Israel demolishes Palestinian Bedouin village for 212th time

By Said Amouri

JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli forces bulldozed the Palestinian al-Araqib Bedouin village in the southern Negev region for the 212th time, according to local residents on Tuesday.

Israeli police forced villagers to leave their dwellings despite the cold weather in order to allow military bulldozers to tear down their structures, they said.

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."

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