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Israel demolishes Bedouin village for 107th time

December 22, 2016 at 6:25 pm

Palestinian demonstrators take part in a protest against the destruction of their homes by the Israeli troops in the village of Al-Araqeeb on 10 August 2010 [Mahfouz Abu Turk/ Apaimages]

Israeli forces today demolished the unrecognised Bedouin village for Al-Araqeeb in the Negev for the 107th time.

According to locals, Israeli bulldozers demolished the village. A yard and a tree belonging to the Bin Hmeid family in the Wadi Al-Niam village and an outdoor toilet were also demolished, locals told Ma’an.

Israeli forces last demolished the village less than a month ago.

An Israeli police spokesperson was not immediately available to comment on the demolitions.

Israeli forces began targeting the village with demolitions in 2010, along with filing multiple lawsuits against the residents and imposing more than 2 million shekels ($527,920) worth of fines.

The first demolition of Al-Araqeeb took place more than six years ago on 27 June 2010.

Al-Araqeeb is one of 35 Bedouin villages considered “unrecognised” by the Israeli state. According to ACRI, more than half of the approximately 160,000 Negev Bedouins reside in unrecognised villages.

The classification of their villages as “unrecognised” prevents Bedouins from developing or expanding their communities, as their villages are considered illegal by Israeli authorities.

Israeli authorities have also refused to connect unrecognised Bedouin villages to the national water and electricity grids, while excluding the communities from access to health and educational services, and basic infrastructure.

Rights groups have claimed that the demolition of Al-Araqeeb and other unrecognised Bedouin villages is a central Israeli policy aimed at removing the indigenous Palestinian population from the Negev and transferring them to government-zoned townships to make room for the expansion of Jewish Israeli communities.