In the months since Israel’s Bedouins were hailed for their acts of heroism on October 7, the community has faced significant discrimination from the state—most notably, state demolition of Bedouin homes. Demolition of Bedouin homes in unrecognized villages has long been Israeli policy, but the rate of demolitions has picked up over the past year. After demolishing 3,282 Bedouin houses in 2023, Israel demolished 2,007 in the first six months of 2024—putting the state on track to increase its demolition rate by more than a fifth in 2024.
“There have been ups and downs over the years,” Taleb el-Sana, chair of the Council of Bedouin Authority Heads in the Negev and former Knesset member for both the United Arab List and Ta’al, the Arab Movement for Renewal, told Davar of Israeli home demolition policy.
Israel’s Bedouins comprise a population of 200,000 or so historically nomadic Arabs. Many Bedouins live in unrecognized villages in southern Israel that lack access to basic infrastructure.
Under the Rabin government, from 1974-1977, there was a freeze on demolitions, and there was a substantive discussion on recognizing villages. A ministerial committee for Bedouin affairs was established and made a decision to recognize seven villages. In 2006, five new villages were recognized, and a new regional council was created.
Since 2006, there has been an uptick in house demolitions and a refusal to recognize villages. El-Sana categorized the renewed enforcement as an attempt by the state to push Bedouins into already recognized villages, but noted that those villages often have inadequate conditions. “There are no solutions. They haven’t developed the recognized settlements; there’s no infrastructure and no electricity. There’s no solution for people whose homes are demolished,” el-Sana said. Some families even remain on the ruins of their razed homes because they have nowhere else to go.
El-Sana has long been critical of the Israeli government policy of demolitions and refusal to develop both recognized and unrecognized villages, but he sees a fundamental change in the current government’s policy. “Recently, there’s been no dialogue to find solutions. There’s only one hand acting to demolish, and the other hand of dialogue isn’t functioning,” he said.
Government policy on Bedouins is currently set by Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right politician who has been criticized for extremist statements condoning violence and has been convicted for crimes including incitement to racism and support for a terrorist organization.
Ben-Gvir has been a consistent opponent of recognizing Bedouin villages and has stated his intention to double the rate of demolitions. Ben-Gvir has said that his policies are driven by security concerns, but critics say the policies are discriminatory and meant to displace the Bedouin population.
There are also issues within the Bedouin Settlement Authority, the government body established in 2007 to manage the transition of Bedouin communities from unrecognized villages to government-approved settlements. “Each time a new minister comes in with a new idea that they’ve developed on their own. They decide on their own what’s best for the Bedouins without consulting the Bedouins,” el-Sana explained.
The Bedouin Settlement Authority has been moved between ministries, leading to a troubling lack of consistency. Since 2015 the Authority has been under 5 different departments, including the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Welfare, and now the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. According to el-Sana, the lack of order, inconsistency, and political appointments within the Bedouin Settlement Authority undermine the office’s authority and status.
The authority relies heavily on the Israel Land Authority to settle land disputes, but that may not be in the best interest of Bedouin villages. “The Israel Land Authority thinks about how to seize land, not about people’s welfare,” el-Sana said.
“Since 1948, the Bedouins have not been recognized as having a right to housing and education,” el-Sana explained. He described that refusal to take responsibility over Israeli citizens as a violation of the law and an example of entrenched inequality between Bedouin and Jewish Israelis. “Bedouins, who make up 40% of the Negev’s population, have only cities or unrecognized settlements,” while Jews have a variety of towns, cities, and agricultural settlements in the region, el-Sana said.
Since 1999, the Israeli government has attempted to transfer Bedouins from their villages in southern Israel to seven concentrated towns. The explicit rationale of this program was to provide government services to the populations more efficiently, but the government has been accused of expropriating Bedouin land for development projects in southern Israel. While regional planning for Jewish populations includes rural as well as urban projects, all of Israel’s planned settlements for the Bedouins—a historically nomadic population—have been urban.
“There’s no agricultural settlement, no kibbutz, no community settlement designated for Bedouins. Why is an Ashkenazi person given a farm to raise goats, while a Bedouin raising goats is sent to live in a high-rise? The idea is to have as many Bedouins on as little land as possible, and as many Jews on as much land as possible,” el-Sana said.
In the past six months, three unrecognized villages have been completely demolished: Al-Ghul, Umm Mitnan, and Wadi Al-Khalil. Eleven unrecognized villages are slated for demolition, leaving around 9,000 Bedouins facing the loss of their homes. Meanwhile, 15 new Jewish settlements are planned in the nearby area.
“The absurdity is that Umm al-Hiran is being evicted to establish the Jewish settlement of Hiran, and Ras Jaraba is being evicted for neighborhoods in Dimona,” el-Sana said. “One citizen is replaced by another—why? Just because he’s Bedouin?” said el-Sana.
He criticized the Israeli government’s plan to increase the population of the Negev while ignore the significant Bedouin population already living there.
“For 50 years, they’ve been talking about bringing a strong population to the Negev, but they aren’t coming,” he said. “There’s no need to import people. Today, there are 500 Bedouin lawyers and 900 Bedouin doctors. The Negev should be developed for all its residents. There’s a lot to be done in the Negev, and there’s room for everyone. The Bedouins want to integrate. Seventy-five percent of Bedouins are under the age of 35; they are an asset.”
Indeed, many Bedouins volunteer to serve in the Israeli military. Bedouin solidarity with the Israeli state became even clearer on October 7, 2023 when 21 Bedouins were killed by Hamas fighters and six were taken hostage.
“Hamas terrorists didn’t differentiate between Jews and Bedouins; only the Israeli government makes that distinction,” el-Sana said. He called on Israel to listen to Bedouins and give the group a place at the decision-making table.
“We need to think in terms of what’s good for the Bedouins being good for the Negev,” el-Sana said.
This article was translated from Hebrew by Marina Levy.
