• At the end of 2008, 170,000 Bedouin lived in the Negev, accounting for approximately one

quarter of the population in the region.1 In addition, 60,000 Bedouin live in the Galilee and

close to 10,000 in central Israel.2

• The term "Bedouin" defines various groups of traditionally pastoral nomadic desert-dwelling

Arabs (exclusively Muslims). Since the 1950s, the Bedouin in Israel have undergone a

process of sedentarization with an emphasis on agricultural production.

• The Negev Bedouin have one of the highest natural growth rates in the world, 4.2% in 2008.

This means that the population doubles once every 18 years.3 The Israel Land

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