Drijat also known as Draijat, is an Arab

Arab citizens of Israel

Arab citizens of Israel refers to citizens of Israel who are not Jewish, and whose cultural and linguistic heritage or ethnic identity is Arab....

 village located near the Israeli city of Arad, between Kuseife

Kuseife

Kuseife is a Bedouin town in the Southern District of Israel.According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , the population of Kuseife was 10,300 in December 2006...

 and the Yatir Forest

Yatir Forest

Yatir Forest is a forest in Israel, located on the southern slopes of Mount Hebron, 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:...

, in the northern Negev

Negev

The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The Arabs, including the native Bedouin population of the region, refer to the desert as al-Naqab. The origin of the word Neghebh is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...

. In 2007 its population was 575.

History

According to its residents, Drijat was established in the 19th century. 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

Abu Basma Regional Council is a regional council covering several Bedouin villages in the northwestern Negev desert of Israel.The council was formed as a result of Government Resolution 881 of 29 September 2003, known as the "Abu Basma Plan", which stated the need to establish seven new Bedouin...

. It is the only Arab village in the Negev that is not Bedouin; its residents are descended from a long line of fellahin. The ruins of a historical site named Dargot is located in Drijat, which is on the Israel National Trail

Israel National Trail

The Israel National Trail, is a hiking path that crosses the entire country of Israel. Its northern end is at Dan, near the Lebanese border in the far north of the country, and it extends to Eilat at the southernmost tip of Israel on the Red Sea, a length of approximately 940 km...

.

In 2009 the village was connected to national water carrier

National Water Carrier of Israel

The National Water Carrier of Israel is the largest water project in Israel. Its main task is to transfer water from the Sea of Galilee in the north of the country to the highly populated center and arid south and to enable efficient use of water and regulation of the water supply in 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

Solar power

Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available...

 for providing power to the entire village and reducing pollution. The only solar-powered mosque in the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

is also located in the village.