Israeli authorities have demolished the homes of about 300 Bedouins in a village in the southern\u00a0Negev desert.<\/p>\n
The entire village of al-Arakib was\u00a0bulldozed on\u00a0Tuesday [27 Jul 2010], with many of the\u00a0former residents’\u00a0cattle, trees and belongings lost.<\/p>\n
Al-Arakib, which\u00a0had about 40 homes,\u00a0is one of 45 Bedouin villages not recognised by Israeli authorities.<\/p>\n
Haia Noach, director of the Negev Co-existence Forum, was present at al-Arakib during the demolition and\u00a0said that at least five Israeli bulldozers arrived around 5:30am\u00a0(0230GMT).<\/p>\n
“It took them about three or four hours to destroy all the houses,” she said, describing the scene as “appalling.”<\/p>\n
Scuffles erupted as the villagers and around 150 rights activists tried to stop the police from carrying out the demolitions, with several people wounded and a handful arrested, activists said.<\/p>\n
Speaking from a town near Beersheba, Noach said that many of the residents had moved to a nearby graveyard to find shade.<\/p>\n
Evacuation notice<\/strong><\/p>\n Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld confirmed the early-morning operation, saying the homes had been “illegally built” and were destroyed in line with a court ruling issued 11 years ago which was never implemented.<\/p>\n “Around 30 shacks were removed and several hundred people were taken back to the Rahat area where they originally came from,” he said, referring to a nearby Bedouin town in Israel’s arid south.<\/p>\n He said three people had been detained for questioning but were later released without charge.<\/p>\n Noach\u00a0said Israeli authorities had first given residents of al-Arakib a notice to evacaute on June 15, but that no action had followed, so the residents began to doubt that the demolition would occur.<\/p>\n But this morning, Israeli police arrived and forced residents to leave their homes within minutes, Noach said.<\/p>\n The demolition team destroyed water tanks and removed generators.<\/p>\n “It’s like a declaration of war. They don’t want you here,”\u00a0Noach said. “It’s unthinkable.”<\/p>\n The residents are now waiting for aid and will probably set up makeshift tents and facilities on the scene, Noach said.<\/p>\n