One of the largest nomadic groups there are about 21 million bedouin people and they traditionally used goat and camel herding to support themselves. There are approximately 350,000 nomads in the Negev desert, mainly Bedouin and Israeli Arabs. In the 1950s, the government encouraged the Arabs to settle in villages, but many have refused, preferring to keep their traditional lifestyle. In the early 1950s, the government built small, primitive desert towns to accommodate the Bedouin. These towns are now populated by families who have come to live in them.
In addition to Bedouin and Israeli Arabs, there are small groups of other Arabs who have settled in Israel. These include Palestinians who have been displaced by war and other Arabs who have come to Israel to seek