'183rd time': Israel destroys Bedouin village yet again

By Esat Firat

JERUSALEM (AA) – An Arab Bedouin village in the southern Negev region has been demolished by Israel for the 183rd time, a local Palestinian source said on Wednesday.

The al-Araqib village, home to some 22 Palestinian families, has been destroyed eight times since last year, Aziz al-Touri, a member of the Committee for the Defense of al-Araqib, told Anadolu Agency.

“Palestinians will rebuild the destroyed structures as soon as possible. As long as we are alive and free, we will never leave al-Araqib,” he asserted.

In a bid to occupy the land, Israeli authorities have razed houses in the village multiple times since 2010.

The 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.”

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz