JERUSALEM, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Israel will resettle half of the Bedouin population living in the south of the country on a 9 billion-new-shekel plan (about 2.48 billion U.S. dollars), said a report by financial newspaper Calcalist on Tuesday.
Some 250,000 Bedouins live in the Negev Desert in southern Israel, and only about half of them live in recognized legal permanent settlements.
The rest illegally live on state lands, such as in unregulated settlements, illegal structures and even tent encampments.
According to the plan, the Authority for Development and Settlement of the Bedouin in the Negev, affiliated with the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture, is expected to approve plans to build some 150,000 housing units.
About 40,000 housing units will be allocated by 2021, and the remaining 110,000 units will be allocated in accordance with demand. Unregulated structures will be rebuilt.
As part of the plan, the authority will also be responsible for the development and infrastructure work, while the construction of the houses will be carried out by the residents.
According to the plan, Bedouin residents who will be relocated from their current unrecognized residence will receive a compensation of 250,000 new shekels.
Residents who will stay in their rebuilt homes will be compensated by half the amount.
