I want to end with an example of a village that managed to get recognized, but then that recognition was revoked. Bedouins from Beir Hadaj were displaced in 1948 to Wadi al-Na'am. In 1994 those Bedouins decided to return to Beir Hadaj and they did return but in 2004 Israel revoked the recognition of the village. This village is surrounded by several Israeli settlements and Israel wants to destroy the village and transfer its citizens. They demolished 11 houses a few months ago in order to allow more space for the expansion of the surrounding settlements.” Amir Abu Qweder, activist in the Naqab area Interview: 15 November 2016 Israeli policy concerning the allocation and revocation of land and housing in the Naqab generally reflects the overarching policy of establishing control over maximum land with a minimal amount of Palestinians on that land. However, Israel appeared to deviate somewhat from this pattern when it not only recognized several Bedouin villages but chose villages with large populations. This move would seem illogical, but in fact the strategic nature of its selections shows an underlying logic that point to the targeting of Bedouin culture. One report noted that “Only large villages without rural characteristics are eligible to be considered for recognition.”348 When viewed in conjunction with the emphasis on moving Bedouins into townships, this information would indicate that State approval of where Bedouins live currently has more to do with allocation of housing that interferes as much as possible with a traditional rural way of life than it does with a blanket denial of residency. This hypothesis is supported by the strategic building of Israeli settlements in the area. Israel has argued that the townships in the Naqab must be large and urban to be economically sustainable. The pattern of settlement building in the Naqab, however, shows that Israel “does favor agricultural settlements and very small settlements – but for Jews only.”349 This demonstrates that the problem for Israel is not with agricultural settlements, per se, but rather agricultural settlements that facilitate particular cultural expressions. It can only be concluded that these policies represent a concerted effort to disrupt traditional Bedouin society by spatial means and illustrate Israeli attempts to concentrate Bedouins in specific areas, which results in the destruction of their traditional communities and severely affects their connection to the land, a core element of Bedouin culture and way of life. 348 The Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, the Association for Support and Defense of Bedouin Rights in Israel, Arab-Bedouin coalition of organizations and Parents Committees for promoting education and cultural rights, Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, and Recognition Forum, The ArabBedouin in the Negev-Naqab Desert in Israel, op. cit., October 2010, page 13 349 Ibid., page 16 95