The Israeli police demolished Al-Araqib village in the Negev in southern Occupied Palestine for the 181st time on Thursday.
Eyewitnesses stated in press statements that large forces of the Israeli police and the so-called Negev Development Authority the Yoav unit accompanied by vehicles and bulldozers raided Al-Araqib and demolished Palestinian homes and tents there.
This is the tenth time that Israel has demolished the tents of Al-Araqib residents since the beginning of this year 2020 and the 181st time since the beginning of the demolitions.
Israel continues to pursue the residents of Al-Araqib demolish their homes destroy their crops and impose penalties and fines under the pretext of building without permits.
Observers describe the steadfastness of the people of Al-Araqib as “legendary”. They rebuild tents and shelters and confront plans to uproot and displace them from their land every time.
Israel aims to displace the Al-Araqib Bedouins from their native lands and establish Jewish-only settlement units.
Al-Araqib is a Palestinian village located to the north of Beersheba city in the Negev desert. It was established for the first time during the period of Ottoman rule and is one of 51 Arab villages in the Negev that Israel does not recognize.
Since 1951 Israel has worked to expel its residents through massive house demolitions to control the vast lands that amount to two-thirds of the total area of historic Palestine.
The village was completely demolished by Israeli bulldozers for the first time on 27/07/2010. All its homes were demolished and hundreds of its residents were displaced under the pretext of building without a permit.
About 240000 Palestinians live in the Negev desert half of whom reside in villages and communities some of which have been built for hundreds of years.
Israel does not recognize the Palestinians’ ownership of the lands of these villages and refuses to provide them with basic services such as water and electricity.
