Negev/Naqab | Just Vision Skip to main content

The glossary is comprised of nearly 250 terms related to the Israeli-Palestinian context. Given the rapidly shifting landscape, these terms cannot capture the full range of nuances, narratives and historical events. This tool is meant as a starting point and we encourage you to continue your exploration of this topic through further research. Last update and review: September 2015.

Negev/Naqab

(Negev in Hebrew; Naqab in Arabic.) A desert comprising the southern half of Israel. The biggest city is Beersheva, and there are several Kibbutzim and development towns, which were built in the 1950's to settle the influx of primarily Mizrachi Jewish immigrants coming from Arab countries. There are also a number of Israeli military bases. Approximately 70% of the Negev's current residents are Jewish, while 30% are Bedouin, half of whom live in 45 unrecognized villages and half who live in seven impoverished and over-crowded government-planned towns, which taken together comprise 2% of the land of the Negev/Naqab. See "One last appeal before a Bedouin village in the Negev is demolished and a Jewish town is built in its place," Allison Deger, Mondoweiss, June 1, 2015. See also "Bedouin's plight: 'We want to maintain our traditions. But it's a dream here,'" Harriet Sherwood, The Guardian, Nov 3 2011.