Legalize them

The committee tasked with resolving the dilemma of Bedouin settlement in the Negev, which is headed by former Supreme Court justice and state comptroller Eliezer Goldberg, submitted its recommendations last week, providing an opening to a solution of one of the most charged issues in Israeli society.

The panel recommended legalizing the unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev while relocating the villages that cannot be recognized to agreed-upon locations. It also suggested legally recognizing unauthorized buildings and offering the Bedouin property deals that would include compensation, partly in cash and partly in land.

"The Bedouin in the Negev are not illegal loiterers," former justice Goldberg said in submitting the report. "They are not invisible and they are not without rights."

On the face of it, these statements are assumed to be fact. In practice, the circumstances in Israel prove that the Bedouin citizens of Israel are often viewed in this fashion, at least in the eyes of the establishment.

The scattered Bedouin community is comprised of 46 unrecognized villages which are home to some 62,500 people. Many families, including tens of thousands of children, live without minimal infrastructure providing water, electricity, sewage, health care, and roads. Thus, the committee deserves praise for its decision to legalize these villages and to act decisively in changing their status.

Yet this is still not enough. It is no coincidence that 50,000 illegal structures were built in the Negev, with 1,500 to 2,000 new ones being added to them annually. Illegal construction, at times unbridled, stems from the fact that a large portion of the Bedouin population cannot obtain building licenses. In order to remedy this problem, the panel suggested establishing a new planning board that would quickly authorize a large percentage of illegal structures which sit within the municipal boundaries of recognized, or soon-to-be recognized, Bedouin villages.

The committee's proposals, as expected, are being met with political opposition. Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman was quick to call on the government to reject the report, and the head of the National Union faction, MK Uri Ariel, claimed that it cuts off the Negev from the rest of the state.

Many Bedouin also expressed disappointment with the report, particularly due to the property arrangement which legally supports only those lands that are utilized for agricultural purposes, not for pasture. The Bedouin have submitted 3,220 property claims of land in the northern Negev against the state. Thus far, only 380 of those claims have been settled. Indeed, there is concern that the arrangement offered by the panel will scuttle a final resolution to the property disputes between the state and the Bedouin. Perhaps the state will need to adopt a more generous compromise.

The 12 reports previously issued by committees were forgotten in the desk drawers. This must not happen with this report. Security officials warn of a Bedouin uprising, but the Bedouin problem must be solved not only due to fear of violence, but also because one cannot accept a situation whereby tens of thousands of people are living in Israel in wretched conditions and without a legal status. As such, the next prime minister must make an effort to appoint an interior minister and a housing and construction minister who will act forcefully in implementing the committee's recommendations.