The home-leaving experience of Gaza Envelope residents following the May 2021 Gaza War

ABSTRACTSince Israel's unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005 and the consequent seizure of power by Hamas, there has been an ongoing military confrontation between Israel and the Islamist terror organisation. Evacuation of civilians from Israeli border localities (known as the Gaza Envelope) during such confrontations has become a bone of contention between the local residents and the government as the security situation deteriorated and the danger to residents' lives increased. Using 30 semi-structured in-depth interviews, this article examines the home-leaving experience of Gaza Envelope residents during the May 2021 Gaza War, with reference to interviewees' mindsets, feelings, and behaviour at the time. Findings show a crisis of trust among those who left, primarily towards the state and its institutions, and secondly towards the social solidarity that used to be a cornerstone of Israeli society.KEYWORDS: IsraelHamasMay 2021 Gaza Warevacuationfractured identitytrustmistrust Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. Belaish, "A Model for Planning a Population Evacuation."2. Padan and Elran, "Gaza Envelope Localities."3. Elran et al., "Social Resilience during the Protective Edge Campaign."4. Liebstein, "Remarks after Operation Guardian of the Walls."5. Tzuri, "The Failure to Evacuate Envelope Residents."6. Shyamal, "Re-Territorialization of Persecuted Identity."7. UNHCR, Convention and Protocol.8. Bachelard, The Poetics of Space.9. Gustafson, "Place Attachment and Mobility"; and Scannell and Gifford, "Defining Place Attachment."10. Lewicka, "Place Attachment."11. Kirmayer, "The Refugee's Predicament."12. Witteborn, "Constructing the Forced Migrant."13. Erickson, Identity.14. Juwairia, "Identity Displacement."15. Akhtar, "A Third Individuation."16. Ghorashi, "Routed Connections."17. Henry, Stiles and Biran, "Loss and Mourning in Immigration."18. Klieneberger, "The 'Inner Emigration'."19. Castro-Fernández et al., "Emotional Conflict and Trauma."20. Ibid.21. Tal, "Rural Settlements during Operation Protective Edge."22. Elran, "IDF Perceptions of its Role."23. Shkedi, The Meaning Behind the Words.24. Spector-Marzel, "Narrative Research."25. Lincoln and Guba, Naturalistic Inquiry.26. Van Dijk, "Critical Discourse Analysis."27. Goetz and Le Compte, Ethnography and Qualitative Design.28. Fetterman, Ethnography.29. Ellen, Ethnographic Research.30. Whyte, "Freedom and Responsibility in Research."31. Noy, "Sampling Knowledge."32. Government of Israel, "Proposed Government Decision."33. Gürer, "Refugee Perspectives."34. Bondi and Keith, Place and the Politics of Identity.35. Strang and Quinn, "Integration or Isolation?"36. Bemak and Chung, "Refugee Trauma."37. Matos et al., "Meaning-Making and Psychological Adjustment."38. Kelmendi et al., "Meaning-Making of War Experiences."39. Athanasiades, "Familial Conduits of Remembrance."40. Cameron, "The Discourse Dynamics Framework."41. Scannell and Gifford, "Defining Place Attachment."42. Ziersch et al., "Discrimination: A Health Hazard."43. See note 9 above.44. Van Liempt and Miellet, "Being Far Away from what You Need."45. Derrida, Force and Law.46. Ben-Atar, Gez-Lengerman and Ben-Asher, "'We are not Pawns on a Chessboard'"; and Vigoda-Gadot and Van Ryzin, Performance of the Public Sector in Israel.Additional informationNotes on contributorsSara ZamirSara Zamir is an associate professor and a researcher at Achva Academic College.Lea BaratzLea Baratz teaches modern literature (mostly children's literature) at Achva Academic College.