Israel has slammed UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay for criticizing Israel’s plan to resettle some unrecognized Bedouin communities in the Negev while recognizing others. The plan would officially recognize and register the vast majority of Bedouin settlements and compensate the residents of 35 unrecognized villages who are to be moved off state-owned land.
The Israel Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “It is strange that [Pillay’s] communique demands that Bedouins be entitled to the same rights to property, housing and public services, when this is exactly the declared purpose of the bill….Moreover, the text presents as known facts affirmations which have been examined and invalidated by the Supreme Court.”
{Matzav.com Israel News Bureau}
