Israeli ‘Development’ and Education Policies and their Impact on the Negev Palestinian Bedouin: Historical Experience and Future Prospects

Abstract

Throughout the last five decades, successive Israeli governments have attempted to split the minority group of Palestinian Arabs with Israeli citizenship into smaller groups based on religious (Muslim, Christian, Druze) or geographical distinctions (the ‘Galilee’, the northern region; the ‘Triangle’, the central region; and the ‘Negev’, the southern region) for control purposes. The governments' treatment of Negev Palestinian Arab Bedouin, who were traditionally a semi-nomadic population, provides a classic example of its segmentation policy. Although, in line with this policy, Israeli governments have unilaterally created and implemented development plans for the Negev Palestinian Arab Bedouin population, they have not integrated them into the national infrastructure in a viable and meaningful sense. This paper examines the historical experience of the Negev Palestinian Arab Bedouin and their actual development needs.