Israel: Arab citizens call for protest against persecution of Negev residents

The Arab High Follow-Up Committee representing Palestinian citizens of Israel, has called for a protest in front of the Cabinet Office in West Jerusalem against the seizure of Arab-owned land in the Negev desert by the Jewish National Fund. Other protest activities, said the committee, will include sit-ins and awareness meetings in Arab towns and villages within the occupation state.

The committee held an emergency meeting on Saturday in a protest tent on land owned by Khalil Al-Atrash in the Negev village of Sa’wa. This followed an escalation in the number of arrests and prosecutions of Palestinians in the area, as well as racist incitement and the razing of land by the Israeli authorities.

Those who took part in the meeting confirmed that the attack on the large demonstration of Negev residents on Thursday, 13 January, was premeditated. They demanded the cessation of all repressive and arbitrary measures against local residents, their homes and land in the Negev.

Meanwhile, a number of families, political activists and Arab leaders in the area demonstrated for the seventh consecutive day in front of the Israeli court building in Beersheba. They were there to support detainees and protest against the ongoing arrest campaigns carried out by the Israeli police. More than 150 local Palestinians, including children, have been arrested for protesting against the Jewish National Fund’s seizure of their land for the exclusive use of Israeli Jews.

READ: The Negev uprising and the lie of co-existing with the occupation