Rahat Mayor

Urges Bedouin
Disarmament
BY SAMUEL SOKOL
ISRAEL CORRESPONDENT

Terrified customers fled in

panic at the Negev Mall in Be’er
Sheva last week, as a Bedouin
tracker from the IDF’s Special
Desert Patrol unit shot dead a
fellow soldier in a squabble over
a cellular telephone.
This is the second such
incident this year. In January,
a member of the unit killed a
colleague during a patrol.
This incident came as a result
of an argument over a radio.
The defense and prosecution
reached a plea bargain by
which the shooter will serve
an 18-year sentence. Both sol-
diers were residents of the
Bedouin city of Rahat. Local
police have expressed worry
over the possibility of a
reprisal from the victim’s
family.
Rahat mayor Faiz abu Sahiban
called on defense officials to
impose restrictions on Bedouin
soldiers bringing weapons home
on leave, saying that the IDF
must “reconsider the procedures
of weapons-carrying” during an
interview with army radio. There
have been calls in the IDF for the
unit to “clean house” due to the
shooting.
Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, the
IDF chief of staff, visited lead-
ers of Israel’s Bedouin commu-
nity in November to celebrate
the Muslim festival of Eid Al-
Adkha (“Festival of Sacrifice”).
Ashkenazi told the assembled
notables that “We have no
other country, and there is no
way other than to nurture the
cooperation with the Bedouin
community. The IDF will con-
tinue to lead the way in allow-
ing equal opportunities for
Bedouin soldiers to integrate to
all military roles. In my name
and the name of the IDF, I
salute you and bless you with a
happy holiday.”
Bedouin soldiers are known
for having problems with mili-
tary discipline. At the IDF
Central Command’s training
base at Bet Guvrin, where the
IDF trackers course is conduct-
ed, Bedouin personnel are
known to use guard booths as
bathrooms.
Arabs and Druze constitute
only 22 percent of Israel’s popu-
lation, but account for 59 per-
cent of all murders, according
to Israeli police. Alean al-
Krenawi of the Center for
Bedouin Studies and
Development at Ben Gurion
University of the Negev has
warned that “The Bedouin are a
ticking bomb that could
explode very powerfully.” ❖
5 TOWNS JEWISH TIMES January 8, 2010 21