A Fascinating Tour of Familiarization and Solidarity in the Unrecognized Villages of the Negev

By: Tamim Abu Khait

On the initiative and under the organization of the “All Its Citizens” Party, two buses carrying citizens from all over the country arrived in the Negev yesterday, accompanied by many party members, for a guided solidarity tour of the unrecognized villages in the Negev. For about six hours, participants were exposed to harsh, painful, infuriating, and shameful realities for the State of Israel and its democracy—facts that disgrace all Israeli governments since the establishment of the state, and constitute a serious indictment of all successive governments, especially the current one, as well as of all politicians who ruled and continue to rule the country. Even those who signed the Declaration of Independence fled from its values, trampled them, and humiliated them in the Negev.

What does it mean to walk through an unrecognized village where thousands of people live?It means seeing homes built of tin, wood, aluminum, sheets, and plastic—of every possible material except concrete and bricks. In each “house” lives a full family, and sometimes several families. Between the homes stretch narrow, unpaved sandy paths, without any safety measures—for vehicles or pedestrians. There is no water, sewage, or electricity infrastructure, no telephone lines, no built or organized public square, no trees, no parks, no playgrounds—and not even a single basic civic facility. Here a house that was demolished, there a house that collapsed on its own; here a quarter of a house in which two families live, here a tent, and here a sheet under which a family lives—its entire life, from childhood to old age.

Can one imagine an entire life in a place with no electricity, no running water, and no sewage system?There is no garbage collection, no school, no post office, and no educational, civic, or cultural institution of any kind. Tens of thousands of such structures, housing tens of thousands of families, are under constant threat of demolition. A family whose home is demolished has no alternative solution: no housing, no shelter, no roof over its head. Sometimes nothing remains but the street, open land, or a tent—which may itself be demolished again.

In 2024 alone, 5,187 homes were demolished. In the ten years preceding it, approximately 25,800 homes were demolished.

Today there are 36 unrecognized villages in the Negev, home to about 150,000 people.

And all this is happening—here and now—inside what is called “the oasis of democracy and technological progress in the Middle East.”

The tour began in the unrecognized village of al-Sir. We were welcomed by Mr. Atiya al-Aasam, head of the Regional Council of the Unrecognized Villages in the Negev, who presented to us the reality of life in these villages, the developments—and above all, the lack of development in all vital areas. We learned from him that the state treats the Bedouin villages as if they were hostile territory or a foreign population, even though they constitute about half of the Negev’s residents. Village, area, and place names are changed and Hebraized in order to sever the connection between the inhabitants and their land, and between the name and the place. The residents have established local committees and are struggling for their basic rights, foremost among them recognition of their villages as part of the state, so that they may receive the treatment and services to which all citizens are entitled.

To date, the state has recognized only 11 localities, while 45 villages remain unrecognized. And even those villages that have been recognized have not yet received even the bare minimum of rights—especially in the fields of infrastructure, planning, construction, and licensing.

From there we continued to the village of al-Zarnuq, where we were welcomed and hosted by Mr. Mohammed Qweider, head of the local committee. He shared additional information with us and asked us to serve as ambassadors to convey the truth about their situation and their struggle. We then visited the village of Bir Hadaj, where we met with Awad al-Owaivi, who opened a discussion with us and answered participants’ questions.

We have a saying in Arabic: “الحكي مش مثل الشوف” — “Hearing is not like seeing.”

Thanks to everyone who took part in this solidarity visit, and especially to the initiators and organizers—Dr. Rafi Davidson and Dr. Yaela Ranan. Thanks as well to the hosts in the villages, who enriched us with knowledge and facts, and revealed to us their determined struggle for the rights of all villages—recognized and unrecognized alike.