Middle East Monitor / October 24, 2022
The Israeli occupation authorities demolished the Palestinian village of Al-Araqib for the 208th time this morning, Aziz Al-Turi, a member of the Local Committee for the Defence of Al-Araqib, has revealed. “The people will rebuild their village,” Al-Turi told Anadolu.
The last time that the Israeli authorities demolished the homes in the village was in early October; the first demolition took place in July 2010. Since then, the homes have been demolished every time that the residents rebuild them.
The Israeli government does not recognize Al-Araqib, but its residents insist on remaining on their land despite the repeated demolition of their homes. Twenty-two families live in the homes built of wood, plastic and tin.
According to Zochrot, an organization Israeli Jewish and Palestinian activists which documents the Palestinian Nakba (Catastrphe) of 1948, Al-Araqib was built for the first time during the Ottoman period on land purchased by the residents. The organization says that the authorities are working to expel the residents of the village in order to control their land. It notes that Israel does not recognize dozens of other villages in the Negev region, and refuses to provide any public services to them.