In Israel's desert, a fight for land

The first Friday prayers at Tel Malah's new mosque were supposed to be a joyous occasion.

"We used to have to travel 12 kilometers [7.5 miles] to pray," said Khalil Abu Massad, a local resident. "The idea was that now we would have our own mosque."

But with the community's dispersal an official objective of the Israeli government, it was more than a question of convenience. The Bedouin village of 3,000, situated on desert hills turned green from the winter rain, is comprised mostly of shanties with corrugated roofs and yards of goats, camels and small olive trees. The mosque was made from concrete, a sign of permanence, and for Israeli authorities, a challenge.

On Feb. 5, two days before the Friday service but well after an order to stop building, Israeli bulldozers turned the new mosque into a heap of rubble and twisted metal, touching off outrage among Israeli Muslims and condemnations from some Jewish leaders as well. Michael Melchior, an Orthodox rabbi and member of Knesset, termed the demolition "a disgrace."

For the state of Israel, as well as for the 70,000 Bedouin living in 46 unrecognized villages, there is more at stake here than the mosque. The Tel Malah dispute comes as the cabinet prepares to approve a new plan for the Negev Desert that officials, analysts, and Bedouin activists say will boost efforts to move the Bedouin out of their 46 unrecognized villages and estimated 62,500 acres of land and into seven townships and a handful of planned communities.

The reason given for the demolition was that the mosque was built without a permit. But since Tel Malah, which has no electricity, water, or services, is unrecognized by authorities, there is now no legal means of obtaining a permit.

David Cohen, the official who decided on the demolition, said he would not have granted one and would instead have encouraged residents to relocate to a town that already has mosques.

Mr. Cohen, the southern district director for the Interior Ministry, says he tolerates most illegal structures but could not overlook this construction because it was outside the area previously used by the community. "We saw this as a deliberate attempt to expand the area they are using," he said. "They refused to stop." In a show of defiance, activists began rebuilding the site. Cohen, for his part, says he is ready to demolish it again.

The Negev plan includes changes in the law to make demolitions easier and, at the prompting of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the establishment of 30 new family farms for Jews only.

Taleb Sanaa, a Bedouin member of the Knesset, calls it "a declaration of war against the Bedouin citizens." But Cohen sees the plan as a means to stop the "incursions" of Bedouin onto lands claimed by the state. He says that due to a high natural birth rate, expansion by Bedouin is taking place at an "astonishing rate."

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