Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality
פורום דו-קיום בנגב לשוויון אזרחי
منتدى التعايش السلمي في النقب من أجل المساواة المدنية

Update from Negev Coexistence Forum

21.10.2012

• 2,500 Bedouin and supporters protest in Be’er Sheva
• 40th demolition of Al Arakib, more destruction in the Negev
• Al Arakib leaders acquitted
• Police violence in Bir Hadaj
• Hiran master plan approved; Umm Al-Hiran to be demolished

2,500 Bedouin and supporters protest in Be’er Sheva

Approximately 2,500 Bedouin citizens of the Negev and their supporters protested in front of the Ministry of Interior offices in Be’er Sheva on October 18. The demonstration was jointly organized with a general, one-day strike in protest of recent Israeli police violence and demolitions in Bedouin communities in the Negev.

“We’re demonstrating because as a result of the demolitions, there are people in the town who have no roof over their heads,” a resident of Bir Hadaj, Ayash Abu Assa, told Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz. “The police decided to attack us. They want to prove that they are in control and that there’s nothing we can do about it.” (To read the full Ha’aretz report, click here.

To view an NCF video about the demonstration, click here.

40th demolition of Al Arakib, more destruction in the Negev

On October 18, the same day the mass demonstration was held in Be’er Sheva, the Israeli authorities demolished the so-called unrecognized Bedouin village of Al Arakib. This was the 40th time that the village has been destroyed since July 2010.

On October 9, a home was also demolished in the village of Kuhle.

To view NCF’s full list of home demolitions in the Negev, click here.

Al Arakib leaders acquitted

The Be’er Sheva District Court acquitted Al Arakib residents and village leaders, Sheikh Sayyah Abu Medeghem and his son Aziz, of criminal charges on October 10. The state had accused them of tresspassing and illegally constructing tents on state land.

“The State of Israel failed to destroy the village of Al Arakib through demolitions and displacement, so it has now resorted to baseless criminal charges to deter the people of the village from holding onto their land,” Sheikh Sayyah reportedly said after the verdict.

For more background about the case, click here. [“Court cancels indictment against Arab Bedouin leader protesting against home demolitions in Al Araqib village in the Naqab (Negev),” Adalah, 10/10/2012]

Police violence in Bir Hadaj

In the early morning of October 17, police arrested ten residents from the village of Bir-Hadaj. All the arrestees were released the same day, but it is not yet clear if indictments will be filed.

On October 10, Bir-Hadaj residents managed to prevent Ministry of Interior inspectors from entering their village. The inspectors arrived to hand out demolition orders to the residents. The next day, on October 11, according to testimonies from residents, the inspectors came back to the village accompanied by police forces. While the residents tried to deny their entrance and prevent the hand-out of demolition orders, the policemen started shooting tear gas, rubber coated bullets and live ammunition.

Many residents were injured and one woman was evacuated to the hospital. Others were afraid to go to the hospital should they be arrested there. Three residents were arrested. As police officers shot tear gas, some of the gas entered the local school, forcing the teachers to dismiss their classes in the middle of the day.

These events of police violence are related to other instances of police brutality which occurred in the village two weeks prior, when — during house demolitions — the policemen started shooting sponge bullets and gas grenades. In addition, according to the residents, one of the bulldozers drivers spat on a resident.

The violence in Bir Hadaj, one of the so-called “recognized” villages that makes up the Abu Basma Regional Council, sparked the general strike and protest on October 18 in Be’er Sheva.

Hiran master plan approved; Umm Al-Hiran to be demolished

The national planning committee approved the master plan of the new Jewish town of Hiran, which will result in the demolition of the Bedouin unrecognized village of Umm Al-Hiran. This is despite the fact that the residents of Umm Al-Hiran were moved over there by the state of Israel during the 50’s. Click here for an article on Ynet (in Hebrew).

The Negev Coexistence Forum denounces the decision to establish the new town of Hiran. The Negev region is large enough to contain many towns and villages, and it is clear that the decision to establish Hiran on the village of Umm Al-Hiran is purposely contrived. Moreover, dozens of Jewish settlements throughout the Negev are under-populated, making this decision to establish a new town hard to understand. It is especially absurd given the fact that the authorities refuse to recognize the unrecognized Bedouin villages of the Negev.