London, 9 May 2024 (TDI): Amnesty International (AI) declared that Palestinian-Bedouins face forced evictions and mass home demolitions in Negev/Naqab, Palestine.
The Israeli authorities demolished 47 homes on May 8, in Wadi al-Khalil, an unrecognized Palestinian/Bedouin village in the Negev/Naqab.
Amnesty International mentioned the actions have been taken without proper consultation or compensation and underscores the urgency to dismantle Israel’s apartheid system.
Abu Assa neighbourhood in Wadi al-Khalil
AI shared that the demolition orders against the Abu Assa neighbourhood in Wadi al-Khalil were issued by Israeli planning authorities in 2019.
The aim was to make way for the extension of the route of Highway 6 southwards.
AI believes that the demolitions, highest in a single day since the demolitions of Al-Araqib in 2010, amount to forced eviction of over 300 residents of Wadi al-Khalil.
Noteworthy, that Wadi al-Khalil is one of nine Palestinian-Bedouins unrecognized villages at risk of forced evictions under the guise of urban development.
Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa explained the illegality of said actions.
“The scenes of hyper-militarized police units… storming Wadi al-Khalil to bulldoze homes and confiscate residents’ belongings are yet another chilling demonstration of the cruelty and ongoing injustices and human rights violations meted by Israeli authorities upon Palestinian citizens of Israel, especially those living in the Negev/Naqab.”
The police units included the notorious Yoav and border police units.
“Instead of meaningfully consulting with the local communities in an inclusive decision-making process on planning, infrastructure development and access to land, Israeli authorities, particularly the Bedouin Authority for Development and Settlement, continue to use urban development as a tool to displace Bedouins,” she lamented.
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Furthermore, such actions “disenfranchise them and force them into smaller and smaller pockets of land, in a clear illustration of Israel’s apartheid system,” she criticized.
“They must immediately stop all forced evictions and ensure those affected have access to effective remedy and those made homeless are granted adequate housing,” she pleaded.
These demolitions come less than a year after the Israeli District Court had approved forced eviction of the unrecognized village of Ras Jrabah.
Ras Jrabah was evicted to make way for the expansion of nearby Jewish town of Dimona.
