By Pesach Benson • April 28, 2026
Jerusalem, 28 April, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s State Comptroller released a sweeping report on Tuesday warning of a deepening governance crisis in the Negev, citing enforcement failures, economic distortions and growing security risks that raise questions about the state’s ability to maintain law and order and deliver basic services in peripheral regions.
“The findings indicate weak governance across multiple areas of life in the Negev,” said State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman, warning that “the governance problem persists and has even worsened.” The State Comptroller reviews government preparedness and policy effectiveness.
The report — which followed up on a 2021 report also authored by Englman — described authorities struggling to coordinate across policing, welfare, taxation and infrastructure agencies coupled with limited data sharing between various authorities.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rejected the report, calling it “biased and detached” and accusing the State Comptroller of presenting “distorted data” while ignoring information provided by his ministry.
Ben-Gvir’s office pointed to what it described as major improvements in enforcement and policing in the Negev, including a 13% increase in police personnel in the Southern District since 2022 and a sharp rise in indictments related to protection rackets, from 36 cases in 2022 to 150 today. It also cited a 73% increase in demolitions of illegal structures and a nearly threefold rise in the number of civilian emergency response units.
“In the face of attempts to distort reality through partial reports, the facts speak for themselves,” the statement said, adding that efforts to restore “security and governance to the Negev” are ongoing.
The Comptroller said the governance failures eroded social order and public trust. In the Negev, Israel’s largest administrative district with about 1.45 million residents, challenges are intensified by rapid demographic change. The Bedouin population has grown sixfold since the mid-1990s to about 325,000—around one-fifth of the region’s population—with nearly half (48.6%) under 18.
An estimated 70,000 to 90,000 Bedouins currently live in unrecognized communities outside formal municipal jurisdiction, Englman noted.
Polygamy and Crime
Polygamy, illegal under Israeli law but widespread in parts of the Bedouin community, was a central focus. According to the audit, the phenomenon has grown to 16,256 women and 7,159 men in polygamous households — a 16% rise since the 2021 report. Only three indictments were filed out of 113 cases between 2022 and 2024.
Beyond its social impact, polygamy carries financial implications. Welfare structures may unintentionally incentivize it, as benefits can rise significantly when multiple spouses and children are registered separately. In one case, 299 instances were found where survivor benefits were paid to more than one widow for the same deceased individual. As a result, the National Insurance Institute pays inflated disability benefits to polygamous families, but cannot quantify the total cost.
The audit also highlighted broader criminal activity affecting the regional economy, including protection rackets targeting construction sites and illegal fuel operations. A survey found 87% of contractors were asked to pay protection money, with some reporting additional costs of up to NIS 1 million ($340,000) per project. Authorities also identified nearly NIS 25 million ($8.3 million) in lost fuel tax revenue tied to 90 cases of illegal fuel activity between 2020 and 2024.
“The deficiency has not been corrected,” the report stated, noting limited progress since the earlier audit.
Illegal Dumping and Security Issues
Environmental and infrastructure issues are also widespread. Illegal dumping, burning of waste and electricity theft persist across large areas, with the report warning enforcement remains insufficient. .
Damage to infrastructure remains frequent, with an average of 103 water system incidents and 29 electricity-related incidents annually. In one set of cases, water infrastructure damage reached about NIS 3.1 million ($800,000). Despite more than NIS 96 million ($25 million) allocated for environmental programs, illegal dumping and burning continue. Mekorot, the national water company, suffers an average of 103 infrastructure attacks annually — unchanged since 2021. Meanwhile,
Israel Electric Corporation infrastructure incidents have quadrupled, rising from an average of 7.8 to 29 incidents per year.
Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) assessments cited in the report warned that broader Bedouin social trends may pose longer-term risks. The audit noted an increasing “Palestinianization” among segments of the Bedouin population, linked to cross-border marriages and limited oversight. Englman said about 22% of Negev Bedouins have ties to families in the Palestinian Authority, with about 2,400 women from the P.A. involved in polygamous marriages.
In addition, military firing zones continue to be encroached upon, with cannabis cultivation and illegal land seizure ongoing. And the Nevatim Air Force Base east of Beer-Sheva faces a new threat of drone intrusions. In 2025, a Bedouin man resident was indicted for collecting intelligence on aircraft at the base for Iranian agents.
The report also highlights monitoring gaps, including at least three land crossings to Judea and Samaria where Israeli citizens are not tracked. Police staffing in the Negev is critically low with a shortage of 120 officers across the region.
The audit found that the ministerial committee established to address Negev governance has never convened in the two years since its founding, the Population Authority lacks the investigative tools to verify residency applications, allowing forged documentation to persist, and the Central Bureau of Statistics achieved a 4% Bedouin response rate in its 2022 census. Moreover, no unified government database exists and no coordinating government authority oversees the full range of Negev governance issues.
Englman called for establishment of a centralized coordinating authority with the power to integrate data, oversee enforcement and implement a long-term national strategy. He also called on the Prime Minister’s Office to take direct responsibility for the issue, describing the lack of governance in the Negev as “a strategic matter with far-reaching implications for the State of Israel.”