Palestinian everyday life: living within and without legality

This report is part of the project ‘The Regulation of Palestinian Everyday Life’, a collaboration between LSE and Birzeit University. It inquires into the changing modes of governance impacting upon Palestinians in the West Bank including East Jerusalem, their reaction and engagement with these systems, and the social effects of these engagements. The research investigates regulatory frameworks and how they affect the everyday lives of Palestinians living under the governance of the Palestinian Authority and Israeli occupation. Specific case studies addressed include the impact of colonial and neoliberal regulatory frameworks on farmers in their everyday life; the process of family reunification and ‘illegal’ statuses; and the specific situation of Palestinians who hold the ‘Jerusalem ID’. The report describes the features of these frameworks and the areas of everyday life that they influence. To engage with the research questions concerning how people experience and live these regulatory frameworks, the authors focus on the latter’s meanings and actions rather than their consequences alone.