 21) was used for the data analysis. The prevalence of depressive symptoms among radiographers was (66.9%). The results showed a significant association between gender and depression; men were at higher odds of having higher depression categories as than women by 9.6 times (95% CI 3.65-22.4). In addition, radiographers who had no children were at higher odds to report higher depression categories than radiographers who had from one to more than five children by 8.9 times (95% CI 1.55- 52.02). In addition, the results showed that the radiographers who had bachelor degree were at higher odds of having higher depression categories than diploma and master or more radiographers by 2.4 times (95% CI 1.04-5.78). To work in private hospitals had lower odds of having higher depression categories than radiographers who work in government hospitals by 0.24 times (95% CI 0.17-0.51). The results showed a significant association between monthly salary and depression categories; radiographers who took monthly salary 1000-1199$ were at higher odds of having higher depression categories than radiographers who took more than 2000US $ by 2.5 times (95% CI 1.24-5.33). The radiographers who smoke were at higher odds of having higher depression categories than radiographers who did not smoke by 2 times (95% CI 1.08-4.18). Other variables showed no significant association with depression categories among radiographers. Depressive symptoms among radiographers were found to be prevalent. Gender, number of children, education level, monthly salary, smoking cigarettes, work experience, and working sector were associated with the generation of depressive symptoms.

This paper investigates the economy-wide effects of cross-border movements of Palestinian labor for employment in Israel. The integration of Palestinian and Israeli labor markets is unique, as it differs from international labor migration and associated remittances described in the literature. Especially, it departs from the cultural and social dimensions associated with international migration because there is no shift in residence. We find based on an economy-wide model calibrated to a newly developed database of the West Bank economy that increasing Palestinian labor demand in Israel negatively affects the West Bank economy by bidding up domestic wages, reallocating labor away from tradable activities and reducing competitiveness of the Palestinian export sector. However, increasing labor income from Israel has positive welfare effects for Palestinian households. Considering these results, the paper identifies policy options for the Palestinian National Authority.

In settler colonial settings, agriculture is a means of reclaiming territorial sovereignty and indigenous identity. Turning attention to the Jewish settlers in the West Bank and their multiple uses and abuses of organic farming, this article explores epistemic and political spatial operations on the colonial frontier. Applying a relational conceptualization of three spatial modalities—soil, territory, and land—we explore the ways in which these modalities serve as political apparatuses: Soil designates the romantic perception of cultivable space, territory is concerned with borders and political sovereignty, and land is seen as a space of economic value and as a means of production. While agriculture is a well-known instrument of expansion and dispossession, organic farming contributes to the colonial operation by binding together affective attachment to the place, and new economic singularity in relation to environmental and ethical claims. We argue that organic farming practices converge claims for local authenticity, spatial appropriation, and high economic values that are embedded in what we term the colonial quality turn. Ultimately, organic farming in the West Bank normalizes the inherent violence of the colonial project and strengthens the settlers’ claim for political privilege.

The recent ruling of the International Criminal Court (ICC) affirming territorial jurisdiction over the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip may at first appear to be a mere proc...

Background Respectful care during childbirth is a universal right for each woman in every health system, and mistreatment of women during childbirth is a major breach of this right. Aim This study aimed to explore the views of Palestinian women and healthcare providers regarding factors contributing to the mistreatment of women during childbirth at childbirth facilities in the West Bank, Palestine. Methods A qualitative study was conducted in the West Bank, Palestine, from February 2019 to April 2019. In-depth interviews were conducted with six Palestinian women and five healthcare providers. Consent was obtained individually from each participant, and the interviews ranged from 40 to 50 min. Data collection was continued until thematic saturation was reached. Open-ended questions were asked during interviews. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the data collected from the interviews. Results Four themes were identified with regards to the women and healthcare providers’ views about factors contributing to the mistreatment of women during childbirth in the West Bank, Palestine: limitation in childbirth facilities, factors within the healthcare providers, the women themselves, and barriers within the community. Discussion Mistreatment of women during childbirth may occur due to the limitations of resources and staff in childbirth facilities. Some women also justified the mistreatment, and certain characteristics of the women were believed to be the factors for mistreatment. Conclusion As the first known study of its kind in West Bank, the identified contributing factors especially the limitations of resources and staff are essential to provide good quality and respectful care at childbirth facilities.

This article examines the relationship between Evangelical Christian Zionists and West Bank Jewish settlers and its implications to the Jewish-Christian boundary. Significant contact with Christian...

This article examined the differences between the political attitudes of two generations of religious Zionists settlers in the West Bank. Theoretical approaches on intergenerational socialization w...

PURPOSE: Cataract surgery, quantity and quality, is an indicator of ophthalmic care. A comprehensive assessment of cataract surgical services has never been carried out in Palestine, including West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. The objective of this study was to estimate the cataract surgical rate in 2015 to and to explore the modes of payment and referral systems. METHODS: A cross-sectional study conducted between June and August 2016. Medical Directors from Cataract Surgical Centres in Palestine were interviewed using a structured questionnaire to extract data on cataract output and surgical techniques. Additionally, data were collected on modes of payment for cataract services. The cataract surgical rate was calculated by dividing the total cataract output in 2015 by the estimated population of Palestine in millions. RESULTS: In 2015, 9908 cataract surgeries were carried out in 22 centres. The cataract surgical rate was 2,117 operations per million population. Phacoemulsification was the most common technique (73.4%), however in government centres 67% were performed by extracapsular cataract extraction.In the Gaza Strip, 56.6% of cataract surgeries were operated at government centres, and 42.8% were operated at NGO centres while in West Bank, only 12% of cataract surgeries were operated at government centres, with two-thirds of cataracts diagnosed at governmental centres being referred to private and NGO centres. Seventy eight percent of cataract surgeries were funded by insurance, of which the government insurance scheme contributed 65%. CONCLUSION: The cataract surgical rate in Palestine falls short of the required WHO target. The majority of cataract surgeries are funded by insurance.

This article tells the story of how and why, when negotiating the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Accords in 1993–95, the author developed the concept of dividing the West Bank into three areas with differing formulas for allocating responsibilities between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in each. The origin of how these areas were named is also discussed. This negotiation demonstrates that parties are prepared to modify ideological positions when detailed and practical options are presented that constitute a hybrid to the parties’ former positions.

Objective. Older men and women have higher risk of fall due to various factors. Among Palestinian older adults fall history yet to be studied in terms of prevalence and correlates. The primary objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of fall and the differences between fallers and non-fallers among a group of Palestinian older living in rural areas in Southern West Bank region of Hebron. Methods. The study included 142 participants from two villages: Se’ar and Bani Na’em, Hebron governance. Demographic variables and fall history was collected. Anthropometric measurement were used to assess nutritional status; physical function was assessed. Geriatric scale for depression and Montreal cognitive assessment test. Results. 51.7% of study participants were females, the mean age 69.5 5.7 years old. Positive fall history was present among 11.7% mostly females. Significant relationship was found between fall and larger waist and hip circumference, cognitive impairment, higher level of dependency and slower performance in time up and go (TUG) p < 0.05. Conclusions. Fall history has considerable prevalence among the study sample and it is correlated with nutritional status, cognitive and physical function.

Nosocomial infection (hospital-acquired infections) is considered a significant concern for the global health care system. The present study aims to assess radiographers' overall knowledge about nosocomial infection control practices (ICP) in southern West Bank hospitals. A descriptive cross-sectional self-administered questionnaire was conducted. The assessment questions' primary scope was intended to evaluate the overall knowledge of the participated radiographer about ICP and was accomplished in three phases; assess the general knowledge of nosocomial infection, knowledge in the primary infection prevention standards, and knowledge of ICP in the radiology department. The final data analysis was performed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and it included 40 radiographers from private and public hospitals. For the first phase, the participants' main knowledge score was 62.0%; the second phase's main knowledge score was 68.4%, whereas the third phase's main knowledge score was 77.8%. The mean overall awareness was 70.09%, which translated as a moderate awareness. The study also assessed the overall knowledge of the participated radiographer in accordance with participants characteristics; the study indicates no correlation between the awareness of radiographers in nosocomial infection due to the gender, age, and working experience of the radiographers (p = .850, p = .581, p = .038, respectively), while it shows a statistically significant difference in radiographers with long working experiences (62.5%) compared with (37.5%) among radiographers with relatively shorter experiences (p = .038) which reflects that radiographers with longer working experience have more awareness of the ICP.

This article provides an overview of the internal and external political and economic problems facing the Middle-Eastern Kingdom of Jordan in the light of the so-called ‘attempted coup' of Prince H...

Limited water resources are among the main obstacles to development in Palestine. This research investigates farmers’ perceptions and willingness to use treated wastewater (TWW) for irrigation. Des...

Many members of minority groups clash violently with state agents. The case of West Bank rightwing activists is particularly paradoxical. Unlike disempowered groups whose ability to bring about cha...

Jordan had various expectations when it initially signed the peace treaty with Israel. The Jordanians believed that the peace with Israel, coming after the Oslo Accords, would pave the way for a st...

2019 marked the 25th anniversary of normalizing Jordanian-Israeli relations and the ‘warm’ peace-making between the two countries. Representing key partners and neighbours in the Middle East, Jorda...

This paper argues the built structure of Israeli military occupation in the West Bank is only part of the mechanism that serves to define territorial boundaries and restrict Palestinian movement. A...

Enteropiasis is a parasitic disease caused by the pinworm; Enterobius vermicularis. In this report, the prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis infection in the West Bank and Gaza strip was investigated based on Palestinian Ministry of Health reports from 2008 to 2018. A total of 29,390 cases was reported, 29,061 (98.9%) in the West Bank, and 329 cases (1.1%) in Gaza Strip. The results of the present study show that E. vermicularis infection is highly prevalent among people living in the West Bank and to lesser extend in Gaza Strip. There is a need for joint and concentrated e"orts from the Palestinian government and public health services to control this infection. Personal hygiene, education and living conditions and overcrowding are risk factors associated with the spread of infection.

Vitamin D and vitamin B12 deficiencies are major public health problems; they may result from inappropriate low exposure to sunlight, autoimmune diseases or diminished intake. These two deficiencies have been extensively studied globally: causes, e"ects, treatment, as well as epidemiology. In Palestine the epidemiology of vitamin D and vitamin B12 deficiencies has not been addressed. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of vitamin D and vitamin B12 deficiencies in patients reporting to the West Bank (WB) governmental hospitals in the period between January 2015 and December 2018. It is a retrospective cross-sectional study for the data collected from medical records of patients tested for these deficiencies in 12 WB governmental hospitals for the three years period. Out of 30890 patients tested for vitamin D levels, 88% had insu!cient vitamin D levels (< 30 ng/ml), whereas out of 43532 patients tested for vitamin B12, 19% had insu!cient vitamin B12 levels (< 203 pg/ml). The percentage of patients with insu!cient vitamin D levels is alarming. The percentage of patients with insu!cient vitamin B12 levels falls within ranges reported by other studies in various countries. In conclusion, this study revealed an alarmingly high percentage (88%) of vitamin D deficiency below the reference su!ciency level among patients suspected to have such a deficiency. Around one fifth of the patients tested for vitamin B12 had insu!cient levels. Because testing for vitamin D is costly, we suggest, that medical suspicion of vitamin D deficiency would be adequate to initiate treatment to alleviate the expense, especially in high-risk groups such as elderly women. Future studies have to address major risk factors contributing to these deficiencies that are specific to our community.

Job satisfaction is considered one of the essential factors contributing to a person’s motivation, productivity and overall well-being, the present study aimes to assess job satisfaction and job-related stress levels among pharmacists that are currently registered and practicing in Palestine. we report a cross-sectional survey, including measures of satisfaction and stress (Health Professions Stress Inventory) questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, t-tests and one way ANOVAs. The significance level was set at P

The 1906 edition of Baedeker’s Guide to Palestine and Syria contains a perforated slip strategically placed before the title page which reads, ‘The excessive zeal of the Turkish censorship sometime...

Palestine Is Throwing a Party and the Whole World Is Invited: Capital and State Building in the West Bank is a sobering ethnography about the current and possibly future situation in Palestine or, ...

Exposure to electromagnetic fields is a major public concern due to the possible hazardous effects on health caused by exposure to these radiations. The aims of this study were to measure radiofrequency radiation levels from different wireless systems and to compare the results with the recommended limits by the World Health Organization (WHO) which should be less that 450 µw/cm2. The study was a cross-sectional study that was conducted in different cities and villages from the northern governorates in the West Bank; Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus, Qalqilya, Tubas and Salfit. To measure the radiation levels ranging from 80 MHz to 2 GHz, a Portable Field Strength Meter with the suitable set of antennas was used. This frequency range covers the radiations from different sources as mobile phone base stations, local radio and television stations, mobile phones, Wireless Local Area Network, Bluetooth, wireless computer periphery and even microwave ovens. Points close to mobile phone base stations and local radio and television stations in addition to randomly selected points were included. The scanning process for each point was done twice and the higher reading was included in the analysis. The results were compared to the recommended limits of radiations by WHO. Also, a questionnaire was distributed to evaluate people knowledge and perception regarding radiations. A total of 2000 readings were obtained with a mean ± SD = 0.25 ± 0.214 µw/cm2. The highest reading was 1.91 µw/cm2. All the readings were below the limits of radiations recommended by the WHO. Most of the readings in the tested area 1184 (59.2%) were between 0.1 -0.45 µw/cm2 which are 1000- 4500 time less than the maximum allowed level (450 µw/cm2), 527 (26.35%) readings were 1 µw/cm2 which were still 236-450 times less than the allowed WHO level. Regarding the questionnaire part, most of the participants use mobile phones frequently, they think radiations are dangerous and can cause cancer, they prefer not to have mobile base stations close to their living places. In this study, a scanning for all electromagnetic radiation sources caused by different sources of wireless communication systems showed theoretically no dangerous radiation levels and all the recorded levels were much lower than the recommended levels by the WHO. Most people feel afraid from radiations and think they are dangerous.

The research aims to know the actual use of modern strategies to teach the architecture design studio in the departments of architecture in West Bank universities, to find differences in the use among instructors due to variables (gender, workplace, academic qualification, and the number of experience years and specialty), the extent of knowledge of modern teaching strategies between architecture instructors, and the appropriate teaching strategies for teaching design studio for each level of study. This research's importance lies in spread awareness among instructors about modern design studio teaching strategies and their benefits to the learning process and to change reality and draw attention to new Architectural Design Studio Pedagogy. The descriptive and analytical approach in research implementation. The study tools are interviews and questionnaires. All instructors have demonstrated their use of the following strategies: Brainstorming strategy, Problem-solving strategy, Group work Strategy, Project-based learning, Lecturer's strategy (developed), and Method of scientific trips and visits.

The human rights conditions of Northern Ireland and Palestine have been analyzed up, down, and sideways by a robust scholarly literature, this article provides a fresh approach to the analysis of media with respect to cultural aspects of human rights conundrums through images of localized as well as globalized “graffiti.” From the near universal influence of the painting of George Washington and company crossing the Delaware River, to brave but dangerous anti-regime graffiti in North Korea, the political nature of private artists operating in the public realm for human rights is recognized as a potentially destabilizing and regime-busting act. With a lens pointed on Palestine and Northern Ireland, we examine this cultural artifact’s power to get attention, obstruct persecution, and ultimately to mitigate some human rights abuses. How does such graffiti work? What are the similarities and differences in their power for enhancing human dignity through different times and places? We also look at the relationship of human rights graffiti to current political trends internationally. Images are used here as method of analysis that may help explain the broader implications of political graffiti for the study of a particular medium of transmission for the study of cultural and societal norms.

للعوامل الجغرافية الطبيعية والبشرية أثرها في توزيع السکان؛ حيث بلغت الکثافة العامة للسکان في محافظات وسط الضفة الغربية (454 نسمة / کم²)، تفاوتت هذه الکثافة بين المحافظات، وأثرت مجموعة من مجموعة من المتغيرات في شکل التوزيع الجغرافي للسکان، ومن خلال تطبيق معامل انحدار بيرسون تبين أن متغيرات: عدد أشجار البستنة والتساقط وعدد الوحدات السکنية المأهولة، کان لها الدور الأکبر في تشکيل الصورة النهائية للتوزيع المکاني للسکان في هذة المنطقة.

This article employs the concept of multilocality to analyze the politics of space under the condition of protracted encampment. Rather than adopting a common synchronic approach to how refugees relate to space, the theoretical lens of multilocality grasps the diachronic dimension of protracted camps understood as places that encompass multiple attachments across time and space: the remembered and imagined places of origin, sites of residence in exile, and future geographies of hope or anticipation. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in al-Am’ari, a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank, I analyze multilocality as a political practice whereby local residents and organizations nurture the refugee identity of their communities, resist the permanence of protracted exile, and manifest the necessity for political change.

Israeli-Jordanian disengagement talks saw Israel promote its plan of West Bank ‘Jordanization’, to curtail Palestinian self-determination. This failed. However, it served as the blueprint for futur...

Our special issue provides a first-of-its kind attempt to examine environmental injustices in the occupied West Bank through interdisciplinary perspectives, pointing to the broader settler colonial and neoliberal contexts within which they occur and to their more-than-human implications. Specifically, we seek to understand what environmental justice—a movement originating from, and rooted in, the United States—means in the context of Palestine/Israel. Moving beyond the settler-native dialectic, we draw attention to the more-than-human flows that occur in the region—which include water, air, waste, cement, trees, donkeys, watermelons, and insects—to consider the dynamic, and often gradational, meanings of frontier, enclosure, and Indigeneity in the West Bank, challenging the all-too-binary assumptions at the core of settler colonialism. Against the backdrop of the settler colonial project of territorial dispossession and elimination, we illuminate the infrastructural connections and disruptions among lives and matter in the West Bank, interpreting these through the lens of environmental justice. We finally ask what forms of ecological decolonization might emerge from this landscape of accumulating waste, concrete, and ruin. Such alternative visions that move beyond the single axis of settler-native enable the emergence of more nuanced, and even hopeful, ecological imaginaries that focus on sumud, dignity, and recognition.

Palestine currently suffers a serious shortage in crucial energy supplies. Nearly 90% of electricity needs come directly from Israel, or through Palestinian electricity distribution companies. This...

This research assessed the effect of untreated wastewater discharged to Sarida Wadi within the Sarida Catchment in the Central West Bank. Spring water from seven springs within the catchment were tested for physical, hydrochemical, and microbiological characteristics in wet and dry seasons. Hydrochemical results of wastewater samples showed that Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5) exceeded the standards in 93 percent of the samples, and an increase of COD value was recorded in the catchment downstream in the dry season. The springs’ hydrochemical data showed that Ca2+ plays a dominant role, and samples from the dry season exceeded the limits for HCO3-. One spring showed high nitrate values, exceeding the 45 mg/L limit. The springs’ microbial results provided overwhelming proof of wastewater contamination and an increasing trend over time of Fecal Coliforms (FC). The analyzed trace elements did not exceed World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for drinking water with the exception of one spring with an abnormal value for Boron.