- 28 juli 2010
Ethnic cleansing in the Israeli Negev
(1:23) Ethnic Cleansing of a Bedouin village in the Negev Desert by Israel
The razing of a Bedouin village by Israeli police shows how far the state will go to achieve its aim of Judaising the Negev region
Israeli police raid a Bedouin village in the Negev desert.
A menacing convoy of bulldozers was heading back to Be'er Sheva as I drove towards al-Arakib, a Bedouin village located not more than 10 minutes from the city. Once I entered the dirt road leading to the village I saw scores of vans with heavily armed policemen getting ready to leave. Their mission, it seems, had been accomplished.
The signs of destruction were immediately evident. I first noticed the chickens and geese running loose near a bulldozed house, and then saw another house and then another one, all of them in rubble. A few children were trying to find a shaded spot to hide from the scorching desert sun, while behind them a stream of black smoke rose from the burning hay. The sheep, goats and the cattle were nowhere to be seen perhaps because the police had confiscated them.
Scores of Bedouin men were standing on a yellow hill, sharing their experiences from the early morning hours, while all around them uprooted olive trees lay on the ground. A whole village comprising between 40 and 45 houses had been completely razed in less than three hours.
I suddenly experienced deja vu: an image of myself walking in the rubbles of a destroyed village somewhere on the outskirts of the Lebanese city of Sidon emerged. It was over 25 years ago, during my service in the Israeli paratroopers. But in Lebanon the residents had all fled long before my platoon came, and we simply walked in the debris. There was something surreal about the experience, which prevented me from fully understanding its significance for several years. At the time, it felt like I was walking on the moon.
This time the impact of the destruction sank in immediately. Perhaps because the 300 people who resided in al-Arakib, including their children, were sitting in the rubble when I arrived, and their anguish was evident; or perhaps because the village is located only 10 minutes from my home in Be'er Sheva and I drive past it every time I go to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem; or perhaps because the Bedouins are Israeli citizens, and I suddenly understood how far the state is ready to go to accomplish its objective of Judaising the Negev region; what I witnessed was, after all, an act of ethnic cleansing.
They say the next intifada will be the Bedouin intifada. There are 155,000 Bedouins in the Negev, and more than half of them live in unrecognised villages without electricity or running water. I do not know what they might do, but by making 300 people homeless, 200 of them children, Israel is surely sowing dragon's teeth for the future.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jul/28/ethnic-cleansing-israeli-negev
Bedouin who serve in Israel's army
Many Bedouin Arabs serve in the Israeli army and security forces
The traditional view of the Arab-Israeli conflict is of Jews fighting Muslims. But that image does not always reflect the truth.
In fact, there are thousands of Muslim Bedouin who serve in the Israeli army, or IDF, and even bear arms against their fellow Muslims in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.
They do so although it is not compulsory for them to serve in the Israeli military, as it is for most Israeli Jews, and sometimes military service comes with a price tag.
"I will do whatever is required from me to do the job with the full faith in the service of the Israeli state," asserts Maj Fehd Fallah, a Bedouin from the village of Saad in the Israeli occupied Golan.
He is happy to perform his duty, whoever he may have to fight against.
Bedouin have fought and died alongside Jewish Israelis in the army
"Yes, I have fought against Muslims in Gaza," he says. That includes Israel's three-week Operation Cast Lead which began in December last year.
"And I would fight again if I had to," he added. "Israeli Muslims who don't serve in the IDF should be ashamed for not serving their country."
Israel's Bedouin are a Muslim, Arabic-speaking group. Although these formerly nomadic people were once considered part of the Palestinian nation, most of them are now proud to call themselves Israelis.
Co-operation between Jews and Bedouin began before the establishment of the Israeli state in 1948.
In 1946, tribal leader Abu Yusuf al-Heib sent more than 60 of his men to fight alongside Zionist forces against their Arab neighbours in Galilee.
More than 60 years on, Maj Fallah's devotion to the Jewish state was unequivocal. He even refused to be interviewed by me in Arabic, insisting: "I have better command of Hebrew."
Military service is a family tradition in many Bedouin villages, especially those located in the north of Israel.
During my conversation with Maj Fallah, two men were standing listening to us. They were his cousins and both wore the uniform of the IDF.
"It's a legacy - it's something that has been passed on from generation to generation in my family," Maj Fallah explains.
"My father and his father served in the army too."
Potential conflict
The Israeli army does not publish statistics about the exact number of non-Jewish enlisted soldiers, although it says hundreds of non-Jewish Israeli citizens - Muslims, Christians and Druze - join up every year.
Their numbers have grown rather than decreased since the controversial military assault on Gaza.
The Israeli military official responsible for minorities is Col Ahmed Ramiz.
He is Druze, another Arabic-speaking ethnic group with a presence in Israel and other parts of the Middle East.
He told me that the main obligation for any citizen of Israel "is to defend his country and to serve in the IDF".
How does this square with Israel's status as the world's only Jewish state? Why should Muslims apply - and why should Israel accept them? He explained the compromise in the following terms.
"We have decided that, due to the potential conflict between the Muslim person's national identities and their status as Israelis, we don't make it compulsory for Muslims to join the IDF," Col Ramiz said.
Muslims could work in every unit of the army, even elite units, although a Bedouin recruit recently applied to join the pilot's course and was declined.
"He didn't meet the specific requirements and various personality tests," the colonel told me, and denied it was anything to do with his ethnicity or religion.
But the pride shown by someone like Maj Fallah is not shared by all Bedouin soldiers who have signed up to the Israeli military.
Many young Bedouin join up to better their prospects in terms of education and work rather than national pride. Some are also sensitive to the fact that among other Muslim Arab communities military service is seen as a badge of shame.
Accused of treachery
Maher is a part-time physical education teacher in his 20s, who served in the military in the Education Unit.
"When I was in the army, they said it would be easy for me to get a job. I applied for a lot of things but it wasn't easy," Maher told me when I met him on the family farm near Nazareth.
"Muslim employers don't want me because I had been in the army and the Jews prefer to give jobs to other Jews," he explained.
"In my village it can be difficult but people are not hostile as in other places."
One of those places is the nearby town of Um al-Fahm, whose residents, like the Bedouin, are considered Israeli Arabs, but who continue to have close ties with the wider Palestinian community in the occupied territories and the post-1948 diaspora.
Such people make up the majority of Israel's 1.5 million non-Jewish Arab community, with the Bedouin accounting for less than 200,000 of that number.
Maher tells me he tries to avoid wearing his uniform in the non-Bedouin Arab villages to avoid being called a traitor and risking verbal and physical abuse.
Maher and other young serving Bedouin soldiers have described to me a feeling of being trapped.
On the one hand, they have to do military service, or non-military community service, to be eligible for government help towards education fees or for family allowances, on the other they run the risk of marginalisation from other non-Jews.
As Maher put it: "We are damned if we serve, and we are damned if we don't serve."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8303634.stm
Israel police raze 'illegal' Bedouin village in Negev
(2:34) Israel leaves 200 children in the desert with No food No water and No shelter
Police arrived at dawn and destroyed 30 to 40 makeshift homes
Around 300 Bedouins living in Israel's Negev desert have been made homeless after police raided their village and razed their homes.
Israeli activists said 1,500 police arrived in Al-Arakib village at dawn.
They destroyed 30 to 40 makeshift homes and uprooted hundreds of olive trees belonging to the villagers, they said.
Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said the homes had been "illegally built" and were destroyed in line with a court ruling issued 11 years ago.
"Several hundred people were taken back to the Rahat area where they originally came from," he told the AFP news agency, referring to a nearby Bedouin town in Israel's arid south.
More than 150,000 Bedouin live in Israel, mostly in and around the Negev desert.
Around half live in villages that are not recognised by the state, and have no access to municipal services like water and electricity.
Many live in extreme poverty.
Land battle
Continue reading the main story
Start Quote
Today we shall evacuate them and should they return we'll do it again
End Quote Shlomo Tziser Israel Land Administration
At dawn on Tuesday, women and children in Al-Arakib watched as Land Administration bulldozers demolished their houses, Israeli press reports said.
Minor scuffles erupted as the villagers and around 150 rights activists tried to stop the police from carrying out the demolitions, said Chaya Noach, head of the Negev Coexistence Forum, a group fighting to protect the rights of the Bedouin in the Negev.
"We were stunned to witness the violent force being used," Al-Arakib spokesman Awad Abu-Farikh told Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot following the razing.
"This operation is the first step in the uprooting of many villages. We shall return to our villages, build our homes and not leave this place."
The authorities say all the homes are illegal, built without permission.
The Bedouin say they have lived in the area since before the foundation of the state of Israel.
They resist efforts to re-settle them in towns and villages, saying it goes against their traditional way of life.
A Land Administration official, Shlomo Tziser, told Yediot Ahronot the officers were implementing a final court order for the evacuation of the area.
"Today we shall evacuate them and should they return we'll do it again," he said.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-10777040 23 nov 2010, 21:08 , Respect -
Maria 29 juli 2010
Israel controls 6.25% of Gaza
Farmers demonstrated against the seizures of usable land for the buffer zone within Gazan territory.
Wednesday, farmers in Gaza gathered in Beit Hanoun to protest the ever-expanding internal buffer zone Israel has established inside the Gaza Strip.
They were protesting the 'no-man's land' established by Israel as a substantial amount of farmable land is included in this second border.
According to one organizer of the protest, Sabir Za'anin, the forbidden land has reached an amount near 22,500 dunums. This is equal to about 6.25% of the Gaza Strip and some estimates say it contains up to 20% of the Strip's arable land.
Without access to land, how can we live?" asked one Gaza resident, and this complaint is shared by many in Gaza as the majority would like to support themselves, get off foreign assistance and get back to work.
http://www.imemc.org/article/59206 23 nov 2010, 21:08 , Respect -
Maria 30 juli 2010
Israel releases ice-cream equipment damaged and unusable
Gaza – Ma’an – A factory owner in Gaza was shocked to find that equipment he ordered from overseas, which was held in an Israeli port for several years, has been dismantled, with some parts missing and others broken.
Mohammad Al-Telbani, owner of Al-Auda ice-cream and biscuit factory, hoped to develop new lines of potato chips and biscuits with the equipment, which Israeli authorities have held in Ashdod for the last four years. The damaged equipment was worth more than €1.5 million.
Al-Telbani said, “after all of this suffering and all of these huge losses I received the machines dismantled, broken, and with missing parts from the Israelis who released them after being pressured by International and Israeli organizations.” He added that he will not be able to use the machines.
The businessman said his losses were compounded as he had paid more than 1500 shekels ($400) in storage fees while Israeli authorities
impounded his goods.
Israeli officials said they withheld the machinery as its pipes could have been used to manufacture home-made projectiles.
The ice-cream manufacturer noted that Israel’s claims to have eased the siege are misleading attempts to improve its public image, and urged international organizations to pressure the Israeli government to release all of his machinery, including the missing parts, so he can upgrade his factory.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=303832
Jerusalem report documents wave of demolitions
Jerusalem – Ma’an – The Jerusalem Center for Social and Economic Rights released a report on Thursday, documenting the demolition of several greenhouses, a car wash and a grocery in the town of Hizma during the two previous days.
On Tuesday and Wednesday of the same week, the report said, demolitions were carried out on homes and agricultural buildings, many of which were paying fines for or were in the process of appeals around charges of illegal construction in the area northeast of Jerusalem.
The center cataloged the demolitions as follows:
Flower shop and tile store owned by Abed Al-Aziz Shehada At-Tayeb, a father with eight children. The two adjacent structures, built on two dunums of land, were bulldozed.
Car wash owned by Muhammad Al-Khatib, who told the center that it was the second demolition on his property in a year. The first demolition, more than six months ago, was of a small vegetable stand. He estimated his losses at 100,000 shekels ($26,448 US) for both demolitions, and said he did not receive any demolition order for the latest incident. "The only order I was given, was one to keep the stones I sold away from the main road," he said.
Ghaleb Salah Ad-Din reported the demolition of a car wash building and an equipment shed. The father of five who also supported his parents with the earnings from the small business, said he was worried about the future of his family.
A greenhouse and roadside garden shop belonging to Jamal Salah Ad-Din was also demolished. Bulldozers took down two structures built on four dunums of land. The owner estimated his losses at 200,000 shekels ($52,896 US), and said he had no idea the demolition was about to happen, as he was still paying off a fine for illegal construction of 430 shekels per month. He said he had paid the fines regularly since last year after the issue was brought to court.
Greenhouse and construction materials shop belonging to the Mohammad Fayez Subeih family, with ten children. Subeih said he received a demolition order less than one year ago, but he could not afford court fees. The two structures were bulldozed and the materials and plants were confiscated.
Greenhouse and shed belonging to Afeef Ahmad Suleiman Askar built on five dunums of land. Askar said a demolition order was previously issued by the Israeli municipality, which had also fined him three times for the infraction.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=303692 23 nov 2010, 21:09 , Respect -
Maria 31 juli 2010
The “Summer Camp Of Destruction:” Israeli High Schoolers Assist The Razing Of A Bedouin Town
Moments before the destruction of the Bedouin village of al-Arakib, Israeli high school age police volunteers lounge on furniture taken from a family's home. [The following four photos are by Ata Abu Madyam of Arab Negev News.
AL-ARAKIB, ISRAEL — On July 26, Israeli police demolished 45 buildings in the unrecognized Bedouin village of al-Arakib, razing the entire village to the ground to make way for a Jewish National Fund forest. The destruction was part of a larger project to force the Bedouin community of the Negev away from their ancestral lands and into seven Indian reservation-style communities the Israeli government has constructed for them.
The land will then be open for Jewish settlers, including young couples in the army and those who may someday be evacuated from the West Bank after a peace treaty is signed. For now, the Israeli government intends to uproot as many villages as possible and erase them from the map by establishing “facts on the ground” in the form of JNF forests. (See video of of al-Arakib’s demolition here).
One of the most troubling aspects of the destruction of al-Arakib was a report by CNN that the hundreds of Israeli riot police who stormed the village were accompanied by “busloads of cheering civilians.” Who were these civilians and why didn’t CNN or any outlet investigate further?
I traveled to al-Arakib yesterday with a delegation from Ta’ayush, an Israeli group that promotes a joint Arab-Jewish struggle against the occupation. The activists spent the day preparing games and activities for the village’s traumatized children, helping the villagers replace their uprooted olive groves, and assisting in the reconstruction of their demolished homes.
In a massive makeshift tent where many of al-Arakib’s residents now sleep, I interviewed village leaders about the identity of the cheering civilians. Each one confirmed the presence of the civilians, describing how they celebrated the demolitions. As I compiled details, the story grew increasingly horrific. After interviewing more than a half dozen elders of the village, I was able to finally identify the civilians in question. What I discovered was more disturbing than I had imagined.
Israeli police youth volunteers pick through the belongings an al-Arakib family
Arab Negev News publisher Ata Abu Madyam supplied me with a series of photos he took of the civilians in action. They depicted Israeli high school students who appeared to have volunteered as members of the Israeli police civilian guard (I am working on identifying some participants by name). Prior to the demolitions, the student volunteers were sent into the villagers’ homes to extract their furniture and belongings.
A number of villagers including Madyam told me the volunteers smashed windows and mirrors in their homes and defaced family photographs with crude drawings. Then they lounged around on the furniture of al-Arakib residents in plain site of the owners. Finally, according to Matyam, the volunteers celebrated while bulldozers destroyed the homes.
“What we learned from the summer camp of destruction,” Madyam remarked, “is that Israeli youth are not being educated on democracy, they are being raised on racism.” (The cover of the latest issue of Madyam’s Arab Negev News features a photo of Palestinians being expelled to Jordan in 1948 juxtaposed with a photo of a family fleeing al-Arakib last week. The headline reads, “Nakba 2010.”)
The Israeli civilian guard, which incorporates 70,000 citizens including youth as young as 15 (about 15% of Israeli police volunteers are teenagers), is one of many programs designed to incorporate Israeli children into the state’s military apparatus. It is not hard to imagine what lessons the high school students who participated in the leveling of al-Arakib took from their experience, nor is it especially difficult to predict what sort of citizens they will become once they reach adulthood. Not only are they being indoctrinated to swear blind allegiance to the military, they are learning to treat the Arab outclass as less than human.
The volunteers’ behavior toward Bedouins, who are citizens of Israel and serve loyally in Israeli army combat units despite widespread racism, was strikingly reminiscent of the behavior of settler youth in Hebron who pelt Palestinian shopkeepers in the old city with eggs, rocks and human waste. If there is a distinction between the two cases, it is that the Hebron settlers act as vigilantes while the teenagers of Israeli civilian guard vandalize Arab property as agents of the state.
The spectacle of Israeli youth helping destroy al-Arakib helps explain why 56% of Jewish Israeli high school students do not believe Arabs should be allowed to serve in the Knesset – why the next generation wants apartheid. Indeed, the widespread indoctrination of Israeli youth by the military apparatus is a central factor in Israel’s authoritarian trend. It would be difficult for any adolescent boy to escape from an experience like al-Arakib, where adults in heroic warrior garb encourage him to participate in and gloat over acts of massive destruction, with even a trace of democratic values.
As for the present condition of Israeli democracy, it is essential to consider the way in which the state pits its own citizens against one another, enlisting the Jewish majority as conquerers while targeting the Arab others as, in the words of Zionist founding father Chaim Weizmann, “obstacles that had to be cleared on a difficult path.” Historically, only failing states have encouraged such corrosive dynamics to take hold.
That is why the scenes from al-Arakib, from the demolished homes to the uprooted gardens to the grinning teens who joined the mayhem, can be viewed as much more than the destruction of a village. They are snapshots of the phenomenon that is laying Israeli society as a whole to waste.
http://fwd4.me/0hk3
Wadi Qana farmland being polluted by settlement sewage
Sewage from Yaqir settlement contaminates arable land and may soon affect water sources
Wadi Qana is a valley south west of Nablus where numerous springs supply water to the surrounding Palestinian villages. Approximately 60 people live in the valley itself, and many more own land in the area in which they farm animals and cultivate both citrus and olive trees.
The valley and its springs have been suffering from the effects of raw sewage, which has been leaking into the valley from the illegally built Yaqir settlement since 1994. In 2005, the Israeli Authorities finally built underground sewage pipes after numerous attempts by Palestinians to make them deal with the sewage problems created by Yaqir and other surrounding settlements.
However, the pipes have now broken and so sewage flows out of them and into the nearby springs.
The Mayor of Deir Istiya has notified the Israeli Authorities about the leakage – through the Palestinian District Coordination Liaison Office – several times since the beginning of July. Despite this, Israeli Authorities deny any knowledge of the problem and continue to ignore requests to address the issue.
On July 24th, the Mayor accompanied villagers and volunteers from ISM and IWPS to the site in order to see if the problem had been dealt with.
One volunteer from ISM stated: “As we neared the leakage site, we could smell the sewage. The Israeli Authorities have done nothing to stop the problem so the sewage was still overflowing.” The Mayor added that “There is a high risk of sewage contaminating the potable water source if the leakage is not stopped soon.”
In response to the Israeli Authorities’ inaction to this recurring problem, farmers have been forced to build aqueducts on their (privately owned) land in order to obtain clean water for irrigation. Some of these were built with assistance from the Palestinian Authority. Farmers have also built fences around their land in order to protect their products from wild pigs and other animals, which have been released from the settlements and threaten to destroy the farmers’ crops.
Surveying the damage caused by leakages from sewage pipes which the authorities have failed to address
Israel’s confiscation of the land was followed by its assertion of Wadi Qana’s status as a nature reserve, with reference to a law created under the British Mandate. No evidence has been presented to Palestinians regarding the existence of this law and the subsequent status of the land. Despite this, on July 21st, the Mayor of Deir Istiya received an official visit from Israeli nature reserve officers. They informed the Mayor once again that the area is classified as a nature reserve, and that it is therefore illegal to build any structures within the area. As a consequence, the aforementioned farmers have been threatened with the demolition of the aqueducts and fences which they now depend upon for their livelihood.
Regardless of the demolition orders’ roots apparently being in Wadi Qana’s status as a nature reserve, Israeli Authorities continue to refuse to take action in order to render such structures unnecessary, or indeed to avoid a potential environmental disaster in the valley.
http://palsolidarity.org/2010/07/13417/
(2:06) International activists help rebuild Palestinian homes repeatedly demolished
"Israel has demolished more than 20,000 Palestinian homes in occupied East Jerusalem since 1967. And some residents have had their houses torn down multiple times.
Al Jazeera' s Jacky Rowland reports from East Jerusalem on how a small group of Israeli and international activists are helping rebuild Palestinian homes that have been repeatedly demolished. "
Palestinians have a lot of courage and patience. May God Allah help them and may his revenge fall on the criminal Zionists. Freedom and Justice for Palestine and the Palestinians.
This video has been uploaded for the purposes of research, commentary, criticism, and education
- 16 juli 2010
Aid ship unloaded at Egypt port
Humanitarian cargo bound for the Gaza Strip has been unloaded from a Libyan-chartered ship in Egypt after the Israeli navy prevented the vessel from sailing to the Palestinian territory.
The Moldovan-flagged Amalthea, loaded with 2,000 tonnes of medical supplies and food, docked at the port of El Arish, on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, about 45km south of the border with Gaza, on Wednesday.
Gamal Abdel Maqsoud, director of the port, said that Egypt's Red Crescent Society would deliver the aid to Gaza by land across the Egyptian border.
"Medical supplies and passengers will enter Gaza through the Rafah border [crossing], while food will enter through the Awja border," Maqsoud said.
Yousseuf Sawani, executive director of the Gaddafi Foundation which chartered the vessel, said that eight Israeli warships had surrounded the Libyan aid ship, preventing it from continuing its journey to Gaza.
"It was unacceptable for us to enter into a confrontation and risk bloodshed," Sawani said.
"The aims of Amalthea have been achieved without bloodshed and the result is gains for the Palestinians."
The charity is headed by the son of Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, and carried supporters who were "keen on expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people in the plight amidst the siege imposed on Gaza".
Egyptian blockade
A separate attempt by Jordanian activists and trade unionists to deliver aid and medical supplies to Gaza was blocked on Thursday by Egyptian authorities - the second incident in less than a month.
A convoy of 150 people, including "unionists, journalists and academics", travelled overland in 25 vehicles from Jordan to the Egyptian Rafah crossing.
Ahmad Armuti, president of the Jordanian trade unions' council
"We are shocked that Egypt prevents us from delivering aid and medical supplies to Gaza," Ahmad Armuti, president of a trade unions' council, said.
"We regret, reject and condemn Egypt's unacceptable position, not only towards our brave people of Gaza, but also towards all Jordanians."
Armuti called on the Jordanian government to demand clarification from Egypt, which "should be pressed to change its position".
"This will not stop the Jordanian trade unions from working hard to break the unjust blockade and resisting any form of normalisation with the Zionist entity," he said.
Gaza restrictions
Late last month, Egypt banned several Jordanian trade unionists from Gaza through Rafah, Gaza's only crossing to bypass Israel, saying they had failed to give prior notice of their arrival.
Egypt had kept Rafah largely closed since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, but Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, ordered it open after a deadly Israeli naval raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla on May 31.
Nine pro-Palestinian activists - eight Turks and a dual US-Turkish citizen - were killed after Israeli soldiers boarded the lead ship Mavi Marmara.
Following an international outcry over the raid, Israel eased restrictions on the Gaza Strip, allowing some previously banned items into the territory.
But construction materials remain heavily restricted, Gazans have very limited freedom of movement, and Israel still enforces a naval blockade on the territory.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/20107164441491352.html 23 nov 2010, 21:05 , Respect -
Maria 21 juli 2010
Israeli forces demolish Palestinian homes, shops
Ramallah – Ma’an – Israeli authorities have demolished eight structures belonging to Palestinians in a residential area northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
Al-Gharbi mayor Ghassan Abu Salem said more than a dozen military vehicles carrying armed soldiers arrived mid-morning Wednesday with military equipment to carry out the demolitions.
"They immediately began tearing down the structures," Abu Salem said. "They were homes and shops right on the main street, but the army said they were illegally built in 'Area C'," which falls under Israeli control.
Israeli authorities said the demolitions were justified.
"The owners were given orders to stop building but they did not," a spokesman for Israel's Civil Administration, which coordinates non-military matters in the occupied Palestinian territories, told Ma'an.
Young men from the Palestinian village threw stones at the Israeli forces who were guarding the construction equipment after they carried out the demolitions, the official said. There were no reports of injury.
Two of the demolished structures were home to the families of Natham A’ttallah and Ahmad Ya’qub, who are now staying with relatives. Netham was preparing to host a wedding for his son Friday at the home, "but the bulldozers smashed it down to rubble," Abu Salem said.
Two other homes were demolished, as well, one which was already complete with the owners set to move in over the weekend, Abu Salem said. Also demolished were shops and agricultural buildings, he said.
Palestinians say the targeted area is home to many of the village's 1,500 residents.
"The matter is indicative of the occupation authorities' ongoing determination to eradicate the Palestinian presence in these areas for the benefit of settlers and settlements,” Abu Salem said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=301450
IDF destroys West Bank village after declaring it military zone
A Palestinian man inspecting the remains of his tent, destroyed by the IDF on July 19, 2010.
Since 1967, Israel has prevented the growth of Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley by cutting off their water supply or declaring large areas as live fire zones.
The IDF's Civil Administration destroyed a Palestinian village Monday morning that had earlier been cleared out when its water supply was cut off.
The IDF demolished about 55 structures in the West Bank village of Farasiya, including tents, tin shacks, plastic and straw huts, clay ovens, sheep pens and bathrooms. These structures served the 120 farmers, hired workers and their families who lived in the Jordan Valley village.
The Civil Administration said they had declared the area a live fire zone and posted eviction orders for 10 families in tents on June 27.
"Since no appeal was filed in the following three weeks, and given the danger posed by the location of the tents, they were removed," they said in response.
The villagers made a living by sheep farming and working land owned by families in the town of Tubas. Some of them have been living in Farasiya for decades.
A packaging warehouse that was built together with Agrexco in the late 1970s was also torn down.
Atef Abu al-Rob, a photographer for the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, who arrived at the village hours after the demolition, said mattresses, pipes and broken furniture were lying on the ground in the debris.
Since 1967, Israel has prevented Palestinian communities in the Jordan Valley from growing, whether by cutting off their water supply, declaring large areas as live fire zones or banning all construction.
About a year ago the IDF set up hundreds of warning signs near Palestinian farming communities, marking them closed military areas. Such a sign was set up at the entrance to Farasiya.
The families had recently been forced to leave the village when the Israeli authorities cut it off from its water sources, said the popular committees' coordinator in the valley, Fathi Hadirat. The villagers were forbidden to use the water wells the Mekorot Water Company had dug in the area.
Hadirat said a few years ago the Civil Administration destroyed the pipe the villages had laid from a nearby stream used for drinking water and irrigation.
Since then they have been watering the sheep and fields with water unfit for human consumption, pumped from a salt water source. They received drinking water in tanks.
About four months ago the IDF confiscated their pumps. On Sunday, 10 families from Bardala, a village north of Farasiya, were given demolition notices.
A farmer who owns 300 sheep was told to leave in 24 hours or his herd would be confiscated.
http://fwd4.me/08y9 23 nov 2010, 21:05 , Respect -
Maria 22 juli 2010
Amnesty Slams Israel West Bank Demolitions
Amnesty International has reiterated its call on Israel to stop the demolition of Palestinian houses and other buildings in the West Bank.
The international rights watchdog on Wednesday condemned the Israeli demolition policy and charged the Israeli regime with removing the Palestinian population from the West Bank through the demolitions.
The current system, which Israel has adopted, of what Palestinians can or cannot build "is unacceptable," said Philip Luther, Amnesty's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Israel destroyed another 74 homes in the villages of Hmayyir and Ein Ghazal in the area of al-Farisiya on Monday, which displaced 107 people, including 52 children, a statement from the London-based rights watchdog said.
Israelis justified the demolition by claiming that the buildings had been constructed in what they call a "closed military zone," and that Palestinians are forbidden from carrying out building construction and development in such areas, AFP reported.
Amnesty has recently called on Israel to completely lift its over years-long of blockade of the impoverished coastal sliver.
Palestinians are still trapped in Gaza and still face restricted access on the basic construction materials that they need to rebuild their homes, businesses and other property devastated in Israeli attacks between December 2008 and January 2009.
More than 3,000 homes and hundreds of other properties including factories, farms and government buildings were leveled and more than 20,000 damaged in Israel's 22-day onslaught that also killed more than 1,400 Palestinians in the coastal enclave.
http://fwd4.me/08yS
Israel Demolitions Continue in West Bank
Israel has demolished eight houses and ships belonging to Palestinians in a residential area northwest of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.
Dozens of Israeli soldiers arrived in al-Gharbi village on Wednesday morning and immediately began tearing down the structures, Ma'an quoted the town's mayor as saying.
"They were homes and shops right on the main street, but the army said they were illegally built in 'Area C'," Gassan Abu Salem added.
The bulk of Israeli settlements and their roads are to be located in the so-called Area C, where Tel Aviv rules out any interference of the Palestinian Authority
Residents from the Palestinian village protested the move with a group of youths hurling stones at the Israeli forces guarding the construction equipment.
The Israeli move to raze the buildings, citing "illegal construction," has raised concerns among Palestinians, who say the targeted area is home to many of the village's 1,500 residents.
"The matter is indicative of the occupation authorities' ongoing determination to eradicate the Palestinian presence in these areas for the benefit of Israeli settlers and settlements,” Abu Salem said.
The new demolitions coincide with Amnesty International's criticism of Israel for efforts to remove the Palestinian population from the West Bank through the demolitions.
Amnesty says Israel has declared parts of the West Bank as a closed military zone. According to the organization, most of the Jordan Valley has been announced a closed military zone or has been taken over by some 36 Israeli settlements.
http://fwd4.me/08yR 23 nov 2010, 21:06 , Respect -
Maria 24 juli 2010
Oxfam calls for compensation from Israel
Bethlehem - Ma'an - International aid agency Oxfam demanded that the Israeli government compensate Palestinians in a northern Jordan Valley village, after soldiers destroyed at least $29,000 of aid on Monday.
In a statement issued Saturday, the charity said villagers in Al-Farisiya were forced into further impoverishment when soldiers demolished 79 structures in the village, including homes, stables, sheds, water tanks, two tons of animal fodder, fertilizer and wheat.
An initial assessment by Oxfam and other NGOs in the area calculated that the demolitions affected 113 Palestinians, half of whom are children and identified as some of the poorest in the area. Water tanks and irrigation pipes provided by Oxfam were among the damaged goods.
Oxfam’s advocacy officer, Cara Flowers, said the area looked "as If a natural disaster had taken place,” adding that, “With no access to shelter, water or fodder for their goat and sheep herds, an entire community is being forced to leave their land.”
Under zoning regulations established under the 1994 Oslo Accords, Al-Farisiya falls in “Area C,” the sixty percent of the West Bank which is under full Israeli administrative and military control.
Last year, Israeli authorities declared village land a “military zone,” and some residents, who have lived in the village for decades, were issued eviction notices in June.
The UN has reported an increase in demolitions across Area C, and the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions recently reported that the Israeli government has “returned with a vengeance” to its policy of demolishing Palestinian homes.
Flowers said "The Israeli authorities are obliged to protect the lives, property and livelihoods of civilians under their occupation. The authorities should now offer alternative accommodation and compensation for damage done, some of it to internationally donated material, but more importantly, to the lives of Al-Farisiya’s residents.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=302109 23 nov 2010, 21:06 , Respect -
Maria 25 juli 2010
Oxfam Slams Israel over Destructions
An international British-based aid agency says Israel should compensate for the damage its soldiers have inflicted on impoverished Palestinians.
Oxfam on Saturday issued a statement, which criticized Israel for wasting international money donated to Palestinians by destroying residential areas in a northern Jordan Valley village.
The statement said the villagers in al-Farisiya plunged more into poverty after Israeli army bulldozers destroyed 79 infrastructures in the area, Maan news agency reported.
Israel's 'destruction policy' has had a direct impact on over 113 Palestinians, half of whom are children, according to Oxfam.
Oxfam advocacy officer Clara Flowers described the situation in the region as awful, saying that from the first look it seems that a natural disaster has ripped through the village.
http://fwd4.me/0ARa 23 nov 2010, 21:07 , Respect -
Maria 26 juli 2010
Alert: Thousands of police evacuating and demolishing the village of El-Araqib in the Israeli Negev
(2:34) Forces In Israel Demolish Village TheLoop21 com
by Yeela Raanan.
Thousands of police are in the village of el-Araqib right now – beginning a mass evacuation, demolition, and erasure of this historical Bedouin village. if you have access to the media, please send them to this village as soon as possible! the village of el-Araqib is between Rahat and Beer Sheva, and in a location that the Goldberg commission deemed outside of the areas allowed for the Negev Arabs… an area designated only for Jews… the JNF (Jewish National Fund) is planting a forest on this village lands – to make sure that the Bedouin cannot live on their village lands or use them for agriculture. the villagers turned to the israeli courts, as the JNF were planting this forest at the bequest of the Israeli government, but against Israeli law… the people of el-Araqib won the court battle… but this morning it seems that the Government of Israel has started a war — of the Government against its own citizens. for more information:
Dr. Yeela Raanan, Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages (RCUV). +972 54 7487005 [email protected]
http://fwd4.me/0ATH
1000s of Israeli police said to be evacuating/erasing historical Bedouin village
"Thousands of police are in the Negev desert village of el-Araqib right now (5:30 a.m. in Israel), beginning a mass evacuation, demolition, and erasure of this historical Bedouin village," writes Yeela Raanan of the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages (RCUV).
"If you have access to the media, please send them to this village as soon as possible! The village of el-Araqib is between Rahat and Beer Sheva, and in a location that the Goldberg commission deemed outside of the areas allowed for the Negev Arabs... an area designated only for Jews...
"The JNF (Jewish National Fund) is planting a forest on this village lands - to make sure that the Bedouin cannot live on their village lands or use them for agriculture. The villagers turned to the Israeli courts, as the JNF were planting this forest at the behest of the Israeli government, but against Israeli law...
"The people of el-Araqib won the court battle... but this morning it seems that the Government of Israel has started a war -- of the Government against its own citizens."
http://fwd4.me/0ATA 23 nov 2010, 21:07 , Respect -
Maria 27 juli 2010
Busloads of civilians cheer as Israelis uproot Bedouin village of 200
News reports confirm the report we ran last night of Israel's bulldozing of a Bedouin village in the Negev, uprooting 40 families, 200 people, to make way for what--a forest created with the auspices of the Jewish National Fund? Here's the shocking report from CNN--shades of the cheering for the war on Gaza:
Witnesses told CNN that the Israeli forces arrived at the village accompanied by busloads of civilians who cheered as the dwellings were demolished. They said armed police deployed with tear gas, water cannon, two helicopters and bulldozers.
Below is a press release from several groups speaking on behalf of the village, which it says was 300 people, and passing along a horrific quote from Netanyahu-- that in Sunday's Cabinet meeting, he sounded a warning about "a situation in which a demand for national rights will be made from some quarters inside Israel, for example in the Negev, should the area be left without a Jewish majority. Such things happened in the Balkans, and it is a real threat." I can't find that quote online. I do see that Netanyahu described non-Jewish immigration as a "concrete threat."
Al Arakib Popular Committee - Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality – Recognition Forum – Tarabut - Gush Shalom Press Release
Early this morning police raided the unrecognized Bedouin village of al-Arakib in the Negev, destroyed all 40 of its houses, and evicted more than 300 residents. The residents, mostly children, were left homeless.
The unprecedented raid began at about 4:30 in the morning, residents were surprised to wake up surrounded by a huge force of 1,500 police with guns, stun grenades, helmets and shields, including hundreds of Special Riot Police (Yasam) as well as mounted police, helicopters and bulldozers.
At the residents' call, dozens of left-wing activists and volunteers arrived from all over the country, helping them to offer non-violent resistance. Several residents were bruised and beaten by police, though not needing medical attention. One woman demonstrator was detained by the police.
The police removed the residents' property into prepared containers, and bulldozers demolished the residential buildings and sheepfolds and destroyed the residents' fruit orchards and olive tree groves. The villagers, mostly children and old people, were left stunned near the destroyed village, shelterless and waterless under the blazing sun.
The destruction of the village was carried out despite dispute over ownership of the land still pending in the courts. Residents of al-Arakib are neither squatters nor invaders: their village has existed many years before the creation of Israel in 1948. Residents had been evicted by the state in 1951, but returned to the land on which they live and which they cultivate. Ownership of the land is now the subject of proceedings in the Be'er Sheva District Court, where academic researchers have already testified in confirmation of the residents' ownership right in the land.
The destruction's declared aim is to facilitate plans by the Jewish National Fund to plant a wood on the site. We regard this demolition as a criminal act. Bedouin citizens of Israel are not enemies, and forestation of the Negev is not a reasonable pretext for destroying a community which is more than 60 years old, dispossessing its residents, and violating the basic rights of hundreds of Israeli civilians, men, women and children. This act by the state authorities is no "law enforcement" - it is a act of war, such as is undertaken against an enemy.
This act cannot be dissociated from yesterday's statement by Prime Minister Netanyahu, who at the cabinet meeting sounded a warning about "a situation in which a demand for national rights will be made from some quarters inside Israel, for example in the Negev, should the area be left without a Jewish majority. Such things happened in the Balkans, and it is a real threat."
Presenting the Bedouin citizens of Israel as "a real threat" gives legitimacy to the expulsion of Israel's Bedouin citizens from the Negev in order to "Judaize" it. We call on all who care for democracy to give their support to this threatened community.
http://fwd4.me/0ATO
Bedouins evicted from village in southern Israel
Jerusalem (CNN) -- Police evicted 200 Bedouins from their homes in a southern Israeli village on Tuesday and demolished their dwellings, an act decried by residents who said they are on ancestral land.
The move occurred five miles north of Beer Sheva in a village called Al-Araqeeb, an enclave not recognized by the state of Israel.
Witnesses told CNN that the Israeli forces arrived at the village accompanied by busloads of civilians who cheered as the dwellings were demolished. They said armed police deployed with tear gas, water cannon, two helicopters and bulldozers.
But Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said there were no disturbances and the operation went according to plan.
He said the move was in response to a court order and people had been settling there illegally. Rosenfeld said there were about 30 shacks and 200 people removed.
Villagers said they've lived in the region for years back to the Ottoman days before Israel was founded, and have original deeds to the land.
After the Israeli forces left the scene, some villagers immediately started rebuilding their dwellings.
"The state of Israel is treating us like cockroaches," said Sulaiman Abu Mdian, 29, a father of four who works as a chicken farmer.
Bedouins are Arabs who live in the desert regions of the Middle East. Some are nomadic and others are sedentary and remain in one location.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/07/27/israel.bedouins.demolitions/index.html?hpt=T2#fbid=wlKtan18JwX
Netanyahu described non-Jewish immigration as a "concrete threat."
07/19/2010 03:30
PM calls for immigration crackdown
Aharonovitch: Tenth of Eilatis are illegal aliens.
The “flood” of illegal African workers who have infiltrated the country over the last few years via Egypt is threatening the Jewish, democratic nature of the state, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the cabinet on Sunday.
Netanyahu’s comments came during a cabinet discussion on formulating a comprehensive policy regarding migration into Israel. The discussion will continue on Monday.
The cabinet was presented with data stating that between 26,000 and 155,000 illegal economic migrants have come into the country via the long border with Egypt over the past few years. Netanyahu said this was a “concrete threat” that “most enlightened Western countries” facing a similar problem have already taken steps to combat.
The huge discrepancy in the numbers is because while there are some 26,000 documented infiltrators, the police estimate that the true number is more than five times that.
“It is inconceivable that precisely in Israel, which is without a doubt the most threatened state in the Western world, there is no governmental migration policy that protects our national and security interests,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister said that the issue has not been dealt with for years, and that he wanted to bring legislation dealing with the matter to the Knesset in the fall. He said that in the near future, after a committee headed by Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman issues recommendations, the cabinet will make the decisions needed to deal with the issue.
This will include, he said, clamping down on employers hiring the migrant workers, arranging for the deportation of infiltrators to their countries of origin or third countries, and the construction of a barrier along the Egyptian border to make infiltration more difficult.
Netanyahu has been talking about building the barrier along the 240-kilometer border with Sinai for months, and in March the cabinet even approved it, but so far little has moved on the ground.
One government official said that deporting the infiltrators is especially difficult, because most of them come from Eritrea or Sudan. Israel has no diplomatic relations with Sudan, and therefore no way to deport the infiltrators.
Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, who filled in at the meeting for Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who was attending a conference in Kazakhstan, said that Israel had approached third countries, such as Côte d’Ivoire, about taking in the deported workers, but it seemed unlikely they would do so. He also said that Israel has been in contact with the UN over the matter.
Statistics presented to the cabinet showed that of 3,500 infiltrators who were studied, only two were bona fide political refugees. The rest were here looking for better economic prospects.
The cabinet was told that the average salary a day laborer earns in Egypt, the country through which the Africans come into Israel, is NIS 4, while the average daily salary here is NIS 154.
Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch told the ministers there are about 3 million Africans illegally in Egypt, and that there was real concern that many of them would try to infiltrate Israel. He said a whole industry has developed in Egypt to smuggle these people into Israel.
Aharonovitch said that from the beginning of the year, around 7,000 people have been smuggled across the border with Egypt, and that about 1,200 come across each month.
The three cities with the largest number of illegal workers are Tel Aviv, Arad and Eilat, he said, with the illegals making up fully 10 percent of Eilat’s population.
The new favored destination, he said, was Ashdod.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=181850
Gaza family struggles to survive in a tent
Leyali Awaja sleeps in one of the tents. Her family has been homeless since Israel's December 2008 military offensive against Gaza.
Palestinians homeless 18 months after attacks
BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip | The few dozen yards of fraying blue tarpaulin and dirt-stained canvas that define the Awaja family's living space can't keep out the cold in winter or the dust and heat in summer.
When a strong wind blows at night, the shelter caves in on the six children sleeping inside.
The Awajas are among thousands whose houses were destroyed during Israel's three-week military offensive against Hamas-ruled Gaza, launched in December 2008 with the aim of halting Palestinian rocket attacks.
More than 18 months later, most displaced families have found apartments or moved in with relatives, but about 225 families remain homeless, according to U.N. figures, caught in a mix of poverty, bureaucracy and a border blockade that has left them in limbo.
A bulldozer flattened the Awajas' house on the first full day of Israel's ground offensive, when tanks and troops swept into Gaza neighborhoods near the Israeli border.
As the family fled, bullets hit Kamal, 49, his wife Wafa, 34, and their 8-year-old son Ibrahim — who bled to death in the street.
After a brief stay with Kamal's first wife — he has two but is separated from the first — and her seven children in their tiny apartment in Gaza City, the Awajas pitched a tent on government land near Beit Lahiya. Municipal officials told them to vacate.
"I told them I'm not leaving … I'm afraid to go back there, close to the border," Kamal said.
They now occupy three tents and have had a sixth child, a baby girl named Leyali.
They tether the tent to the ground with cinder blocks and rugs. They siphon electricity from nearby lines to power a refrigerator, microwave, oven, TV and computer, all salvaged from their old home or smuggled through underground tunnels that connect Gaza to Egypt.
Palestinian Wafa Awaja (holding baby) stands outside the makeshift structures that house her, her husband and their six children — including (from the left) Zikrayat, 2, infant Leyali, Omsyat, 13, and Dia, 4 — in Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip.
Wafa is busy constantly cleaning wind-blown dust off dishes and clothes, chasing away rats and stray dogs, and protecting belongings from thieves.
Israel's blockade, imposed three years ago after Hamas overran Gaza, is meant to keep weapons out of the territory, but it has hampered repair of the destruction caused by Israel's offensive by barring most construction materials.
Following an international outcry over its deadly naval raid on a blockade-busting flotilla, Israel has agreed to loosen the embargo — the first step, potentially, toward rebuilding the Awajas' home.
"There is no place to go," Kamal said. "So I'm staying here until they help us build our house."
http://fwd4.me/0ATE
Gaza homeless
Five month-old Palestinian girl Leyali Awaja sleeps in the makeshift structure that houses her family in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday June 10, 2010. The Awajas are among thousands of families whose houses were destroyed during Israel's three-week military offensive against Hamas-ruled Gaza, launched in December 2008 with the aim of halting Hamas rocket attacks. An Israeli forces bulldozer flattened the Awajas' house and as the family tried to flee, bullets hit father Kamal, his wife Wafa, and their 8-year-old son Ibrahim, who bled to death in the street. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Members of the Palestinian Awaja family, from left, Zikrayat, 2, mother Wafa, 34, holding baby Leyali, Omsyat, 13, and Dia, 4, on tent, stand near the makeshift structures that house them in Beit Lahiyeh, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, June 10, 2010. The Awajas are among thousands of families whose houses were destroyed during Israel's three-week military offensive against Hamas-ruled Gaza, launched in December 2008 with the aim of halting Hamas rocket attacks. An Israeli forces bulldozer flattened the Awajas' house and as the family tried to flee, bullets hit father Kamal, Wafa, and their 8-year-old son Ibrahim, who bled to death in the street.
Palestinian Dia Awaja, 4, cleans a portrait of his late brother Ibrahim, killed during an Israeli army operation, atop a tent that makes up part of the makeshift structures that house the family in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, June 10, 2010. The Awajas are among thousands of families whose houses were destroyed during Israel's three-week military offensive against Hamas-ruled Gaza, launched in December 2008 with the aim of halting Hamas rocket attacks. An Israeli forces bulldozer flattened the Awajas' house and as the family tried to flee, bullets hit father Kamal, mother Wafa, and 8-year-old son Ibrahim, who bled to death in the street.
Palestinian Wafa Awaja, 34, collects her family's laundry outside the tents that serve to house her family in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, June 10, 2010. The Awajas are among thousands of families whose houses were destroyed during Israel's three-week military offensive against Hamas-ruled Gaza, launched in December 2008 with the aim of halting Hamas rocket attacks. An Israeli forces bulldozer flattened the Awajas' house and as the family tried to flee, bullets hit Wafa, her husband Kamal and their 8-year-old son Ibrahim, who bled to death in the street. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
http://fwd4.me/0ATF
Israel demolishes Bedouin village
Israeli authorities have demolished the homes of about 300 Bedouins in a village in the southern Negev desert.
The entire village of al-Arakib was bulldozed on Tuesday, with many of the former residents' cattle, trees and belongings lost.
Al-Arakib, which had about 40 homes, is one of 45 Bedouin villages not recognised by Israeli authorities.
Haia Noach, director of the Negev Co-existence Forum, was present at al-Arakib during the demolition and said that at least five Israeli bulldozers arrived around 5:30am (0230GMT).
Israeli police used megaphones to order the village residents to evacuate, and the demolishing process lasted around three hours, he said.
Speaking from a town near Beersheba, Noach said that many of the residents had moved to a nearby graveyard to find shade.
Evacuation notice
He said Israeli authorities had first given residents of al-Arakib a notice to evacaute on June 15, but that no action had followed, so the residents began to doubt that the demolition would occur.
But this morning, Israeli police arrived and forced residents to leave their homes within minutes, Noach said.
The demolition team destroyed water tanks and removed generators.
"It's like a declaration of war. They don't want you here," Noach said. "It's unthinkable."
The residents are now waiting for aid and will probably set up makeshift tents and facilities on the scene, Noach said.
According to the Negev Co-existence Forum,around half of the 155,000 Bedouins in the Negev - all of whom are Israeli citizens - live in villages that are unrecognised by the government.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/07/201072774211397266.html
Al-Arakib Razed By Israeli Forces
(6:16) Al-Arakib Razed By Israeli Forces
Around 350 Bedouins living in Israel's Negev desert have been made homeless after police raided their village and razed their homes.
Over 1,500 riot police arrived in Al-Arakib village at dawn, they destroyed 40 to 50 homes and uprooted hundreds of olive trees belonging to the villagers.
Israel Land Administration officials refer to the village as "unrecognized" and claimed the demolition was legal because residents "invaded" the area.
Residents say they have lived on the land since the Ottoman Empire, and that their village cemetery contains graves dating back to the end of the 19th Century.
Half a million trees planted during the past 18 months on the ancestral lands of the Bedouin in Israel's Negev region were bought by a controversial Christian evangelical television channel know as God-TV, US tax records show.
The Jewish National Fund, an international non-profit organization in charge of forestation and developing Jewish settlements in Israel, received a US$500,000 donation from God-TV to "make the desert bloom".
Al-Araqib has been demolished seven times in recent months by the Israeli police as officials increase the pressure on the 350 inhabitants to move to Rahat, a run down, government-planned township nearby.
Netanyahu recently described the Bedouin citizens of Israel as a "real threat", legitimizing their expulsion from the Negev in order to "Judaize" it.