Israel demolishes Palestinian Bedouin village for 232nd time in 14 years

JERUSALEM

The Israeli authorities on Monday demolished the Palestinian al-Araqib Bedouin village in the southern Negev region for the 232nd time in the past 14 years, according to a local activist.

This was the tenth demolition of the village's structures since the start of the year, activist Aziz al-Touri told Anadolu.

“The Israeli authorities raided the village of al-Araqib today and demolished its housing structures for the 232nd time,” al-Touri said.

He noted that the village residents immediately started to rebuild their homes, as they insisted on staying in their land despite the Israeli repeated demolitions.

Homes in al-Araqib, inhabited by 22 Palestinian families, are built of wood and plastic.

The village was first destroyed in 2010 and rebuilt after every demolition since then. Israeli authorities claim that the site where it is located falls under “state land.”

Al-Araqib residents are Arab citizens of Israel who were displaced in 1951 when the nascent state of Israel claimed the area as "state land."

Zochrot, a Tel Aviv-based NGO, said in a recent report that al-Araqib village was first built during the Ottoman period and its lands were purchased by residents.

Israeli authorities seek to seize control of the lands and expel its residents, with dozens of villages and Bedouin communities facing the same threat in the Negev area, according to Zochrot.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar