Israeli forces complete demolition of all structures in a Bedouin town in the Negev

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Ben Gvir praises the action and is “proud” to “lead a strong policy of destroying illegal houses”

Nov. 14 (EUROPA PRESS) –

This Thursday, Israeli security forces completed the demolition of all structures in the Bedouin town of Um al Hiran, located in the Negev Desert, as part of a plan to create a new community for ultra-Orthodox Jews after nearly two decades of litigation in court.

According to information collected by the Palestinian news agency WAFA, Israeli forces demolished the mosque built in the town during the day, which was the last structure standing in the area after the demolition of all the homes.

The measure comes after nearly 20 years of court disputes and after Israel’s Supreme Court ordered the demolition of all the structures in 2015, arguing that the Bedouins had built them on public land and ordered them to leave the site.

The Israeli authorities on several occasions demanded that the nearly 300 residents move to buildings erected in the nearby town of Hura, although many of them refused and even chose to demolish their homes with their own hands.

The Regional Council for Unrecognized Bedouin Villages in the Negev, a non-governmental organization that represents communities in this area, has indicated on its account on the social network X that several people have been detained by Israeli forces during the operations.

In this sense, a spokesperson for the organization has said that these demolitions are “another chapter in the ethnic cleansing and expulsion of Arabs in this country”, as reported by the Israeli newspaper ‘The Times of Israel’.

On the other hand, the Minister of National Security of Israel, the far-right Itamar Ben Gvir, has praised the destruction of “a mosque and buildings illegally built in the village of Um al Hiran”, while publishing a video of the demolition of the temple by a crane.

“Since the beginning of the year there has been a 400% increase in the issuance of demolition orders. Proud to lead a strong policy of destroying illegal houses in the Negev!” he stated on his X account.

The efforts of the Israeli authorities are aimed at building a new community called Dror on the site. Attempts in 2017 to demolish this same village led to incidents, including the death of a Bedouin who was shot by police while driving a vehicle, causing his vehicle to run over and kill an officer.