Israel suspends controversial Beduin resettlement plan

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON JPOST

Former Likud Minister Bennie Begin announced the government decision to suspend the government backed Beduin resettlement bill on Thursday, pleasing opponents on the Left and Right.

“We did our best, but sometimes you have to accept reality,” said Begin at a press conference at city hall in Tel Aviv.

“Right- and left-wing activists, Jews and Arabs, have tried to take advantage of Beduin desperation to inflame the atmosphere to boiling point for their own political gain,” Begin said.

Begin said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accepted his recommendation to remove the bill from consideration. Netanyahu responded to the announcement by thanking Begin for his efforts.

Begin said Netanyahu had also agreed to “carry out the development plan for Bedouin settlements in the coming years”, suggesting that the plan would be revised rather than shelved.

Earlier this week, opposition to the Prawer-Begin bill grewamongst Knesset members that had previously supported the legislation, leading to today’s announcement.

Former minister Bennie Begin, who helped put together the plan and is guiding the legislation through the Knesset, said on Tuesday that the Beduin never agreed to his plan nor ever saw it.

Begin’s comments upset coalition chairman Yariv Levin (Likud Beytenu), who told reporters Monday that he and others had been misled about the bill, and that major changes needed to be made. Levin said that he and other members of the coalition voted for the bill on its first reading believing that the Beduin agreed to the plan.

The Prawer-Begin bill is a five-year economic development initiative seeking to regulate Beduin settlement in the South. It aims for a compromise solution for tens of thousands of Beduin currently scattered in unrecognized villages throughout the Negev, legalizing 63 percent of claimed land.

Beduin supporters oppose the bill because they say the legislation would result in up to 40,000 Beduin losing their land.

Opponents on the Right criticize the bill as being too generous, saying that the state is giving away land for free that the Beduin could not prove to be theirs in court.

In the press conference, Begin said that the Beduin are the “most deprived group in Israel” and that the problem needs to be solved quickly.

“I myself met with 600 of them,” and listened to them, said Begin.

Beduin Israelis and their supporters have staged protests, sometimes violent, across the country in order to demonstrate their vehement opposition to the bill.

“We cannot allow a hostile takeover of the legislation or allow it to be hijacked or distorted,” Begin said, describing his proposal to delay implementation as “the lesser evil”.

Levin said that a new plan would be drawn up to deal with the issue.

“After a long struggle, the Prawer plan, which in its current form is essentially flawed – was blocked – and that is a good thing.”

A large number of MKs weighed in on the announcement.

Michal Rozin (Meretz) said, “I breathe a sigh of relief with the Negev Beduin and Jews alike. Now is the time to invest money that the state hoped to use in dispossessing the Beduin from their homes in order to supply their communities with basic water, electricity, and other basic services.”

Ahmed Tibi (United Arab List-Ta’al) blessed the announcement and said that “it is needed to bury the dangerous Prawer plan and start a deep discussion with the owners of the land and the local leaders in the Negev.”

Bayit Yehudi MK Zvulun Kalfa said that the law that was under consideration would not solve the problem and that a different outline is needed.

A major problem with the bill was that it lacked the most basic thing, in no place was a map presented, which showed what the final settlement would look like after full implementation.

Another problem is that most of the law deals with land claims, but does not discuss how it would regulate or create settlements or infrastructure, education, and health services.

Ronen Shoval, the founder and head of Im Tirtzu, stated that the failure of the government to pass the law demonstrates a lack of the ability of the state of Israel to govern itself.

“Israeli democracy yielded to the violence and the dictates of foreign countries” meddling in the internal affairs of the state and using organizations for deligitimization.

Regavim – which describes itself as seeking to ensure responsible, legal and accountable use of the country’s land –  stated that this opportunity must be seized by the government to change and improve the Prawer-Begin plan.

“The land of Israel is the most important and scarce resource of the State of Israel and we have to treat that dear resource responsibly.

“The violence and the threats of the Arab MK’s and a small minority of Bedouin against this unprecedented and extremely generous plan of former Minister Begin, proves once again that giving free gifts, sends a message of weakness and enlarges their appetite,” stated Regavim.

Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) attorney Rawia Aburabia responded by stating,

“The government now has an opportunity to conduct real and honest dialogue with the Negev Beduin community and its representatives.  The Negev Beduin seek a solution to the problem of the unrecognized villages, and a future in Israel as citizens with equal rights.”

“We applaud the withdrawal of the misguided Prawer-Begin plan, which would have expelled 30-40,000 Beduin Israelis from their homes in the Negev,” said Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights.

“As the 800 rabbis and cantors who wrote to Prime Minister Netanyahu in opposition of this plan attest, such forced displacement contradicts both Jewish property law and human rights law, as well as the moral values of the Jewish tradition.”

Lahav Harkov and Reuters contributed to this report.