TheAzazima/Azazimeh orAzazme/ 'Azazmeh/al-Azazmeh (Arabic:العزازمة) are aBedouin tribe whose grazing territory used to be the desert around the wells atEl Auja andBir Ain on the border betweenIsrael andEgypt.
During the 19th century the 'Azazme fought as allies with theTarabin in their war against theTiyaha. Subsequently they were in a land dispute with the Tarabin,the War of Zari, which lasted for several years until the founding of modernBeersheba and the extension ofOttoman authority.[1] In April 1875Lieut. Claude R. Conder, who was surveyingGaza District for thePalestine Exploration Fund, reported a "fierce contest" going on around Beersheba between the 'Azazme and the Tiyaha.[2]
An early twentieth century explorer reported that one of the favorite grazing grounds belonging to the 'Azazme was a strip of hilly country eight miles in width between Wady Jeraafy and Wady Ubaira, 115 km south ofBeersheba. He describes the land as "well grown with bush and grass."[3][4][5]
In the early 20th century the 'Azazme established a village at al-Khalasa, which was the site of an ancientNabatean settlement on the route between Gaza andPetra.[6]
In 1930 they were reported to number 10,000, divided into ten sub-sections. Hillelson, writing for thePalestine Exploration Quarterly (PEQ) in 1937, states that "they are of dark complexion, and conspicuous for honesty and patient bearing in adversity, and they will do their utmost for the guest ... Their women herd the flocks. Men respect women because they have good Arab manners. Scarcity of grazing compels them to a wandering life more than other tribes. The area over which they wander is spacious, but affords little opportunity for cultivation: yet they grow a little wheat andbarley, and a few of them cultivatemillet and water melons."[1]
In 1948, the 'Azazme numbered around 3,500.[7] During 1950 the entire tribe was driven from the area around El Auja. In a series of raids theIDF burnt tents and shot at anyone approaching the wells. TheIAF was used tostrafe encampments.[8] On 28 September 1953, the IDF established the kibbutzKtzi'ot on land claimed by the 'Azazme.A UN investigation into the murder of eleven Israelis atScorpion Pass, 17 March 1954, found that the killings were committed by men from the 'Azazme who had joined a group known as theBlack Hand gang, based atQussaima. Despite the evidence that the attackers came from across the Egyptian border, the IDF launched a reprisal raid againstNahalin in theWest Bank.[9][10]
Prior to 1948, one section of the 'Azazme lived in Wadi Al-Akhdar, 'the green valley', betweenBir Saba' andFaluja. In the early 1950s, the Israeli army moved them to the hills south ofHebron. In 1969 they crossed the border intoWadi Araba, but the Jordanian authorities refused to let them proceed any further fearing a general exodus of Bedouins from theNegev. They were also refused refugee status. Many of them were expelled byAriel Sharon from the area ofAbu-Ageila in a secret operation conducted in late January 1972.[11]
There are at least nine Israeli settlements on land claimed by the 'Azazme, including the military camp and prison atKtzi'ot and the town and nuclear plant atDimona.[12]
'Azazme population centres in Israel include:Wadi al-Na'am, anunrecognised village with a population of 5,000[when?];Shaqib al-Salam established in 1979 as part of a government program of establishing permanent Bedouin settlements, population 6,500[when?];Bir Hadaj, recognised in 2004, population 5,000[when?].[citation needed]
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