On July 27, 2010 Israeli riot police demolished the “unrecognized village” of al-Araqib for the first time. In the three years since, villagers have rebuilt and police forces demolished the village over 50 times. After dozens of demolitions, villagers resigned themselves to rebuilding in the cemetery, the only location spared by the demolitions.
Click here for Activestills’s coverage of the first demolitions
People praying after the Iftar meal at the unrecognized village of Al-Arqib during an event marking three years to the first demolition of the village, July 27, 2013. Photo by: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org
On July 27, 2013, residents of al-Araqib and supporters held a protest marking the three years since the first demolition. They marched from the planned Bedouin city of Rahat to the village, where they held an Iftar meal, breaking the Ramadan fast.
PHOTOS: Images of Bedouin displacement foreshadow a ‘Nakba in the Negev’
The protest comes as the Israeli government is moving forward with a plan to demolish dozens of such unrecognized villages in the Negev, threatening to displace tens of thousands of people. Earlier in July, protests against the plan took place in throughout Israel and Palestine and a second “day of rage” is planned for August 1.
Read +972’s full coverage of the Prawer-Begin Plan
Demonstrators marking three years to the first demolition in Al Araqib and protesting against the Prawer Plan, in the Bedouin town of Rahat, July 27, 2013. Photo by: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org
Demonstrators marking three years to the first demolition in Al Araqib and protesting against the Prawer Plan, in the Bedouin town of Rahat, July 27, 2013. Photo by: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org
Demonstrators marking three years to the first demolition in Al Araqib and protesting against the Prawer Plan, in the Bedouin town of Rahat, July 27, 2013. Photo by: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org
Residents of the unrecognized Bedouin village of Al Araqib prepare food for the Iftar meal, breaking the fast during the month of Ramadan, as Bedouins and activists gather to mark three years to the first demolition of the village, July 27, 2013. Photo by: oren ziv/Activestills.org
Residents of the unrecognized Bedouin village of Al Araqib prepare food for the Iftar meal, breaking the fast during the month of Ramadan, as Bedouins and activists gather to mark three years to the first demolition of the village, July 27, 2013. Photo by: oren ziv/Activestills.org
A view on the unrecognized village of Al Araqib during sunset, July 27, 2013.
Photo by: Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org
Related:
‘When I look at the Prawer Plan, I see another Nakba’
A visit to the evacuated village of Al-Araqib
Subscribe to The Landline
+972's weekly newsletter