Bedouins better off dealing with Right, Lieberman says
Minister for strategic affairs visits Negev residents in hopes of rallying votes for next Knesset elections
During the visit, Lieberman attacked Israel’s government and its policies, saying that bureaucracy was a bigger issue to the pioneers in the area than crime. “That is a huge failure on the part of the country,” the minister said.
Lieberman visits Bedouin tent in Negev (Photo: Herzel Yosef)
He added that crime was a strategic threat and that the country was “stumbling and unable to protect its sovereignty” while hundreds of thousands of dunams were being stolen.
Upon arrival at a Bedouin tent, Lieberman received a warm welcome from his hosts.
One of the Sheiks hosting the visit said, “It’s no secret that our guests are from the Right faction, but they must be respected, even if we don’t agree with them. As a minister, your actions are for all of Israel’s people.”
'You can't please everyone'
Lieberman addressed the issue of land disputes, saying that Israel’s leadership has refrained from reaching a decision on the matter and has dragged it out for dozens of years, thus making it worse.
“No matter what, you can’t please everyone,” the minister said, but added that a plan of action must be decided on and carried out just the same.
Despite his promise that the Bedouins had a better chance of resolving land disputes with the Right, Lieberman did not mention two bills that would directly affect the population.
Instead, he chose to bring the bills up before the Negev’s Jewish residents. The first bill called for the demolition of houses to be funded by their owners, and the second bill called for national security pensions to be revoked for families living in condemned homes.
Lieberman also said that although the Bedouin population’s contribution to Israel could not be denied, he considered individuals such as Sheikh Raed Salah a “strategic threat”.
Lieberman ended his visit at the Ramat Hanegev Regional Council, where residents brought up the issue of the breached border with Egypt.
“When you act like a doormat, the border doesn’t help,” Lieberman said, “Our government has been demonstrating weakness for years.”
The minister added that if he were to receive the Internal Security portfolio, one of his first moves would be to build a fence on the border.
