UC Berkeley

Dispelling Desolation: The Expansion of Arab Settlement in the Sharon Plain and the Western Part of Jabal Nablus, 1700-1948, 2022This doctoral dissertation seeks to describe and explain the human factors that influenced the spatial distribution of Arab settlements in the Plain of Sharon and Samaria/Jabal Nablūs (hereinafter: Jabal Nablūs), which together form its area of study (hereinafter: AoS). More specifically, it explores the geographical, social and economic features of the Arab settlements in the AoS between the years 1700 – 1948 CE. In doing so, the study outlines the settlement processes, identifying the places of origin of the settlers and clarifying the circumstances of their arrival in the AoS. Furthermore, it describes the tenurials of land ownership, possession and use at the family, village and regional levels. The work won the Middle East & Islamic Studies Association of Israel (MEISAI)'s 2023 award for outstanding Ph.D. dissertation.