demolished in the Negev. This policy finds expression in the repeated demolition of the unrecognized Bedouin village of Al Arakib that was demolished seven times. Each year the State of Israel demolished about 250 houses in the Negev. The arithmetic is simple, each household comprises of an average of six people, which means that 4,500 people will find themselves this year with no roof over their heads D. Infringement of the Right to Dignity and the Right to Culture The disgraceful living conditions in the unrecognized villages – villages without running water, electricity, paved roads, garbage collection, or sanitary sewage infrastructure – are the direct result of the systematic policies that prevent the Bedouin population from access to the basic services that are necessary for a dignified life in a developed country in the 21st century. Over the years, the state has made use of these policies to coerce the Bedouin population to uproot themselves (unwillingly) and relocate from their rural villages to urban townships that the state planned for them. However, these townships do not match the needs of the villagers and are not in keeping with their culture or way of life. These policies – of concentrating and urbanizing the Bedouin population, of denying their villages recognition, and of disinheriting the population of their rights to their historic lands – represent a gross violation of the right to dignity and the right to preservation of culture. Such policies cut inter-familial ties and sever the connection of the population to their land, land which serves as their cultural backbone. They remove the population from the communal, agricultural village life to which they are accustomed, where agriculture and the raising of livestock are central to their culture and lifestyle. Recommendations We urge the forum on minority issues to recommend the Human Rights Council that: It is time to propose new policies that recognize the rights of the Bedouin residents of the Negev, and to bolster those rights by repealing existing damaging and/or discriminatory legislation. There is a need for new enlightened legislation, consonant with International Law that recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples and is based on the principle of justice.