Negev Bedouins to sew government for massive crop destruction
” The Bedouin are not squatters – government act was totally illegal “
After taking legal advice, Bedouin inhabitants of the Negev intend to sew the government ofIsrael for major damages, following a massive destruction of their crops bygovernment-chartered tractors earlier this week.
The Bedouin are not squatters. They are peaceful farmers, citizens of the state of Israelsince it was first established and who had worked their land for many generations before that,who are in possession of all the necessary documents, and who had asserted their ownership ofthe land in a document submitted to the Ministry of Justice as long as 40 years ago.
On February 1 this week, in the early hours of the morning, the state ” organized ” itself for thepurpose of assaulting its Bedouin citizens, in order to ruin their agricultural work on theirland. Thus they destroyed close to 5000 dunams (about 1200 acres) belonging to the Elokbi ,Altori , Abu Madigum and Abu Siam tribes.
Personnel of the government’s Land Office and the so-called ” green Patrol ” invaded theBedouin land, accompanied by hundreds of ordinary policemen, Border Policemen and fullyarmed and equipped soldiers, having at their disposal everything from horses tohelicopters. They had all come to convoy and guard the demolition contractors, who had thebest of agricultural equipment – which they used not in order to prepare the land for planting,but on the contrary to destroy and ruin the agricultural work of their Bedouin fellowcitizens.
This act is clearly illegal. It is illegal even under the recently enacted ” Squatter RemovalAmendment ” whose whole purpose is evicting and removing the Bedouin citizens of Israel fromtheir land – land which is deemed to be ” state land ” regardless of the generations that theylived and worked on it. Even under this harsh and manifestly unjust law, the government issupposed to give the inhabitants a warning in advance and give them time to protest orchallenge the act in a court of law. This requirement the government arrogantly ignored,sending their troops in without any warning.
The Bedouin do not intend to ignore this criminal act, the destruction of their agricultureand the threat to evict them from the land. We will demand full compensation from the stateauthorities, for the full damage done to us by the State Authorities, and insist on anassurance of the full rights of the Bedouin population.
Of course, we stand upon our right to hold on to and to work our land and property.
Further info: Nuri Elokbi , Association Chair +972-54-5465556