/bingo
The sudden abandonment (in the article, “abandoned overnight”) was obviously from the Islamic scourge after these farms had been thriving a while.
The redemption of the Negev in the 20th century came about through lots of hard work and careful, regular hand watering by the residents of the kibbutzim. Nasser wanted to annex the Negev to Egypt, but the Pan-Arab attempt to annihilate the Jews didn’t work out for the bastards.
Also the diverting of water from the Jordan River, which eventually led to the six-day war. The Negev that I’ve seen is rich pasture land.