The Bedouin in the Negev: “Israel’s Lands Administrator issues demolition orders in neighborhoods that have been approved in an advanced planning process”

As part of the Negev Day that took place in the Knesset on Tuesday this week, the various committees discussed the problems of the Bedouin residents of the Negev, among other things the issue of house demolition which gained momentum during the tenure of the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir.

In the discussions on the implementation of the five-year plan (Resolution 1279) and in the discussion on the planning policy, the lack of trust between the Bedouin population and the government officials rose again.

MK Walid Taha He called for the disbandment of the Bedouin Settlement Regulation Authority, which coordinates the relationship between the Bedouin population and the government, in a discussion at the Interior Committee. “Why does a big city like Rahat need an intermediary for the government? You are the military governor,” MK Taha called out to the past CEO of the Authority, Yuval Turgeman.

Inadequate protection in the Bedouin settlements

During the discussion, two different stories were drawn about the same reality. Bedouin representatives spoke of neglect and harassment. Yasser Tabashhead of the council Ka’abia Hajajara, who was an appointed head of the council in Seifa and Arara in the Negev, claimed: “I was an appointed head of the council in the Negev under the minister Aryeh Deri. The Bedouin Authority was an obstacle to planning for me. There used to be an arrangement for the concentration of the Bedouin in the north. It was successful because the Bedouin were involved, we had a representative on the committee.”

Chairman of the Blue Board, Adib Abu Rabia, He told about the policy of the Israel Lands Administration. “The Israel Lands Administration issues demolition orders in neighborhoods that have been approved through an advanced planning process.

Abdel Aziz Nassarahead of Kaseifa Council, told about the difficulties in providing services to the residents of Kaseifa, some of whom are beyond the declared boundaries of the settlement (blue line).

On the other hand, Turgeman presented the PA’s achievements: “We have planned over 160,000 housing units in the Negev. In every locality there is a horizon for the next generation of settlement. There is a clear direction that the minister in charge (minister of the Diaspora) Amichai Shikli – Y.S.). Four zip code areas – Rahat, Merhav Marait, Bir HaDaj area and Hora area. These are four spaces in the series. All barriers, whether borders or development budgets, receive a high priority response.”

When asked about the unknown villages, pNe Turgeman: “I heard about the concept, I even know some of the names. I didn’t know about Wadi Khalil (an unknown settlement that was recently evacuated – Y.S.).

When the representative of the Home Front Command reported on the protection in the Bedouin settlements in the Negev, he was interrupted by shouts that the solutions offered by the Home Front Command were insufficient.

“If there is a will at the level of the government and the ministers, things get done”

In the Economic Committee’s discussion on the electricity infrastructure in the Negev, the gap between the state’s requirement and the residents’ needs arose. A representative of the Rahat municipality said that “the state of the infrastructure is very difficult. The electricity company and the authority do not take into account building permits, which is a barrier and is very disruptive. In the last two weeks there have been long power outages. We have six housing units on each lot, but there is no Form 4.”

During the discussion on the implementation of Resolution 1279, the representatives of the government ministries from among the senior officials were repeatedly asked about the sub-implementation or deficient implementation of the resolution.

Towards the end of the discussion MK said Mansur Abbas (RAM): “If there is a will at the level of the government and the ministers, things get done. In the first year of the five-year plan, the implementation was one hundred percent. The challenge is how to advance the plans and not think about barriers. At the end of the process, you have to see the citizen himself and what he sees in order to lead a process of trust and integration. Unfortunately, every week we see that there is no real energy to implement the plans. It is important that the senior officials take matters into their own hands, because politicians have no political motive to ask what they are doing tomorrow. This is a moral-civic-human task. I speak out of pain and faith. I met valuable people in the government offices, with different beliefs and opinions. Arab society expects you to do what the political echelon is not doing.”