Ethnography in war: an essay on field research in Palestine

Abstract

Doing fieldwork in Palestine is permeated by a series of risks that must be taken into account by the researcher. These range from direct exposure to the violence committed by the Israeli army and armed settlers, to the exposure to rumors of suspicion related to the presence of undercover intelligence agents and the possibilities of developing psychological conditions related to anxiety and depression. These factors push the researcher to reflect on precautionary strategies, related both to their physical and psychological integrity and to the exposure of sensitive information, not always possible to be made public – especially when there is a risk of detention or even death of the people involved. For this article, I present four ethnographic examples taken over the course of 10 years of on-site field research, four of which living in the country. By doing so, I seek to demonstrate violence as a constant over the years, and to present changes perceived in the field after the outbreak of war against the Gaza Strip, which began in October 2023 – demonstrating how these changes have drastically affected the West Bank as well. I demonstrate how two different contexts – one under military occupation, the other in a situation of declared war – but which are components of the same social and political conjuncture, demand rapid understanding and adaptation on the part of researchers, in order to respond to the imperatives related to the ongoing violence.