This morning shortly before sunrise in the wasteland of Israeli democracy, Israeli armed forces destroyed a Bedouin village in the Negav desert…for the fifth time. According to the Ma’an news agency, “On 27 July, all 40 homes in the Al-Araqib village were destroyed and 300 residents, all Israeli citizens, were evicted during the raid after an Israeli court deemed the village illegally built on state land. The Bedouin residents say they have proof of land ownership, and have been in court for several years. At least 200 children were left homeless as a result, as police removed residents property into prepared containers, and bulldozers razed buildings and sheepfolds, local activists said in a statement. Fruit orchards and olive grove trees were destroyed in the process.Israeli activists who were present at the initial demolition described the move as an “act of war, such as is undertaken against an enemy.”The Bedouin residents of Al-Araquib hold Israeli citizenship and many have served in the Israeli army. Al-Araquib is becoming a prime example of what Israel means when it calls itself a “Jewish and democratic state.” Jews receive democracy and everyone else is pushed off of their land and striped of their rights.
My previous report on Al-Araquib can be found here. The following is photo essay by Mairav Zonzsein, who was on the ground as the village was destroyed.
