Original sentence: 85% of the Negev is used by the Israel Defense Forces for training purposes.. (Not long after Sharon’s 1979 decision to set aside a portion of the Negev as a nature reserve, the military took over the State Lands from which the Bedouin had been evicted, conducting exercises on Jewish National Fund lands designated as park space
Edited sentence: Today the Israel Defense Forces have appropriated 85% of the Negev/Naqab (which is 60% of the entire country) for training purposes.. (Not long after Sharon’s 1979 decision to set aside a portion of the Negev as a nature reserve, the military took over the State Lands from which the Bedouin had been evicted, conducting exercises on Jewish National Fund lands designated as park space