We are pleased to publish a press release from the Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, the association that deals with the ever-increasing abuse of the indigenous Bedouin population in the Negev-Naqab desert. A population that lives mainly from pastoralism and that has been displaced year after year to dormitory towns to make way for new Jewish settlements. In a climate of ever-increasing tension, we recall that the Bedouins of the Negev have no right to bomb shelters, which the Israeli government considers to be illegal constructions.
Negev-Naqab, Israel
The Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality issues an urgent plea to the international community to condemn the escalating home demolitions and forced displacements of Bedouin communities in Israel’s Negev-Naqab region. These actions, part of a systematic and discriminatory policy to prioritize Jewish settlement expansion, constitute a grave violation of international law and demand immediate attention.
On September 12, 2024, Israeli police raided the village of Umm al-Hiran, delivering eviction notices and announcing its imminent demolition within two months. This action, tragically reminiscent of the 2017 killing of resident Yaqub Abu al-Qi’an during a previous demolition attempt, has reignited fear and outrage within the community.
The demolition of Umm al-Hiran is not an isolated incident. Over 2,000 structures have been demolished in the Negev-Naqab in the first half of 2024 alone, leaving countless Bedouin families homeless and dispossessed. These actions directly violate international law, including Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and Article 31 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which guarantee the right to adequate housing and protection from forced displacement.
The Israeli government’s attempts to justify these demolitions by labeling Bedouin villages as ‘illegal‘ and their residents as ‘squatters‘ are a blatant misrepresentation of history and a thinly veiled attempt to erase the Bedouin people’s claim to their ancestral lands.
The human cost of these demolitions is devastating. Families, often with little to no notice, are forcibly removed from their homes and left with nowhere to go. Children are traumatized, their education disrupted. The elderly and people with disabilities face immense challenges in accessing essential services and rebuilding their lives.
The Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality (Facebook, X, Instagram), calls on the international community, and journalists in particular, to:
-
Shine a light on this human rights crisis: Report on the escalating demolitions and their devastating impact on Bedouin communities
-
Challenge the Israeli government’s narrative: Expose the discriminatory policies driving these actions and amplify the voices of the Bedouin people
-
Demand accountability: Urge the international community to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law and demand an immediate halt to these demolitions
Destroying villages is not governance; it is a violation of fundamental human rights. We implore the international community to act now before another generation of Bedouin children is left homeless and dispossessed
The international community cannot stand idly by while homes are demolished and families are torn apart.
FND/AV
On the cover photo, Vadi Peres, in the Negev, a desert area in southern Palestine, now part of Israel. The Israeli citizens of that region are indigenous Bedouins, a minority that has always been persecuted, like the Palestinians, by the Jewish state © Yolka/Shutterstock.com
