Hassan al-Nasasra, the fourth candidate on the Balad party's Knesset slate, stressed the "importance of the Negev region for Arab society."
Speaking as part of a Knesset election campaign, al-Nasasra said, "The Negev is not a reservoir of votes, but rather the first line of defense and the first confrontation in the homeland."
According to him, "The challenge facing Arab society today is the question of the future of the land, since the Negev comprises 60% of the territory of 'historic Palestine.'"
"We are 22% [of the Negev's residents] and hold only 3% - and despite that, there is persecution, siege, expulsion, demolitions, surveillance, and incitement - and all of this over 3%," al-Nasasra said, accusing the authorities of seeking to concentrate as many Arabs as possible on the smallest possible area of land.
Previously, al-Nasasra eulogized terrorist Maher Younes, who served four decades in prison for his role in the kidnapping and murder of IDF soldier Avraham Bromberg.
Government figures presented last month showed that authorities cleared 11,913 dunams in the first half of 2026, including 9,085 dunams reclaimed from unauthorized cultivation.
In 2018, Regavim revealed that most of the houses of Bir Hadaj were built illegally, on Jewish-owned land that was seized by force. "The lawful owners of the land, represented by Regavim's legal department, petitioned the District Court as well as the Supreme Court, but their land has not been returned to them," Regavim said.
In addition, a Regavim analysis found 10,111 new illegal structures in the Bedouin sector between March 2021 and April 2023, averaging roughly 13 new illegal structures every day. The group's data also shows that in 2024-2025 another 8,359 illegal structures were constructed, against 2,007 demolitions, for a net increase of 6,352 new illegal structures throughout the period.