Israel Displaces Araqib Villagers in Negev for 163rd Time

Negev, MINA – The Israeli authorities on Tuesday demolished all the crude homes and tents in the Palestinian Bedouin village of Araqib in the Negev desert for the 163rd consecutive time, displacing its residents.

According to local sources, Israeli police forces and employees from the Bedouin development authority, which is responsible for such demolitions, stormed the village and forcibly removed the residents from their homes before wreaking havoc on everything.

According to Palinfo, Police forces also arrested Sheikh Sayyah Attouri, chief of the village, and his son Aziz.

Sheikh Attouri and many local residents, including women and children, were exposed to detention several times following recent demolition campaigns in an attempt to intimidate them and force them to leave the area.

The Israeli authorities also imposed exorbitant financial penalties on the Araqib villagers recently.

Araqib residents live in a constant state of fear because they expect the demolition of their village at any moment after they manage to rebuild their homes again.

However, such Israeli arbitrary, criminal and inhumane policy of demolition, uprooting and displacement will only increase the residents’ resolve and adherence to their land and village even if Israel demolishes it thousands of times.

Araqib is one of several Bedouin villages in the Negev desert, which are “unrecognized” by Israel.

The demolition of Araqib and other villages in the Negev is a systematic Israeli policy aimed at expelling the native population from the Negev and transferring them to government-zoned areas to pave the way to expand and build Jewish-only settlements. (T/R04/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)