Israel demolishes Palestinian Bedouin village for 235th time in 15 years
Israeli authorities claim al-Araqib village is built on ‘state land'
The Israeli authorities on Tuesday demolished the Palestinian al-Araqib Bedouin village in the southern Negev region for the 235th time in the past 15 years, according to a local activist.
"The Israeli authorities raided the village of al-Araqib and demolished its housing structures for the 235th time," Aziz al-Touri told Anadolu.
He accused the Israeli forces of trying “to provoke Palestinians to assault them.”
According to the activist, residents of the village immediately started to rebuild their homes after the demolition.
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.”
Al-Araqib residents are Arab citizens of Israel who were displaced in 1951 when the nascent state of Israel claimed the area as "state land."
Zochrot, a Tel Aviv-based NGO, said in a 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
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