From the Liveblog of
Sunday, May 12, 2024
Arab party chair lambasts policies of ‘confrontation and incitement’ against Bedouin communities
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
The government’s policies are “characterized by confrontation and incitement against the Bedouin population,” United Arab List chairman Mansour Abbas declares, less than a week after the demolition of dozens of buildings in the unrecognized southern Bedouin village of Wadi al-Khalil.
Last Wednesday’s demolition, which razed 47 homes, “led to widespread displacement, rendering hundreds of villagers, including children, women, and men, homeless,” Abbas states in an open letter arguing that “the current governmental stance, spearheaded by [National Security Minister Itamar] Ben Gvir, is marked by a lack of recognition for the village and a failure to either halt the road construction or provide fair compensation.”
“This stance reflects a broader policy characterized by confrontation and incitement against the Bedouin population, rather than addressing the fundamental challenges of settlement regulation,” he says.
“Recent declarations by Minister Ben Gvir have underscored an increase in the demolition of Arab homes under his administration, further intensifying public protests and drawing attention to the hardships imposed on the Bedouin communities in the Negev.”
Unrecognized Bedouin villages are regularly served with demolition orders as they were built without permits. However, many have existed on the same plots of land for generations, sometimes after being evicted by Israeli authorities from other areas. Securing building permits for Bedouin communities is nearly impossible and their leadership regularly accuses the state of discriminatory practices and neglect.
The far-right Ben Gvir has pushed hard to transfer authority over the government’s Real Estate Enforcement Division to the National Security Ministry, an effort recently torpedoed by ultra-Orthodox lawmakers.
Michael Horovitz contributed to this report.
