Western Negev Blues

PART 1: The Situation in the Western Negev By Steve Kramer [ISRAEL] The Western Negev is part of Israel's largest desert, covering about 60% of the country's area. It has light, partially sandy soil with sand dunes of up to 100 feet, although the topography is mostly flat and the rainfall extremely scarce - about 10 inches per year. But these geographical facts are not what defines the Western Negev today. What dominates discussions about this area is the lack of attention that it receives from Israel's government. When the Jewish settlers in Gaza were expelled in August 2005, the region had already been under fire from Palestinian terrorists for four years. Then-Prime Minister Sharon's rationale for abandoning the homes and businesses of 8,000 Jews in Gaza was ostensibly to end the war of attrition against Israelis who... [read full story]