INDEPENDENT NEWS

Home Demolitions again today in the Negev

Published: Fri 2 Nov 2007 01:40 PM
Home Demolitions again today in the Negev - 15 home were destroyed!
by Dr. Yeela Raanan
Home Demolitions today in the Negev – the Government of Israel demolished 15 homes.
Last week the government came to demolish the tents of the village of Twail Abu-Jarwal, and returned again the next day and again this Sunday – just to harass the residents.
Help stop this terror! – Write letters – details below.
During the Ramadan a well used by the Bedouin was poisoned by spilling gasoline and used oil.
This morning, November 1, 2007, scores of police and governmental vehicles entered the Bedouin villages of A-Sir and Wadi Naam in order to demolish homes.
In A-Sir they demolished five homes. A-Sir is just south of the city of Beer Sheva and right by the Bedouin town of Shgib a-Salam. The head of the municipality of Shgib offered to add the villagers to his town. The villagers are interested, but the government is not.
Ibrahim al-Walidi built a home for his disabled son, so that he could marry. With a home of his own he has more of a chance of finding a wife, despite his disabilities. But today the Government of Israel shattered his dreams. The first born son of Musa Abu-Hbik built a tin shack with all the money he had, preparing for his upcoming wedding. The government demolished his home – and his wedding. In another of the demolished homes 15 people lived, now they are homeless…
In Wadi Naam the government demolished ten homes. One man has been volunteering for the Israeli Border Patrol for years. He built his son a home, preparing for the upcoming wedding. Evidently, his contribution to The State is of no importance, as now all the rest of the village members know. The village of Wadi Naam is located by Ramat Hovav – Israel’s toxic chemical waste dump. The villagers have been pleading and demanding for years to move away from this location. After many years of petitioning to the courts, negotiations, and work it seems that they are about to come to an agreement with the government on a new location for the village. The villagers are anxious to move.
If so – what is the real aim of the home demolitions?
Last Wednesday they came – for the 11th time – to destroy the tents of the village of Twail Abu-Jarwal. This was not enough – they returned the next day to place new demolition orders on the tents that had been re-erected. They arrested a man. Then they agreed to free him only after he signed a statement saying he will never return to his village.
They came again this Sunday. A seven-year-old boy ran after one of the police cars. They caught the child, beat him and tore his clothes. One of the Green Patrol men beat a girl, when she fell to the ground he stepped on her. Aqil al-Tallalqa, the village head and his sister, a woman in her fifties, were arrested. The village people called Hssein al-Rafaia, the head of the RCUV, MK Taleb a-Sana and the mayor of the town of Laqia to intervene. Only then did the police and the governmental official agree to leave. When they were asked what was the purpose of their “visit”, they said they wished to “register the tents…”
The villagers of Twail abu-Jarwal, like the villagers of A-Sir and Wadi Naam wish to come to agreements with the government. Help by writing letters to the governmental official, so that they realize that the residents of the unrecognized villages are not standing on their own!
Write letters!
The Authority for the “Advancement” of the Bedouins is responsible for finding appropriate solutions for the villages, and also for home and tent demolitions.
Ilan Yeshurun is the director. Tel: 08 623 4182. fax: 6271259 08.
This authority sits in the Israel Land Authority: Yeshurun’s boss is Yaakov Efrati, the Director of the Israel Land Authority. Tel: 6208300 02, fax: 6241286 02
The minister in charged of the Israeli Land Authority is Zeev Boim, the Minister of Housing and Construction. Tel: 02 6408439, fax: 02 6496062, email: zaevb@knesset.gov.il
The demolition orders had been given and signed by Dudu Cohen, Director of the Southern Region, Ministry of Interior:
Fax: 08 6231951 tel: 08 6263888
Minister of Interior, Meir Shitrit:
Tel: 02 6408410 Fax: 02 6496672 Email: mshitrit@knesset.gov.il
Write to your representatives, or to the closest Israeli embassy!
During the Ramadan the government destroyed a well used by Bedouin Shepherds by spilling gasoline and used oil into it. the well is located in the middle of a remote and very dry area – Bir Hapir – between Mitzpeh Ramon and Nitzana. A person who depends on the well will find himself stranded without water, and may even perish. During the last spring the Israel military filled the well with gravel. The Bedouin shepherds worked for days using buckets to clean out the well. This time it may not be possible to clean…
For more information: Dr. Yeela Raanan, Regional Council for Unrecognized Villages. +972 54 7487005 yallylivnat@gmail.com
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