A July 21 statement by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) about foiling a terror attack planned by a resident of the Negev Desert town of Rahat is angering leaders and activists of Israel's Bedouin society. According to the statement, Rahat resident Adel Abu Hadayeb has been indicted in Beersheba District Court for planning to bomb an Israeli hotel he knew from his work as a gardener nearby. 

Along with details of the findings against him and the explosives and weapons in his possession — including his attempt to put together a rocket — the statement hinted at the involvement of Bedouins in terrorism: “The Shin Bet views with severity the involvement of Israeli civilians in terrorist activity, some of whom are influenced by Hamas propaganda disseminated on social networks and through Palestinian media." No further details were offered.

While the statement did not identify the suspected “Israeli civilians” involved in terrorism, Bedouin leaders and activists regard the statement as reflecting an ongoing attempt to smear and sideline the community, which has been an integral part of Israeli society since the state was established in 1948 and whose members have consistently served in army combat units and the police.

Sami Amarna, a resident of the Bedouin town of Segev Shalom south of Beersheba, tells Al-Monitor that the Shin Bet statement “is real incitement.” Amarna notes that even though no one knows Abu Hadayeb’s background and motives, “They are casting a negative light on an entire community.” Amarna added that all the Bedouins he knows in the south were surprised at the alleged plot and condemned it. However, he adds, “Just as we don’t say that all Jews are Eden Natan-Zadeh (an Israeli Jew who shot up a bus in the town of Shfar’am in 2005, killing four Arabs) or Baruch Goldstein (who massacred 29 Muslim worshipers in Hebron in 1994), how have we all suddenly become suspects and hostile elements?”