as ‘fence’ in Arabic; originating from the English word ‘siege’) on only 10% of the territory they used to inhabit and cultivate. Moreover, a military rule was imposed on them between 1948 and 1966,50 during which Israel took control over most of their lands.51 In the late 1960s, the first Israeli Master Plan did not include the remaining Palestinian villages in the original plans, rendering them unrecognized. As a result, according to Israel’s Planning and Building Law, all buildings in these communities were deemed illegal and under the threat of demolition. The villages lack, as a result, basic infrastructure such as electricity and water grids, government services and utilities (not even schools and medical centers).52 There are over 200,000 Palestinians living in the Naqab. Out of those, approximately 70,000 live in 36 villages, unrecognized by Israel, under the risk of displacement. Approximately 45,000 of the structures in these villages are at risk of demolition. In June 2013, the Israeli Knesset approved the Prawer-Begin Bill (commonly known as the Prawer Plan), giving the green light for mass expulsion of the Palestinian community in the Naqab. If fully implemented, the Prawer Plan would result in the destruction of the 36 villages and the forced displacement of their residents.53 This plan was completed without consultation of the local community, and is a gross violation of the constitutional rights of the Palestinian citizens to property, dignity, equality, adequate housing, and freedom to choose their own residence.54 In March 2012, the UN Committee on the Elimination for Racial Discrimination called on Israel to withdraw the proposed implementing legislation of the Prawer Plan, on the grounds that it was discriminatory. In July 2012, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling on Israel to stop the Prawer Plan and its policies of displacement, eviction, and dispossession.55 On December 2013, after massive popular actions, legal advocacy and international pressure, Israel withdrew the proposed Prawer-Begin bill, and the draft law was set to be considered for a second and third reading in the Knesset, as former Israeli cabinet minister Benny Begin admitted that the bill faced sweeping rejection from the Palestinian community, contrary to government assertions that they had approved of the plan.56 50 Abu-Saad, “Palestinian Arab Citizenship in Israel: The Indigenous Palestinian Bedouin of the Naqab: Forced Urbanization and Denied Recognition.” 51 The laws include: Land Acquisition Law, 1953; Planning and Building Law, 1965; Land Rights Settlement Ordinance, 1969; Negev Land Acquisition Law, 1980. See also: “Off the Map: Land and Housing Rights Violations in Israel’s Unrecognized Bedouin Villages,” 13. 52 Ibid. 53 Demolition and Eviction of Bedouin Citizens of Israel in the Naqab (Negev) - The Prawer Plan. 54 Ibid. 55 Ibid. 56 “Adalah: Withdrawal of the Prawer Plan Bill Is a Major Achievement.” 19