Kuseife

Kuseife (Hebrew: כְּסֵיפָה‎, Kseifa; Arabic: كسيفة‎) is a Bedouin town (local council) in the Southern District of Israel. Kuseife was founded in 1982 as part of a government project to settle Bedouins in permanent settlements. In 1996 it was declared a local council, and in 2019 it had a population of 21,866.[2]

Kuseife

  • כְּסֵיפָה‎‎
  • كسيفة‎
Local council
Kuseife
Kuseife
Coordinates: 31°14′43″N 35°05′34″E
Country Israel
DistrictSouthern
Founded1982
Government
 • Head of MunicipalitySalem Abu Ravieh[1]
Area
 • Total13,692 dunams (13.692 km2 or 5.287 sq mi)
Population
 (2019)[2]
 • Total21,866
 • Density1,600/km2 (4,100/sq mi)

It is one of seven Bedouin townships in the Negev desert with approved plans and developed infrastructure (other six are: Hura, Lakiya, Ar'arat an-Naqab (Ar'ara BaNegev), Shaqib al-Salam (Segev Shalom), Tel as-Sabi (Tel-Sheva) and the city of Rahat, the largest among them).[3]

Population

Members of several Bedouin family clans reside in Kuseife: Abu Ajaj, Elamor, el-Zabarka, el-Nasasra, the biggest of them Abu-Rabia. Other families are: Azbarga, El-Dada, Abu Juda and Abu Anam. A part of el-Nasasra and Elamor clans lives outside Kuseife in a close proximity to the Nevatim Airbase.

According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the population of Kuseife was 17,400 in December 2010[4] (10,300 in December 2006[5]). Its annual growth rate is 3.6%. Kuseife's jurisdiction is 13,692 dunams (~13.7 km²).[6]

History

Prior to the establishment of Israel, the Negev Bedouins were a semi-nomadic society that had been through a process of sedentariness since the Ottoman rule of the region.

During the British Mandate period, the administration did not provide a legal frame to justify and preserve lands’ ownership. In order to settle this issue, Israel’s land policy was adapted to a large extent from the Ottoman land regulations of 1858 as the only preceding legal frame. Thus Israel nationalized most of the Negev lands using the state’s land regulations from 1969.

Israel has continued the policy of sedentarization of Negev Bedouins imposed by the Ottoman authorities, and at first it included regulation and re-location - during the 1950s Israel has re-located two-thirds of the Negev Bedouins into an area that was under martial law. The next step was to establish seven townships built especially for Bedouins in order to sedentarize and urbanize them by offering them better life conditions, proper infrastructure and high quality public services in sanitation, health and education, and municipal services.

But not all Bedouins agree to move from tents and structures built on the state lands into apartments. In permanent planned villages like Kuseife lives about 60% of Bedouin citizens of Israel, while the rest in illegal homes spread all over North Negev.[7]

20th century

This area appears as Kuseife in the military administration documents starting from the 1950s. After the peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel, the Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egypt and all the IDF bases stationed there were removed to the Israeli territory, some of them to the Negev desert. One of them was a Nevatim Airbase. A township adjacent to the base appeared at the same time.

21st century

Process of sedentarization is full of hardships for any nation, since it means a harsh shift from one way of life to another - transition from wandering to permanent residence, and Bedouins whose society is based on tradition are no exception. The rate of unemployment remains high in Bedouin townships.[8] School through age 16 is mandatory by law, but the vast majority of the population does not receive a high school education.

Yet Israel's attitude towards its Bedouin citizens has always been positive.[9] The state uses all the means at her disposal to improve the life of the Negev Bedouin community, and Kuseife is considered to be one of several flagship projects in this sense. Unlike illegal villages with scarce access to water, electricity and services, this village provides the residents with all their basic needs.

And still according to the CBS data relevant to December 2009, a local council of Kuseife is ranked lowest (1 out of 10) in socio-economic standing (1 out of 10) with an average income NIS 4,331 to the national average of NIS 7,070 (2009). Only 43,4% of grade twelve students are eligible to graduate from high school (2008-2009).

Employment

Despite the fact that unemployment level among Negev Bedouins is high, there are several employment opportunities in the region. Several industrial parks are situated in the area - Ramat Hovav, Hura and Dimona, but the closest industrial zone to Kuseife is situated in Arad. Other job opportunities are: several chemical plants near the Dead Sea like the Dead Sea Works, different high-tech companies and textile shops. There is a number of Bedouins working in the area of service.

Entrepreneur training

There are several organizations carrying out different activities aimed at supporting and expanding entrepreneurship in Israel's South in order to further integrate the 160,000 Bedouins living in the Negev into Israel's mainstream economy. They are primarily aimed at Bedouin women.

Arab Bedouin fashion design

Twenty Arab-Bedouin women from the towns of Rahat, Lakiya, Tel Sheva, Segev Shalom, Kuseife and Rachma participated in a sewing course for fashion design at the Amal College in Beer Sheva, including lessons on sewing and cutting, personal empowerment and business initiatives.[10]

Infrastructure

Medical services

There are branches of several health funds (medical clinics) in Kuseife: Leumit, Clalit, Maccabi and several perinatal (baby care) centers Tipat Halav.

Education

There is a number of schools in the township and a communal activity center.

Transportation

In May 2017, a railway extension from Beersheba to Arad via Kuseife was approved. The line would connect to the existing Beersheba-Dimona rail line at the proposed new station at Nevatim.[11]

See also

References
  1. PM Netanyahu meets with Negev Bedouin mayors Archived 2017-02-03 at the Wayback Machine MFA, November 3, 2011
  2. "Population in the Localities 2019" (XLS). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  3. State of Israel. Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. List of Issues to be taken up in Connection with the Consideration of Israel's Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports of Israel (CEDAW/C/ISR/4 and CEDAW/C/ISR/5) Archived 2013-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Statistical abstract of Israel 2011. POPULATION AND DENSITY PER SQ. KM. IN LOCALITIES NUMBERING 5,000 RESIDENTS AND MORE ON 31 XII 2010(1)" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-05. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  5. "Table 3 - Population of Localities Numbering Above 1,000 Residents and Other Rural Population" (PDF). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 2007-12-31. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  6. "Local Authorities in Israel 2005, Publication #1295 - Municipality Profiles - Kuseife" (PDF) (in Hebrew). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  7. Bedouin information, ILA, 2007 Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Blueprint Negev. Working with Bedouin communities
  9. Dr. Yosef Ben-David (1999-07-01). "The Bedouin in Israel". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
  10. Economic Empowerment. Arab-Bedouin Fashion Design Archived 2013-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Arad railway extension approved". Globes. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  • Lands of the Negev, a short film presented by Israel Land Administration describing the challenges faced in providing land management and infrastructure to the Bedouins in Israel's southern Negev region
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