Islamization has been growing in the Bedouin sector in Israel, as can bee seen in the increasing number of Al-Aqsa mosque symbols on the walls of Bedouin homes in recent months.
Most of the homes bearing the symbol are new constructions in Bedouin towns and villages. Bedouin are also building more mosques in their communities.
As well as increasingly embracing Islam, the Bedouin are increasingly adopting a Palestinian identity.
Faiz Abu Sahiban, former mayor of the Bedouin town Rahat and a member of the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement, told Israel Hayom that religion is becoming a stronger presence in the sector.
"In Rahat, they build a mosque every few years, and the women go to the mosque and are given religious education too," Abu Sahiban said. "In the mosques, we talk about social problems like violence, as well as Al-Aqsa, because we can't give up [on it]."
During prayers, the Bedouin raise money for the "fight for Al-Aqsa."
Abu Sahiban said this activity has increased since U.S. President Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Dec. 6.
"The declaration made Islam stronger among Bedouin, both nationalistically and for people who aren't religious," he said. He said the Bedouin "have started raising money to pray at Al-Aqsa, and every day we send three or four buses from Rahat to the mosque."
The Bedouin identity is also being influenced by the women from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip who are brought to Israel to marry Bedouin men, bringing their Palestinian narrative with them.
Adi Carmi, a former official in the Shin Bet security agency, said the rise in nationalism among the Bedouin is the result of two main factors: family reunification and Bedouin who study in the Palestinian territories.
"The problem is with the second generation, when the children of a mother from the West Bank visit villages there and are exposed to incitement. They have relatives who are Hamas members and one thing leads to another. … Studies in the territories also have a negative influence," Carmi said.
While Bedouin are infrequently involved in terrorism, some fear that this could change.
Last December, two 19-year-old Israeli Bedouin women from the village of Lakiya were arrested on suspicion of contact with terrorist operatives identified with Islamic State. Carmi said the children of family reunification marriages "are absolutely more capable of making their way to terrorism."
Meanwhile, the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement is also bolstering its position in the Negev, partly by organizing social activities.
"Wherever there is economic hardship, it's natural that charity organizations step in," Carmi said. "That's how Hamas began, as a Muslim Brotherhood movement that was focused on social action, as well as an Islamist group."
Amichai Yogev, the southern district coordinator for Regavim, an national land defense organization that documents illegal activity among the Bedouin, also discussed growing Islamization in the sector.
"The Al-Aqsa signs [on homes] are a warning light of a nationalist awakening among Bedouin citizens of Israel," he said.
But he added that "we should remember that it is mainly the result of government treatment" of the Bedouin.
"On one hand, the government hasn't done anything to combat the 'import' of women from the Palestinian Authority, and on the other it never prevented the activity of [Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement leader] Raed Salah, which gave them a stronger foothold among the Bedouin public," he said.
Qaid Abu Alkian, deputy head of the Hura Local Council, said the Al-Aqsa signs are "holy symbols and important to Islam. When people put them up, it's not because they're becoming more religious, but because of the importance [of Al-Aqsa]."
