Drijat (; ), also known as Draijat, is an

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

village in southern

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Located in the

Negev The Negev ( ; ) or Naqab (), is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southern end is the Gulf of Aqaba and the resort town, resort city ...

desert near Arad, between

Kuseife Kuseife () or Kseifa () is a Bedouin town ( local council) in the Southern District of Israel. Kuseife was founded in 1982 as part of a government project to settle Bedouins in permanent settlements. In 1996 it was declared a local council, and ...

and the

Yatir Forest Yatir Forest () is a forest in Israel on the edge of the Negev Desert. The forest covers an area of 30,000 dunams (), and is the largest planted forest in Israel. History The first trees were planted in 1964 by the Jewish National Fund at the i ...

, it falls under the jurisdiction of

al-Kasom Regional Council al-Kasom Regional Council (, ''Mo'atza Azorit El Kassum'', , ''al-Majlis al-Iqlīmī al-Qayṣūm'') is one of two Negev Bedouin regional council (Israel), regional councils formed as a result of the split of the Abu Basma Regional Council on Novem ...

. In its population was . Drijat Aerial View

History

According to its residents, Drijat was established in the 19th century.Bedouin village gets water hook-up, 5 years after recognition
Haaretz, 14 September 2009 However, like dozens of other Arab locales in the Negev Desert, was an unrecognized village until 2004, when it joined the

Abu Basma Regional Council Abu Basma Regional Council (, ''Moatza Ezorit Abu Basma'', , ''Majlis Iqlimi Abu Basma'') was a regional council operating in 2003-2012 and covering several Bedouin villages in the northwestern Negev desert of Israel. Following the Minister of ...

. It is the only Arab village in the Negev that is not Bedouin; its residents are descended from a long line of

fellahin A fellah ( ; feminine ; plural ''fellaheen'' or ''fellahin'', , ) is a local peasant, usually a farmer or agricultural laborer in the Middle East and North Africa. The word derives from the Arabic word for "ploughman" or "tiller". Due to a con ...

. The ruins of a historical site named Dargot is located in Drijat, which is on the

Israel National Trail The Israel National Trail (, ''Shvil Yisra'el'') is a hiking trail that crosses the entire length of Israel, with its northern end at Kibbutz Dan in the far north of the country, extending to Eilat at the southernmost tip of Israel on the Red Sea ...

. In 2009 the village was connected to

national water carrier National Water Carrier of Israel The National Water Carrier of Israel (, ''HaMovil HaArtzi'') is the largest water project in Israel, completed in 1964. Its main purpose is to transfer water from the Sea of Galilee in the north of the country ...

, but remains unconnected to the electricity grid. In 2005, it became the first town in the world to be outfitted with a multipurpose solar electricity system for providing power to the entire village and reducing pollution. The only solar-powered mosque in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

is also located in the village.

References

{{Authority control Al-Kasom Regional Council Arab villages in Israel Populated places in Southern District (Israel)

History

See also

References