January 17, 2007

Gov't razes 21 Bedouin homes built on state land in Negev

By Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz Correspondent

The Interior Ministry and the Israel Land Administration on Tuesday raised 21 Bedouin homes built on government land in the Negev.

This is the second time that homes in the Al-Twail village have been raised in recent weeks. Residents of the village had rebuilt the homes that were destroyed in the last round of demolition.

Seventeen of the 50 homes in the village were knocked down last month, leaving 12 families without living arrangements.

The Land Administration considers the residents trespassers and is refusing to help them find a new housing solution. The residents dispute the government's claims, saying the houses were built on land they own.

The demolition of the homes in Al-Twail was carried out against the recommendation of the Knesset Interior Committee to stop razing the homes until an alternative housing solution has been found for the residents.

Originally published in Ha'aretz Tuesday, January 09, 2007, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/811470.html

Dear All,

A number of times these years that I have had the privilege of communicating with you, I have written about or mentioned the problems of Israeli Palestinians. Among these are the difficulties suffered by the Bedouins in the Negev. The existence of many of their villages predate the State. But as with Palestinian land in the OPT, here in Israel, too, Israeli Palestinian lands are stolen. Thus the Israeli government can turn village land into State land with the blink of an eye, as Israel has done both within the territory called Israel and in the OPT. Indeed, when Israel claims that the homes were built on State land, one ought to ask where the villagers lived prior to the land becoming State land—if their ancestors had not resided on this land?

Apart from the issue of demolitions, it is also the perfect time of year to deprive people of their dwellings: winter with rain and cold! But Israel's leaders would love these people--who have tried their best to be loyal to the state, have sent their sons to fight and die for it—to become violent. Then Israel would have a true reason to exile them as it did others in 1948-9.

At the heart of all this is DEMOGRAPHY—the terrible horrid fear that Jews might not remain the majority. Interestingly, the evening TV news on 2 stations mentioned was nary a word about the demolition of 21 homes. Imagine. If they had been Jewish homes demolished by Palestinians or anyone else, not only Israeli TV but all the world would have been shouting ‘antisemitism!' But Palestinians—who gives a hoot!!!!

By the way, Israeli Jewish homes are almost never demolished. Moreover, should a Jew wish to establish a farm in the Negev, he/she would be given all the government help needed—including electricity, running water, and whatever else. Not so the Bedouins which Israeli leaders want to force off their lands and crowd into cities away from their traditional farming and herding lives.

To this end Israel's leaders have created a category unknown elsewhere in the world: “unrecognized villages.” If you wish to learn more about them, visit their website http://www.assoc40.org/ You can also check out the phrase “unrecognized villages” in Google. Very educational.

Dorothy

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Ha'aretz Update Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Last update - 16:29 09/01/2007

Gov't razes 21 Bedouin homes built on state land in Negev

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/811470.html

Hebrew: http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/811443.html

By Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz Correspondent

The Interior Ministry and the Israel Land Administration on Tuesday raised 21 Bedouin homes built on government land in the Negev.

This is the second time that homes in the Al-Twail village have been raised in recent weeks. Residents of the village had rebuilt the homes that were destroyed in the last round of demolition.

Seventeen of the 50 homes in the village were knocked down last month, leaving 12 families without living arrangements.

The Land Administration considers the residents trespassers and is refusing to help them find a new housing solution. The residents dispute the government's claims, saying the houses were built on land they own.

The demolition of the homes in Al-Twail was carried out against the recommendation of the Knesset Interior Committee to stop razing the homes until an alternative housing solution has been found for the residents.

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