page_title: Al-Kasom Regional Council
section_title: Prawer plan
hierarchical_section_title: Al-Kasom Regional Council / History / Prawer plan
caption_attribution_description: English: Tirabin al-Sana mosque
context_page_description: al-Kasom Regional Council is one of two Negev Bedouin regional councils formed as a result of the split of the Abu Basma Regional Council on November 5, 2012. Al-Kasom regional council is in the northwestern Negev desert of Israel.
  It is made up of seven recognized Bedouin communities: Tirabin al-Sana, Umm Batin, al-Sayyid, Mulada, Makhul, Kukhleh and Drijat.
  The overall population is over 20,000. There are also Bedouin living in unrecognized villages whose exact number is unknown. The al-Kasom Regional Council, as well as Neve Midbar Regional Council are the main arena for the implementation of the Prawer Plan, which was shelved in 2013.
context_section_description: In September 2011, the Israeli government approved a five-year economic development plan called the Prawer plan. One of its implications is a relocation of some 30.000-40.000 Negev Bedouin from areas not recognized by the government to government-approved townships.
  The plan is based on a proposal developed by a team headed by Ehud Prawer, head of policy planning in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO). This proposal was  based on the recommendations of the committee chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice Eliezer Goldberg. Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Doron Almog was appointed as the head of the staff to implement the plan to provide status for the Bedouin communities in the Negev. Minister Benny Begin was appointed by the cabinet to coordinate public and Bedouin population comments on the issue.
  The Prawer plan was part of an effort to develop the Negev and bring about better integration of the Bedouin in Israeli society, significantly reducing economic and social gaps.  A vast investment of NIS 1.2 billion was approved by the government to promote employment among Bedouin women and youth. Funds were allocated to the development of industrial zones, such as Idan haNegev, establishment of employment centers and professional training.
  As a part of this plan some previously unrecognized Bedouin communities in the Negev would be officially recognized and receive all basic infrastructure: electricity, water, sewage, education and medical services. One of the main principles of this plan was close cooperation with the local Bedouin communities.
  The Prawer plan is meant to find a solution to numerous land claims filed by the Negev Bedouin. They claim the ownership of land totaling some 600,000 dunams (60,000 hectares or 230 square miles) - it is 12 times the size of Tel Aviv. It's physically impossible to approve all of these land claims because it will have a negative impact on all the local population and make it impossible to build and improve the infrastructure. In order to accept all these claims the state would have to give up on constructing industrial zones, ecological parks, highways and railroads that serve all the population of Israel, including the Bedouin.
  This plan has drawn criticism. Critics say the Prawer Plan will turn Bedouin dispossession into law and come to a conclusion that relocation of the Bedouin will be compelled. Some even speak about ethnic cleansing. As a result, these remarks provoked heavy criticism of the plan by the European Parliament.
  After a number of complicated discreet agreements with the state all of the Bedouin of Tarabin clan moved into a township built for them with all the amenities - Tirabin al-Sana. Following negotiations, the Bedouin of al-'Azazme clan will take part in the planning of a new quarter that will be erected for them to the west of Segev Shalom, cooperating with The Authority for the Regulation of Bedouin Settlement in the Negev.
caption: Tirabin al-Sana mosque under construction, using dome from mosque in old Tarabin encampment near Omer
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