Hagai Reznik, head of the Rifman Institute for Negev Development, warned Sunday on Channel 14’s morning show with Dana and Ron that Israel is losing sovereignty and governance over the Negev, which comprises 60% of Israel’s territory. “We’ve lost all the instruments of sovereignty—not just governance—of a Zionist state and a modern state in the Negev,” he said.
Reznik stressed that partnership with Arabs equals partnership with the Islamic Movement, and argued that if the government becomes dependent on Arab party votes, the Negev will be in danger. “We need to respect the Arab voice and give it its place, but if at the end of the day the future of the Negev depends on the vote of an Islamic movement—there won’t be a Negev and there won’t be a State of Israel,” he said.
Reznik then laid out his fears about what the future holds for Israel in the south. “Half of Bedouin Negev in 2050 will be ‘Palestinian’ in direct identity. It’s not that the entire Bedouin society is lawless or all terrorists, but when you circumcise it within a population with Palestinian identity, what will come out?!”
“Have we gone crazy that we’ll lose 60% of Israel’s territory? We’ll lose it to ‘Palestinian’ affiliation, we’ll lose it to weapons equivalent in firepower to 50 infantry brigades, and within all this we haven’t created a structure? We’re insane that there are dead zones,” the institute head added.