The Prawer Plan is an
Israeli bill that was formulated in September 2011 and was approved by the
Knesset in June 2013. If implemented, the bill would lead to the destruction of 35 "unrecognized villages" and to the forced displacement of tens of thousands of
Bedouin citizens of
Israel from the
Negev/Naqab desert. The Israeli government claims that the bill is part of a campaign to develop the Negev/Naqab and that Bedouin communities will benefit from it; however, the bill has been rejected by the Bedouin community and allies, and large protests against the bill were held. The Prawer Plan has faced strong international opposition; the United Nations human rights chief urged Israel to reconsider the bill, The European Parliament called for its withdrawal, and other human rights/advocacy organizations inside Israel (such as Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel) has called the plan discriminatory, stating that it "entrenches the state's historic injustice against its Bedouin citizens." The plan was halted in December 2013, though it's not clear whether it has been temporarily delayed or shelved altogether. See "Bedouin's plight: "
We want to maintain our traditions. But it's a dream here," Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian, November 3, 2011. See also "
Resource: Full text of Prawer-Begin plan for Negev Bedouin," 972mag.com; and "
Prawer Plan to Displace Bedouin," 972mag.