The Negev Bedouin (Arabic: بدْو النقب, Badwu an-Naqab; Hebrew: הבדואים בנגב, HaBedu'im BaNegev) are traditionally pastoral nomadic Arab tribes (Bedouin), who until the later part of the 19th century would wander between Hijaz in the east and the Sinai Peninsula in the west. Today most live in the Negev region of Israel, while a minority who were expelled during the 1948 war live in Palestine. The Bedouin tribes adhere to Islam and most are Israeli citizens. Some Bedouins voluntarily serve in the Israel Defense Forces.
From 1858 during Ottoman rule, the Negev Bedouin underwent a process of sedentarization which accelerated after the founding of Israel. In the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, most resettled in neighboring countries. With time, some started returning to Israel and about 11,000 were recognized by Israel as its citizens by 1954. Between 1968 and 1989, Israel built seven townships in the northeast Negev for this population, including Rahat, Hura, Tel as-Sabi, Ar'arat an-Naqab, Lakiya, Kuseife and Shaqib al-Salam.