Arab Israelis protest in Negev against government policies

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL

Hundreds of Arab Israelis demonstrated in the Negev region in southern Israel on Thursday to protest Israeli government policies against them and denounce the killing of a community member by a settler last week.

The protest was held at the Aslouj Junction under the slogan “Dignity and the Right to Life,” following calls by several organizations, including the Higher Steering Committee for Arab Citizens of the Negev.

During the demonstration, protesters condemned the killing of Ayoub Al-Toukhi, a 22-year-old Arab Israeli, who was shot dead by an Israeli citizen near the Nitzana area close to the border with Egypt last week.

Abu Asa Salem, a resident of Bir Hadaj village in the Negev, said their protest aimed to send a clear message to the Israeli government, rejecting the policy of killing Palestinians inside Israel.

He told Anadolu that the killings are “a result of incitement by ministers such as (National Security Minister) Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.”

On Wednesday, Ben-Gvir stormed the Bedouin town of Tarabin in the Negev for the third time in a week amid a large-scale police operation in the town.

Tens of thousands of Bedouins live in dozens of unrecognized villages in the Negev, with Israeli authorities denying them access to water, electricity, infrastructure, schools and medical clinics.

Arab Israelis make up about 21% of Israel’s total population, according to 2023 statistics, and are concentrated in the Negev region and northern Israel.