The government of Israel is trying to resolve the Bedouin illegal squatting issue in the Negev.
While there are several legal Bedouin towns, there’s a tremendous amount of illegal squatters taking over the entire Negev area.
These squatters live in temporary makeshift huts (and more often now, in illegally built permanent structures) on state land and hook up to water, electricity and other utilities illegally.
The government of Israel has offered both land and money to Bedouins based on the number of wives they have.
You heard that correctly. The more wives they have the more money and the more land Israel offers them.
I will be writing a full article on how we are losing the Negev over the next week, but for now, check out some of the homes below, and the videos from the air.
These homes belong to Bedouins who accepted the package the state of Israel has given them.
I don’t think people from Gush Katif or Amona received such luxurious solutions.
The next time someone claims Israel is trying to kick Bedouins out, please show them these castles.
Help spread the word, everyone needs to see this. These are all single family homes.
Below the photos are the live videos I took with Stephen Leavitt of JewishPress.com, and Regavim’s Josh Hasten and Amichai Yogev – on the ground and in the air.
Odi, our pilot, let Stephen do all the flying. Talk about scary (just kidding, he was great).