Rawabi: A City of Resistance and Unity or Defeat and Disjuncture?

Abstract

Rawabi is a new master-planned, privately-funded city in the West Bank of Palestine, touted as an example of economic success and an important tool for Palestinian nation-building and resistance against the Israeli occupation. Bashar Masri, a Palestinian entrepreneur and the founder of Rawabi, claims that the new Palestinian city acts as an emblem of national pride and asserts Palestinians’ permanence on their land. This paper questions the effectiveness of Rawabi to assert these two goals. Drawing on both academic and grey literature, this paper concludes that many of the goals and promises Rawabi makes tend to fragment Palestinian national unity, while benefiting their colonial counterpart.