Israel demolishes al-Araqib village in Negev for 202nd times

By Abdelraouf Arnaout and Safiye Karabacak
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli forces again demolished a Palestinian Bedouin village in the southern Negev region in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday.

Israeli forces stormed the village and brought it to the ground for the 202nd time, Aziz al-Touri, a member of the Committee for the Defense of al-Araqib, told anadolu Agency.

Al-Touri confirmed that villagers intend to rebuild their destroyed dwellings and other structures.

“We won’t get tired or bored, we will not abandon our village as long as we are free and alive,” he added.

Homes in Al-Araqib, which are inhabited by 22 Palestinian families, are built of wood, plastic, and corrugated iron.

The village was first destroyed in 2010. Israeli authorities claim that the site where it is located falls under "state land."

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

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