Highway 6 is making more progress towards Israel’s southern regions. In order to clear a path for the new segment, Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel (Bayit Yehudi) has issued an evacuation order for approximately 1,000 Bedouin families who live in the path where the highway is set to run. The new path of the highway is set to run between the Shoket junction and Route 25 in Nevatim.

The government’s Bedouin Authority falls under Ariel’s jurisdiction. 100 of the families live in the direct path of the highway near the planned Abu Talul-Nevatim interchange. The Bedouin Authority is making plans to absorb the families affected by the new construction.

The Minister decided that all 1000 families from the area need to be resettled in order to further develop the Negev and the larger Bedouin communities in the area

Currently, the plans for resettlement for the evacuees include the construction of new neighborhoods in the Bedouin towns of Tel Sheva, Abu Talul and Umm Batin. Some 500 housing units are slated to be built for the Bedouin in each of these towns allowing for the evacuees to find new homes and the natural growth of the area to increase. The houses of the first group in Umm Batin are scheduled to be ready in April of next year. Already, the government has reached an agreement with the first group of evacuees who are slated to move into those homes.

The Bedouin Authority’s Planning Division is set to compensate each family with land and financial compensation of NIS 250,000 ($66,000), as is customary in all of its evacuation agreements. Additional compensation will be added and given to the evacuees from Highway 6.

“The government is committed to demonstrating control in the Negev, and this operation, together with the extension of Highway 6 southward, will bring impetus to the Negev and return to the state a large amount of land,” said Ariel.

Director General of the Bedouin Authority in the Negev, Yair Maayan, praised the Bedouin Authority for its efforts to bring governance to the area: “The construction of the highway is a very significant step towards turning the Negev into an advanced and regulated territory. Thanks to the budget-intensive projects that the Bedouin Authority is implementing today, we will see more organized and legal construction and more infrastructure for the benefit of all the populations living here.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)