Israeli government halts controversial plan to resettle 30,000 Bedouin
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has decided to drop the current draft of a controversial bill to resettle nearly 30,000 Bedouin living in the Negev into already recognized villages, the former minister overseeing the plan said on Thursday.
He also accused critics of the plan of exploiting the proposal for their own benefit. "Right, left, Arabs and Jews joined hands – while exploiting the plight of many Bedouin – to heat things up for political gain," he said. "We've done our best, but sometimes you need to recognize reality."
During the drafting of the legislation, Begin said, more than 1,000 Bedouin were heard and changes were introduced in the bill accordingly. "I myself met with 600 of them… We didn't just hear them out, we listened to them attentively," he said, adding that some viewed his willingness to engage with the Bedouin community as excessive.
The possibility of the bill being shelved emerged three days ago, after Begin denied claims that community leaders had accepted the proposal – a key defense used by the government in advancing the plan.
Begin said that contrary to reports, he had never approached the Bedouin with the plan and thus did not receive their approval on the matter.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/1.563200
= new reply since forum marked as read
for the meantime ....they wont give up about the Bedouin tho .
next controversy about to hit centre stage is this :
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4464560,00.html
memories of my first run in with shira 
