Just because it’s an anti-Israel narrative doesn’t mean you have to believe it. Opinion.
Naomi Kahn Hezki Baruch
Naomi Linder Kahnis the Director of the International Division of Regavim, an organization dedicated to preserving Israel’s sovereignty and protecting its resoruces.
The Umm al-Hiran case underscores a critical truth: Manipulation and misinformation have fueled the anti-Israel narrative for years. The real facts, upheld repeatedly by Israel’s courts, are clear:
Until recently, and for many decades, a handful of Bedouin squatters belonging to the Abu al-Qiyan clan blocked the development of a new, legal Israeli community in the Negev; holding the town of Dror [Hiran] and the 2000 families who should be living there hostage. They held successive Israeli governments over a barrel, constantly upping their demands and spreading defamatory accusations of racism and dispossession.
The case of Umm al-Hiran has long been mired in accusations of racism, displacement, and the destruction of an “ancient Bedouin village.” Let us take a closer look because the facts tell a different story altogether. .
The Origins of Umm al-Hiran
The Abu al-Qiyan tribe originally lived near Beit Kama in the 1940s. After engaging in smuggling and spying activities detrimental to Israel’s security, they agreed in 1956 to relocate to the Yatir Forest area under a temporary lease for agricultural purposes. This arrangement, explicitly temporary, laid the groundwork for what later became known as Umm al-Hiran. Aerial photos from 1971 show only a few tents in the area. So much for the “ancient Bedouin
Regavim
The State’s Development Plan
In 2002, the Israeli government approved plans for 14 new settlements in the Negev, including Hiran, later renamed Dror. The land designated for this new Israeli community included some of the area onto which the Abu al-Qiyan families had spread over the years.
Rather than enforce the law, remove the squatters and compel them to relocate to legal communities that had been allocated to them, the Israeli government attempted to convince the squatters to relocate voluntarily, offering them highly favorable relocation terms as part of a larger policy of resettling Bedouin families in legal, recognized communities in the Negev.
Regavim
The relocation package in this case offered terms beyond the wildest dreams of any other Israeli citizens, even more than what had been offered to other Bedouin squatters: free, fully developed 800 m² plots of land in Hura, a nearby Bedouin town, and monetary compensation for the illegal structures they were to leave behind. In addition, they, like any other citizen of Israel, were free to purchase land and build permanent homes in Dror itself.
The Abu al-Qiyan families launched a series of legal battles and public relations campaigns, claiming ownership rights and accusing Israel of racism – but time after time, in petitions ranging from the lowest to the highest court in Israel, these claims were disproven.
Flash 90
In 2024, after years of appeals and delays, the state announced a final deadline for the removal of illegal structures. By this point, most of the squatters of Umm al Hiran had already accepted the state’s relocation package and moved to Hura. The remaining families recently dismantled the last few structures in order to avoid fines and forfeiture of relocation benefits.
The Umm al-Hiran case underscores a critical truth: Manipulation and misinformation have fueled the anti-Israel narrative for years. For decades, Israeli governments bent over backwards to appease members of the Bedouin minority at the expense of regional development. At last, that has come to an end.
Appeasement of terrorists only begets more terrorism.
This has been a fundamental mistake of Israeli governments and courts.
There is no peace to be gained by giving in to terrorists. They pocket every gain, see you as weak, and demand even more.
Those in Israel who cannot see this reality are individuals who can do extreme harm to Israelis as occurred prior to the 7th of October when refusing to respond to actionable intelligence about the activities of Hamas.
These individuals should not be placed in positions responsible for national security and also should not be hired by the police. Protection of Israelis should be done by individuals who can see realistically when the Palestinians are trying to exploit, manipulate, and take advantage of Israelis.