Forced Displacement Looms for Bedouins in the Negev

Briefing 08-10-2012

There are 35 unrecognised Bedouin villages, many outdating the creation of the state of Israel. They lack basic services and the Israeli authorities consider the villages' inhabitants illegal trespassers. Israel actively promotes Jewish settlement in the Negev and has extensive plans to develop economic and military activity in the region. These entail confining the Bedouins into small enclaves. Although the Bedouins face serious social problems and lack prospects to sustainably develop their communities, they wish to be masters of their own future. Several international organisations are fiercely opposed to the Prawer Plan, arguing it constitutes a violation of the Bedouins' fundamental, constitutional rights.