Following the reform in the Negev led by Minister Shikli, the Israel Land Authority (ILA) is today publishing a detailed plan to amend the law for regulating the Bedouin population in the Negev regarding the issue of 'ownership claims'. The plan is being launched as a pilot in the five localities - Kasiyfa, Mareit, Sawah, Abu Talul and Laqiya, and incorporates a series of professional principles that indicate an in-depth analysis of past failures.
Among other things, the plan clarifies who exactly is entitled to compensation, and defines clear timetables; signing an agreement within ten months of the date the plan is published to the public, complete clearance of the area under claim, full transfer to the allocated plot, and success in realizing the land for various purposes, with meeting deadlines resulting in grants of tens of thousands of shekels, while failure to meet deadlines and lack of cooperation may negate any right to compensation and grants.
In addition, the plan addresses phenomena such as polygamy and cases in which not all heirs to the 'ownership claim' cooperate in signing the agreement, includes extensive grants for security forces personnel, and establishes a mechanism for a compromise committee that will discuss each unique case on its own merits and has the authority to approve extensions of time, etc., while the door to court remains open to any Bedouin who is not interested in reaching an agreement regarding his ownership claim and will be able to prove his ownership of the land in court.
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The plan focuses on areas located within the "blue line" of the settlements, with the aim of preventing the reality of huge deserted areas within the settlements as they currently exist, and allowing the settlements to develop and build thousands of housing units for the Bedouin population.
Let us recall that some 3,200 'ownership claims' were filed in the early 1970s for hundreds of thousands of dunams in the Negev, and to this day, no such claim has been proven in court, and in all instances the lands were registered in the name of the state. In practice, the ownership claims have become a key issue in the state's ability to develop the Negev and regulate the illegal dispersion in settlements and fertile land for bloody conflicts and a narrative of dispossession and deprivation, when in practice over the years the state has acted to grant extensive compensation in land and money, but the method of work over the years has completely failed.
The Regavim Movement welcomes: "The RAMI decision adopts professional principles that we have pointed out as being of strategic importance for a long time and indicates a much-needed paradigm shift. The decision addresses critical issues that have created chaos and injustice in the compensation mechanism, such as polygamy and the transfer of compensation entitlement from generation to generation, and most importantly, sets a clear time frame for the regularization process, which includes incentives for rapid cooperation. We welcome the approval of the decision by the RAMI Council, and the professional leadership of the process by Minister Amichai Shikli and the Authority for Regularizing Bedouin Settlement in the Negev, and we look forward to seeing its implementation in both the pilot communities and the entire Negev region.""
