Israeli authorities demolished the Bedouin village of al-Araqib in the Naqab desert in southern Israel for the 157th consecutive time.
Israeli police broke into the village and dismantled and confiscated the tin homes residents build every time their village is demolished, leaving the local residents, including children, homeless in the hot weather.
In addition, an Israeli court imposed a fine of NIS 1,600,000 (around $453,000) a few days ago on the residents of the village for the cost of demolishing and evacuating the village and under the pretext that Bedouins are trespassing on state-owned land.
The first demolition of al-Araqib took place in late June 2010.
Al-Araqib is one of 35 Bedouin villages considered unrecognized by the Israeli government.
According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), more than half of the approximately 160,000 Naqab Bedouins reside in unrecognized villages, which the state refuses to provide with a planning structure and place under municipal jurisdiction.
ACRI said the Israeli government uses a variety of measures to pressure Bedouins into relocating to government-planned urban centers that disregard their lifestyle and needs.
“Whole communities have been issued demolition orders; others are forced to continue living in unrecognized villages that are denied basic services and infrastructure, such as electricity and running water,” said the center.
