Israel demolishes Bedouin village for '192nd time'

By Yousef Ibrahim

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli forces on Thursday once again demolished an Arab Bedouin village in the southern Negev region.

"The Israeli authorities demolished the al-Araqib village for the 192nd time," Aziz al-Touri, a member of the Committee for the Defense of al-Araqib, told Anadolu Agency.

He stated that Israeli police forces prevented Palestinians from entering the village to document the demolition.

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

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

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