In its weekly cabinet session Sunday, the Israeli government established the "Committee for Regulation of Bedouin Settlement in the Negev." The committee was initiated by Construction and Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim (Kadima) to find solutions for the growing problem of illegal construction by Bedouin Arabs in southern Israel.
Ministers from Shas opposed the creation of the committee in its present form, and warned that its creation was tantamount to granting the Bedouins autonomy.
According to Boim, Bedouin illegal construction is so vast, that the government must afford it "special treatment," in finding ways to legitimize it. He explained that "according to existent legal tools, the state in effect has to raze tens of thousands of illegal structures." Boim's Housing Ministry added that the committee was "a confidence building measure" vis-à-vis the Bedouins.
Retired Supreme Court Judge and State Comptroller Eliezer Goldberg will head the committee. Two of the eight committee members deciding on illegal Bedouin construction will be Bedouins. Only three members will represent the government: one from the Prime Minister's Office, a Housing Ministry representative, and one Finance Ministry official.
The two additional members will "represent the public" and will be chosen by the Housing Ministry. 
"The government has created a committee on the Bedouin matter with no governmental supervision." 
The committee will conduct research and make recommendations within six months which may include suggestions for legislation. According to Omedia, the committee may determine "rates of compensation, methods of supplying alternative land, means of civil enforcement, and a timetable for carrying out the solutions."
'Privatization of the state'
Shas party ministers, the Sephardic hareidi-religious party, sharply criticized the fact that the government will have only 3 out of 8 committee seats. Shas Minister Yitzchak Cohen said: "This is the first time in history that a committee is created on such a vital matter, and the government lacks a majority in it." Shas leader Eli Yishai said, "The government has, in effect, created a committee on the Bedouin matter with no governmental supervision."
Cohen said the decision reflected a "privatization of the state." He said it was "simply unbelievable" and that the government "has to have a majority" in a committee making this kind of decision. According to Omedia, Cohen was livid about Bedouin illegal construction and highlighted the related problem of illegal Arab aliens coming into the Negev from Judea and Gaza. "There are thousands of illegal aliens from Gaza and Hevron in the Negev," he said.