RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Palestinian government on Wednesday accused Israel of committing crimes against Palestinians in the Negev region.

"The crimes of the occupying state in Negev are an extension of its war on the Palestinian Arab presence," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry condemned in the “strongest terms the heinous crime committed by the occupying power against the Palestinian Arab citizens of the Negev, their land and property."

It also denounced the continuous repression, abuse and land bulldozing for the second day in a row.

Locals of Negev have staged several protests against their land demolition by the “Jewish National Fund” ahead of their confiscation.

The Jewish National Fund was established as a non-profit Zionist organization in the year 1901, with the purpose of collecting money from Jews in the world to purchase land in Palestine.

The area of the Negev desert is historically inhabited by Arab tribes socially related to the tribes of Sinai, the Arabian Peninsula, and Jordan.