Negev's Bedouins: A New Nakba in the Making

[Alamuti Lotus]

Bedouins in the Negev continue to be targeted by Israeli efforts to displace them. The Israeli government has now approved a plan that would uproot 30,000 Palestinians and place them in “recognized villages.”

The situation of Palestinians inside the green line is bleak, especially when compared to the hopeful atmosphere sparked throughout the region by the Arab Spring. Plans are underway to forcibly relocate tens of thousands of Palestinian Bedouins to designated towns that are in a deplorable condition. The relocation scheme was among the recommendations of the Prawer Report, which called for relocating more than 30,000 Arab Bedouins in the Siaj section of the Negev to housing compounds elsewhere in the desert region south of the country. This plan is part of an Israeli settlement policy that targets Arab Bedouins who live in the Negev. The Israeli state has always sought to settle the largest possible number of Arabs on the smallest possible area of land. The Netanyahu government’s relocation plan, however, is much wider in scope because of the sheer number of people involved. The Palestinians of the Negev view the plan as a “declaration of war” and are refusing the evacuation orders.

About 614,000 people live in the Negev desert, including 192,000 Palestinian Bedouins. Over 70,000 of these Bedouins live in what is called “unrecognized villages,” while the rest reside in “recognized towns.” The so-called recognized towns are not much better off than the unrecognized ones. They lack the most basic services and are allocated small budgets by Israeli authorities. Their conditions are similar to, if not worse than, those of other Palestinian villages and towns inside the green line.

Even though unrecognized villages receive no basic services from the state, the Bedouins of the Negev are determined to stay on their land. The Israeli government maintains that the Bedouins do not own the land and are living there illegally. Land and Planning Unit director at the Adalah legal center, attorney Suhad Bishara, tells al-Akhbar that Israeli claims to the land distort the history of the Bedouins in the Negev. Bishara says that most of the villages being discussed existed before the Nakba, i.e, before the creation of Israel. The rest were established after Bedouin tribes were expelled from the western Negev and moved to the Siaj area in the northeast of Beersheba, bordering the West Bank.

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/negevs-bedouins-new-nakba-making

[Jefferson23]

1. Speechless, really. n/t

[Violet_Crumble]

2. This is really appalling and something no-one could possibly defend...

Which possibly explains the lack of responses in this thread. When I read that article it reminded me of what used to be done to indigenous Australians in the early 20th century, where they were forcibly moved off their ancestral lands and packed into tightly packed and poorly serviced settlements on the outskirts of towns...

[shaayecanaan]

3. As I recall, the last time the destruction of Bedouin villages came up...

the right wing posters had a pretty good go at defending it. Despite the fact that some Bedouin have title deeds going back to the Ottoman period, apparently they don't have permission from Israel to live there, so...

on edit: here's the link to the last discussion we had about Israel's annual bulldoze-a-bedouin drunken barn dance. A bit of a blast from the not-so-distant past:-

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x329076

[Violet_Crumble]

8. That thread's a real eye-opener...

Especially the one that uses the 'they invaded the area' argument....

[shaayecanaan]

12. Its interesting to compare the change in tone from then, vs now...

Although it was only one year ago, still there were quite a few people at least attempting to defend the actions of the Israeli government. Fast forward one year, and the razing of bedouin villages is greeted with tactical silence. Perhaps that is just a sign of fatigue, I suppose. Or perhaps a realisation that by and large its not worth even bothering to try and defend such actions.

[Violet_Crumble]

19. I think it's more the latter n/t

[Alamuti Lotus]

4. Indian Reservations for the 21st century..

[shira]

5. JNF - Working with Bedouin communities

The needs of the Bedouin community and the changes that must come about are one of the original pillars of Blueprint Negev. Their challenges are many:

•Today, over 160,000 Bedouin live in the Negev. Their nomadic existence ceased in the 1950s.
•The unemployment rate for Bedouin is 90%.
•The rate of birth among the Bedouin community is extremely high -- 6.5% -- the highest in the world -- continuing the cycle of poverty.
•School through age 16 is mandatory by law, but 90% of the population does not receive a high school education. Only 10% of the girls go to any school at all.
•Communities have high crime rate and substance abuse rates.
•Few social activities or venues exist for the children.

JNF is serious about addressing these challenges and is working with several Bedouin communities to effect change. Its leadership meets with regional councils to assess community needs and to develop solutions.

•JNF has announced a new partnership with a uniquely innovative initiative -- Project Wadi Attir, which aims to develop and demonstrate a model for sustainable, community-based agricultural enterprise. Learn more about this joint initiative with the Hura Municipal Council and the New York based Sustainability Laboratory.
•JNF has embarked on a $7 million program to clean the river and create shoreline promenades in Rahat.
•In coordination with the Abu Basma Regional Council, which represents 80,000 Bedouin, JNF and its partners are seeking funding for projects in infrastructure development and education advancement much needed by this Negev population. The cornerstone is the Abu Basma Regional Council Complex/Medical Center. The land has already been donated by JNF, which will also provide infrastructure development and landscaping. This center would become a focal point for centralized services, and a medical clinic would help alleviate the overcrowding at area hospitals as well as create a training ground for new doctors and nurses from the Bedouin community. Proposed additional services include a fire-fighting station and employment–training center. To see the plans, click here…

•JNF is proposing a joint plan with the Abu Basma region to tackle the issues of water supply and treatment, as well as the creation of parks and play areas.
•The annual Clean Up The World Campaign, a day of clean up worldwide held every September 20, is led in Israel by JNF. Every year Bedouin children are part of the growing number of students, soldiers and adults who clean up forests, open spaces and residential areas.
•Segev Shalom is a Bedouin village of 10,000 in the Negev. JNF funded a central park complete with an amphitheater around the community’s town hall.
•One of JNF’s partners in the Negev – the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies – is working on several projects with the Bedouin to improve the quality of their lives.

Get involved and Donate to Working with Bedouin communities. For naming opportunities call your local office at 888-JNF-0099.

http://www.jnf.org/work-we-do/blueprint-negev/working-with-bedouin.html

[Jefferson23]

7. Yea, their work is dandy.

snip* The many demolitions of El Araqib are part of the aggressive attempts of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and Israel Land Authority (ILA) attempt to claim their historic land and use it for forestation and future Jewish settlement.

http://www.alternativenews.org/english/index.php/topics/jerusalem/3368-israel-to-sue-bedouin-residents-of-demolished-village-for-demolition-costs-

on edit for spelling error.

[shira]

9. Consider the source. n/t

[Jefferson23]

13. Yes, the Jewish National Fund has a long history of wrong doing.

That you would post their propaganda here in response to the OP is unfortunate.

[shira]

15. They do very noble work with the Bedouin. More than any organization you support. n/t

[Jefferson23]

16. Supporting the group as you are supports more land theft, period. n/t

[azurnoir]

14. That's really really sweet of JNF but if they're so concerned about Bedouins welfare

why can the Bedouins existing homes not simply be improved?

[shira]

6. Netanyahu's office promoting plan to relocate 30,000 Bedouin

Plan aims to improve living conditions for Bedouins currently living in unrecognized villages lacking necessary infrastructure, which results in severe environmental and other problems.




The government is to consider a plan drafted in the Prime Minister's Office to relocate close to 30,000 Bedouin residents of unrecognized villages in the Negev to expanded areas of existing Negev Bedouin towns such as Rahat, Kseifa and Hura.

The plan would involve transplanting about 40 percent of the 71,000 Bedouin residents in the unrecognized locales. The relocated Bedouin would receive both monetary compensation and alternate land.

Unrecognized villages lack necessary infrastructure, as a result of which they suffer from severe environmental and other problems.

The plan was drafted in response to recommendations made by the Goldberg committee, headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Eliezer Goldberg. The committee had been established in order to address the issue of large numbers of Negev Bedouin who live in areas that are not officially designated as residential zones. It will be submitted for cabinet approval in the next several weeks.

more...
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/netanyahu-s-office-promoting-plan-to-relocate-30-000-bedouin-1.365409

[azurnoir]

17. once again if there is so much concern for the welfare of Bedouins

why not simply improve their current living quarters or build new ones in the current location? It could appear there is an ulterior motive for forcing them to move which it has been made quite clear is against their will

[Violet_Crumble]

10. Israel sues Bedouin for $500,000 in eviction costs

Israel is suing a group of Bedouin in the Negev desert for the costs of demolishing their village each time they rebuild it.

The claim for more than $500,000 in damages was lodged at an Israeli court on Tuesday.

Israel's justice ministry says the aim is to "maintain the rule of law and the public purse".

The Bedouin say they will continue to reconstruct their homes in al-Araqib, to which they claim historic rights.

The Israeli state is the registered owner of the land to the south of the Negev city of Rahat.

The Bedouin say they have repeatedly asked for planning permits for their makeshift homes but they have been refused. The Israeli authorities say the land is reserved for agricultural use.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14314883

[Violet_Crumble]

11. Israel must remember its Negev Bedouin are citizens (Ha'aretz editorial)

The Netanyahu government excels in laying out grandiose, expensive, impractical master plans. Even if ultimately 30,000 citizens are not evicted by force from their homes, the plan's threatening tone already deepens the strong lack of confidence already prevalent among the Bedouin.

The decision by the cabinet on Sunday approving the Prawer report's plan to regulate the Bedouin communities in the Negev is an unfortunate continuation of an insensitive policy which is leading to unnecessary friction between the government and citizens of the country. The Bedouin of the Negev are above all citizens of the State of Israel, but the government doesn't treat them as such.

In June, it released its wide-ranging plan to "regulate Bedouin communities in the Negev," at a cost believed to be between NIS 6 billion to NIS 8 billion. The plan is officially based on recommendations of the Goldberg Commission on unrecognized villages. In practice, however, selective use was made of the recommendations. This became truly problematic following the perplexing involvement of the national security adviser, Ya'akov Amidror.

s a result, ultimately a decisive answer was developed to "the Bedouin problem" and to "Bedouin taking control of state land" - characterizations that border on incitement. In actuality, it involves 30 percent of the Negev's population, living on about two percent of the region's land. Even if the Bedouin's most sweeping demands are accepted, it wouldn't cover more than five percent of the region.

The Prawer plan contains several successful principles, and some of its intent may not be bad. Its fundamental drawback is that it imposes an aggressive solution on members of an entire community who, in light of their bitter past experience, have almost totally lost faith in the state's good intentions. The plan does not take the community's needs into account or involve them in the process.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-must-remember-its-negev-bedouin-are-citizens-1.384138

[Crunchy Frog]

18. Well, it's touching that Israel is finally cracking down

on those who are involved in illegal building.