Regional Council of Unrecognized Villages
[1][2] It represents the interests of the Bedouin population living in the unrecognized dispersed communities in the Negev Desert in southern Israel.
However, most of the unrecognized villages are dispersed far apart and are situated in unsuitable places, e.g., military fire zones, natural reserves, landfills, etc.
Another reason is an extremely high number of land ownership claims filed by the Bedouin making it impossible to recognize all of them.
Negev Bedouin claim the ownership of land totaling some 600,000 dunams (600 km2; 230 sq mi), or 12 times the size of Tel Aviv.
The RCUV also initiates and implements development programs; lobbies for civil rights; and advocate for the needs of its constituency.
At the end of the 19th century, following the need to establish law and order in the Negev, the Ottoman Empire started forcing sedentarization of the Bedouins.
[citation needed] Bedouin tribes were concentrated in the Siyagh (Arabic for "the permitted area") triangle of Beer Sheva, Arad and Dimona.
Those Bedouin who resisted sedentarization remained in their old scattered villages which are not recognized by the Israeli government and are thus ineligible for municipal services such as connection to the electrical grid, water mains or trash-pickup.
Following the court order and all the legal procedure it demolishes houses built illegally on what it considers to be state lands.
[6] According to Human Rights Watch, when the Israeli Southern District Outline Plan (Tamam 4/14/2001) was first formulated, it completely ignored the existence and needs of the Bedouin in the unrecognized villages.
After the Association for Civil Rights in Israel petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court in cooperation with the RCUV and the villagers it seeks to represent, the planning authorities acknowledged that Tamam had discriminated against the Bedouin.
However, Human Rights Watch says this process dragged on for over seven years, and despite some improvements, in 2008 the Plan still ignored the needs of most of the unrecognized villages.
[14] Answering the housing need of the Negev Bedouin and as a part of the policy of step-by-step recognition of the unrecognized communities where it is possible, the State of Israel went on and initiated a creation of a new regional council whose sole purpose was to unite all the Bedouin communities that previously did not belong to other municipalities in order to solve their problems in a more organized way.
[4] According to the general planning, all of them will be fully equipped with the relevant infrastructure: schools, medical clinics, postal offices, etc.
Much of the approved funds will be allocated for the development of industrial zones, establishment of employment centers and professional training.
After a number of complicated agreements with the state all of the Bedouin of Tarabin clan moved into a township built for them - Tirabin al-Sana.
[24] According to Maha Qupty (2004), a RCUV coordinator,[25] the council builds community solidarity and mobilizes outside supporters to empower unrecognized villagers "to defend themselves against the onslaught of the State against their lands and livelihoods.
"[6] The RCUV seeks to address: In addition, the RCUV is working with the Abu Basma Regional Council to assure that villages which are de jure recognized by the government receive de facto recognition through government allowances for herding and agriculture, and the provision of services within a reasonable time frame.
In 2008, the Goldberg Committee, the government body assigned to assess the status and future of the unrecognized villages, reported its recommendations.
