Yousef Zijadna, a Bedouin driver from southern Israel, gained nationwide fame after the events of October 7, 2023. During a brutal Hamas attack on a music festival, he showed extraordinary courage, saving 30 participants from death or kidnapping. For his actions, he received the highest civilian award from President Yitzhak Hertsog, and in 2024 he lit a ceremonial torch during the celebration of Israel's Independence Day.
However, despite these achievements, the fate of his family took a dramatic turn. In recent days, Israeli authorities began demolishing houses belonging to members of the Ziyadna family in the Bedouin village of Al-Ziyadna, located near the city of Rahat. Demolition orders cover several dozen buildings.
After everything we did on October 7, running around and risking our lives trying to help, it turns out none of it matters. Ultimately, you are an Arab anyway, he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA).
Unequal fight for the right to land
The village of Al-Zijadna is inhabited by approximately 5,000 Bedouins. Like many settlements in the Negev Desert, it is not officially recognized by the Israeli state. It is estimated that about 90,000 Bedouins live in this area and have been fighting for the legalization of their homes for decades. The lack of official status means no access to basic services - running water, electricity, sewage or paved roads.
Israeli authorities consider the buildings illegal and regularly issue demolition orders. Administrative procedures are complicated, and disputes over land ownership date back to before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Many of these settlements already existed at that time, but never received official recognition.
The demolitions affect not only Yousef Zijadna, but also his loved ones. Among the victims of the Hamas attack was the driver's cousin, also named Yousef, who was kidnapped to the Gaza Strip along with his three children. After 55 days, two of them regained freedom, but the man himself and his son Hamza died in captivity. Shortly after these tragic events, the houses of the siblings of the killed hostage were demolished by Israeli services.
Heavy-handed policy
Repeated demolitions contributed to record turnout in the October 27, 2026 parliamentary elections. In the city of Rahat, the largest Bedouin center in Israel, as many as 85 percent of eligible voters went to the polls, while in 2022 it was 60 percent. The high mobilization of Arab voters was a clear signal of opposition to the government's policy.
The demolitions of houses in Ziyadna are part of a widespread campaign in the Negev that has intensified under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. One of the main proponents of this policy is the outgoing Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gwir, leader of the nationalist Jewish Power party. In response to information that families without homes were spending the night in schools, Ben Gwir said that "they should prepare many more schools throughout the Negev, because I am going to demolish more and more."
According to official data, between 2023 and 2025, over 14,000 buildings considered illegal were demolished in the Negev. This is as much as 81 percent more than in the previous three years. The scale of the activities raises huge controversy and deepens the feeling of exclusion among the Bedouin community.
Arabs make up about 21 percent of Israel's population and formally have the same rights as the Jewish majority. However, in practice, they have been dealing with inequalities in access to health care, infrastructure and public services for years. Arab towns are less protected by the police, and their inhabitants often feel like second-class citizens.
These divisions are also visible in politics. In the last parliamentary elections, neither of the two main blocs won a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Arab parties won a record 19 seats, but none of the large parties decided to form a coalition with them.
