The Naqab Bedouins

Conventional wisdom positions the Naqab Bedouins in southern Palestine and under Israeli military rule as victims or passive recipients. Mansour Nasasra rewrites this narrative, presenting them as active agents who, in defending their community and culture, have defied attempts at subjugation and control. The book challenges the notion of Bedouin docility under Israeli military rule, showing how they have contributed to shaping their own destiny. This represents the first attempt to chronicle Bedouin history and politics across the last century, including the Ottoman era, the British Mandate, and Israeli military rule, and document its broader relevance to understanding state-minority relations in the region and beyond. Nasasra recounts the Naqab Bedouin history of political struggle, land claims, and defiance. Bedouin resistance to central authority, mainly through nonviolent action and the strength of kin-based tribal organization, gave them power. Through primary sources and oral history, including detailed interviews with local indigenous Bedouin and with Israeli and British officials, Nasasra shows how the Naqab Bedouin community survived strict state policies and military control and positioned itself as a political actor in the region.