According the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Arab Villages in the Negev (RCUV), authorities are planning to demolish tomorrow (Wednesday, May 8) 47 homes belonging to Arab-Bedouin citizens in the neighborhood of Wadi al-Khalil, near the village of Umm al-Batin in the Negev, southern Israel.
The authorities are trying to force the residents of Wadi al-Khalil to move to Neighborhood 1 in Umm al-Batin, where locals are threatening to resort to severe violence against them. “Their goal is to ignite the Negev in order to deepen racial discrimination,” RCUV said.
The demolition of a house at the Arab-Bedouin city of Rahat in the Negev, Monday, May 6, 2024 (Photo: Negev Coexistence Forum)
The residents of Wadi al-Khalil are willing to vacate their neighborhood – for the extension of Highway 6 southward – but refuse to move to the dangerous neighborhood in Umm al-Batin, and request to reside in a neighborhood that is currently under development in Tel Sheba.
According to information available to RCUV the police intend to block Highway 60 in the morning, to prevent activists from coming to support the neighborhood residents. “This severe violation of the human rights of hundreds of people has only one reason – shameless racism of the Israeli government”, said.
The RCUV is a grassroot civil society organization and a democratically elected body, chosen to represent the Arab-Bedouin community of the of the unrecognized Arab villages of Israel. There are 120,000 people living in 45 unrecognized villages in the Negev. This population has been denied representation in the local authorities, through the policies of non-recognition.
The primary goal of the RCUV is governmental recognition of the Arab-Bedouin villages in the Negev. In addition, the RCUV’s mission is to lobby for services for the unrecognized villages, including education, public transportation, water supply, healthcare, and democratic representation. The RCUV initiates and implements development programs; lobbies for civil rights; and advocates for the needs of its constituency.
Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=31137
