Israel Land agency boasts of driving Bedouin from Negev homes

Jerusalem demonstration against Israel’s oppression of Bedouin-Palestinians. Photo: IKHWANWeb

26 Bedouin-owned structures demolished in one day

By Alternative Information Center (AIC)
Septmber 05, 2012

Israel demolished 26 Bedouin-owned structures in the Negev and negated Bedouin “invasions” of state land on Tuesday, an “unprecedented number” covering a geographical radius of hundreds of kilometers in one day, according to the Israel Land Administration (ILA). Israel is planning numerous such attacks against its Bedouin-Palestinian citizens of the Negev in the coming period.

The ILA reports that “after stopping enforcement during Ramadan,” it recommenced implementation of its policy to push Bedouins off their land via massive home demolitions and continued refusal to recognize the vast majority of Bedouin villages in the Negev. “A rolling enforcement operation” ensued which covered hundreds of miles of territory.

The ILA statement is false, however, as the village of El Araqib was demolished for the 41st time on 16 August, just days before the Eid el Fitr holiday and end of Ramadan.

The ILA proudly reports that it succeeded in convincing 7 of the “holders” of these structures to carry out the demolitions by themselves in order to avoid “financial demands for the expense of removing and taking the property on the land, steps recently taken by the state prosecutor in the framework of increasing the deterrence vis-à-vis illegal construction in the Negev. “

A joint “enforcement team” of the ILA and Ministry of Interior, joined of course by massive police presence, is planning a continuation of this “fight” against Bedouin citizens of Israel in the coming period.