A look at the future.

As Israel approaches the end of its sixth decade, the day is still a long way off when it will be possible to say that the Negev Bedouin are citizens just like other Israeli citizens. The Bedouin were and continue to be a "problem" that begs a "solution."

As far as lands are concerned, the "solution" that the government has proposed for the last thirty years contains nothing that might lead to a breakthrough (on compensation levels, see Appendices 1 and 2 below). As far as according official recognition to Bedouin localities is concerned, more significant progress has been made: today the number of Bedouin localities recognized by the state is approaching 20: the seven government-planned townships, plus another ten localities that are presently going through the recognition and planning process. In addition, two of the "recognized" localities are about to be expanded markedly. Nevertheless, there are still 30 localities which have not yet made it to the government planning table.

From the viewpoint of the country's leaders, concentrating the Bedouin in townships is a "solution" with clear advantages, the chief among which is to reduce the visibility of "the problem." The...