The Israeli government has turned a blind eye to the Bedouin violence in the Negev for decades, failing to protect the land and the citizens from those who know how to use photographs and violence to their advantage.
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They enabled the creation of a complex web in the north and the south, especially in the Arab sector, that of agricultural crime, fees to criminals, land takeover, and rampant misbehavior.
And what did the police do? As it says in the joke circulating the internet, "In the chase after Bedouin criminals in the south, the police seems to have succeeded in fleeing."
The few times the police did succeed in achieving something – and posted about it online – are unimpressive to those familiar with the reality of the situation.
The government chose not to confront the invaders, even when courts dismissed the Bedouin claims of ownership of the land. It reconciled with widespread drug crimes and rampage by armed hooligans on highways. Not only that, it gave them further legitimacy by passing the electricity bill.
The presence of the Islamic Movement in the coalition greatly exacerbates the situation. Despite Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas' moderate statements, the Bedouins' violent domination is gaining political immunity, the same way ultra-Orthodox lawmakers behaved in ways that contradicted state interests in previous governments.
A moderate option is no longer on the table, as it is doubtful Abbas will be able to stand up to the rioters, criminals, and young people who no longer look up to the traditional leadership. They will be supported by radicals of the Islamic movement and members of Arab political parties, who seek to defeat Abbas, who threatens their electoral base.
As such, the government has two options: surrender or bring about a revolution in the Negev that would overcome the rioters and the criminals, eradicating the phenomenon. Without this, the Negev has no future.
The alternative is all too familiar: we will hear of a "temporary" pause to planting in the main disputed lands, the whitewashing of a majority of the illegal takeover without consequences – backed by procrastinating legislation – and the creeping takeover of land and public spaces.
We have learned from prisons that whoever is accustomed to getting his way through violence, will continue to do so.
In the south, the litmus test is simple: If the Negev suddenly falls silent, with no decisive and continuous enforcement, we will know that the Israeli government has surrendered.
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