Israeli Collection Law (in Hebrew called “Hotzaa–Lapoal“) officers arrived at the village of Al-Arakib, accompanied by an Israeli Land Administration (ILA) inspector, and entered the village’s cemetery. He handed out a “flexible eviction order” to the Sheikh of the village, Sheikh Sayach A-Turi, that will be enforced between June 12 and July 12. The representative pasted another 7 orders on an old structure in the cemetery, including two orders for people who are no longer living, and for people who left the village already in 2010. According to the order, if the residents will not leave on their own until June 12 at 8:00 am, the eviction will take place within 30 days.

Sheikh Sayach A-Turi holds the eviction order he received, 20 May 2014 (Photo: Dukium)

ILA and Green Patrol inspectors have entered the Al-Arakib cemetery already on March 10 this year, accompanied by police forces. They took pictures of the cemetery area, where the residents of the village live for the last couple of years. According to the eviction orders, it seems that the state plans to move the residents that live within the cemetery.