General Background

ʿAbdih is an unrecognized Bedouin village, located in the Negev Highlands near Route 40. The village is part of a concentration of three villages (from north to south): Wādi Arīḥā, ʿAbdih, and al-Baggār. About 500 people live in the village, with the main families being Kashar, Elwaj, Darwsha, Tamtawi, Abu-Assa, Al-Shalab, Gharamey, Sa’ud and Tassan. The Azazma clan was living in the Negev Highlands prior to the establishment of the State of Israel, and the land was divided among the various tribes and families that belonged to the clan or were under its protection. The communities in the Negev Highlands were also divided according to their agricultural specialization. The inhabitants of ʿAbdih were mainly herders in regions such as Hava stream, Ramon Crater, Paran stream, etc. and engaged in seasonal agriculture in areas of the Negev Highlands, adopting ancient agricultural systems (terraces, cisterns, etc.). After the establishment of the State of Israel, the families in the Negev Highlands were among the few who were not concentrated in the al-Siyāj’ area and continued to lead their way of life as a rural community. The source of the name ‘ʿAbdih’ is in the ancient Nabatean city, which now exists as an archaeological site. In December 2021, the government decided to recognize three unrecognized villages, as part of the coalition agreement and among them, was ʿAbdih.

Services and Infrastructure

ʿAbdih has a temporary educational center that includes a school for first to nine graders, with 300 students. The village also has a small kindergarten. High school students must travel for school to either Bīr Haddāj or Šgīb as-Salām (Segev Shalom). There is a small health clinic in the area, but it is barely in use. Both the school and the clinic were only established in the year 2000, following a ruling by the Supreme Court for Justice. The garbage collection is irregular and is not budgeted by the authorities. The villagers are not connected to the national electricity grid or the sewage system. Some of the residents are connected to the central water system and some are not.

Process of recognition and regulation

In 1993, as a result of a policy to concentrate the Bedouin population in the planned townships, and after the Israeli Court declined the land ownership claims of some of the Bedouin residents, seven families (from the Sara’hin faction of the Azazmeh tribe) were forced to relocate to the township of Šgīb as-Salām (Segev Shalom). Following a six month strike in front of the Israeli Parliament (the Knesset), the families reached an agreement with the Government of Israel. The agreement allowed those seven families (from Sahal al-Baggār/Ramat Tziporim and ʿAbdih) to move and live on the ʿAbdih site.

In 2015, a decision was made in principle by the Planning Sub-Committee in the Planning Administration to establish a permanent settlement for the Bedouin population in Sahal al-Baggār/Ramat Tziporim, north of ʿAbdih, which will house all of the Bedouin residents of the Negev Highlands. However, in June 2016, following a reexamination of the area and consultation with some of the Bedouin communities in the area, it was decided to cancel the planning for a village at  Sahal al-Baggār/Ramat Tziporim and transfer it to the area of ʿAbdih.

On May 7, 2019, the National Council for Planning and Construction decided to recommend to the Government the establishment of a new Bedouin village in the Negev/Naqab to be called ʿAbdih.
According to the plan, three Arab Bedouin communities (Wādi Arīḥā; Wādi Hawa/Nachal Hava; and Sahal al-Baggār/Ramat Tziporim) will be moved to the area of the Negev Highlands, where a village with 500 housing units will be built for them. Recognition of the village requires additional approval by the government. Residents of Ramat Tziporim, who oppose this decision, announced that they intend to fight it.

In addition to the village, the Authority for the Development and Settlement of the Bedouin in the Negev plans to set up three more tourism complexes in the area for the Arab Bedouin residents. While the Bedouin demand that they be allowed to live near the tourist complexes (and the Negev Highlands Regional Council supports them), the Authority for Development and the Ministry of Tourism object to this possibility. Moreover, the decision of the National Council for Planning and Construction states that it will not be possible to establish housing units adjacent to the tourist complexes. The distinction between the definition of a Bedouin tourism project and a Jewish one that will allow individual Jewish citizens to work and sleep in their tourist complexes but would prevent this from Arab Bedouin citizens is highly discriminatory.