On Thursday, September 30, 2021, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) demolished the Al-Araqib Palestinian village, in the occupied Negev region (south of Palestine occupied in 1948), for the 193rd time in a row.
At 7:30, Israeli police forces, with vehicles of the “Negev Development Authority, stormed Al-Araqib village and demolished the tents and homes of Palestinian citizens living there.
This is the 11th time that the IOF has demolished the very basic tents of Al-Araqib people this year, but the people reconstruct them every time.
The Israeli authorities demolished the village for the first time in July 2010, and it has been demolished every time residents rebuild it.
Before this latest demolition, the IOF demolished the village on February 17 for the eighth time, despite the outbreak of the Corona pandemic.
The Israeli occupation government insists on not recognizing the village of Al-Araqib, and the residents of the village insist on staying on their land despite repeated demolitions.
The village of Al-Araqib was established for the first time during the Ottoman period on land purchased by the residents.
The IOF seeks to expel the residents of the village in order to control their lands like dozens of other villages in the Negev region, which they do not recognize and refuse to provide any services to.
Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) has repeatedly condemned the Israeli demolitions, calling on the European Union and the international community to act urgently to stop the repeated Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people.
AOHR UK held the international community partially responsible, as its “weak” reaction towards the crimes of the Israeli occupation is the main reason for these serious crimes to continue.
