By August 9, the unrecognized Bedouin village al-Arakib in the Negev had already been demolished two times – on July 27 and August 4 . In the afternoon, The Residents of Al-Arakib were holding a protest demonstration against the demolition of their homes and for recognition of the village. In the evening we received word that during the demonstation, a number of the staff of the Israel Lands Administration (ILA) entered the village and conducted measurements and photographed structures. This news reinforced our fears that a force of police – working in the service of the Jewish National Fund's (JNF) plan to "Judaize" the Negev – was about to demolish al-Arakib for the third time in two weeks, just before the start of the holy Moslem month Ramadan, while the villagers were still busy rehabilitating the place after its second demolition a week earlier. The goal: to undermine the very existence of the village, to transform it into a disaster area, and to mortally wound the sense of security and dignity of the brave people of al-Arakib, who have returned to their stolen land and do not intend to give it up.

We decided to send a group of volunteers to the place, even though there was no certainty that the demolition would in fact take place that night or early the next morning. During both the first and second demolition operations dozens of activists came to the village to join the residents trying to save their homes from demolition. We – members of Tarabut-Hithabrut and activists from the Forum for Coexistence and Civil Equality in the Negev – made this decision in consultation with our friends at al-Arakib. We also knew that our friends, activist of the solidarity campaign with Sheikh Jarrah , would again make an effort to assist, and consequently several dozen activists made their way to al-Arakib from the center of the country, from Jerusalem, and from the south. On the two previous occasions, the police had blocked the access road to the village; we therefore did our best to send the activists during the night, so that they could sleep at the site and be present at dawn.

al-Arakib

The desert sunrise is incredibly beautiful. We had no time to enjoy it: by 6:00 we spotted the approaching force: police vans, heavy earth-moving equipment, a water cannon to disperse demonstrations, large forces of regular police and Special Patrol Units. The struggle developed very quickly. As on the two previous occasions, the armed Special Patrol Unit police encircled the activists and kept them away from the homes about to be are demolished

al-Arakib
al-Arakib

The activists shouted at the police: "What would you do if someone came to demolish your home? Can you live with what you're doing – leaving children exposed to the summer sun, with no water?" The police from the Special Patrol Unit, who wore no identification tags, began to push activists; some of the cops used the opportunity to beat protesters with particular violence.

al-Arakib

We realized that the police were preventing us from doing our duty. Some of us rushed to the tents that the police had still not reached; entire families stood outside the tents, some rushed to save whatever they could from the bulldozers, others just stood – parents and children – and watched the police approach their makeshift shelter.

al-Arakib

We clung to the wooden beams holding up one of the tents to try and prevent its demolition. The Special Patrol Unit police turned violent with the activists. One of Tarabut's activists, Gadi Algazi, was beaten by police, who twisted one of his hands behind his back, kicked him from behind, and dragged him away to be arrested.

Meanwhile, the bulldozers drove into the tents and huts. Green Patrol inspectors wandered around, quite satisfied with the situation, shouting to the drivers of the bulldozers, instructing them exactly how to wreck the homes: "Bury these covers and cushions!" "Dump sand on these tent cloths and beams!" "Knock down these small chicken coops!" Water tanks were lifted up by the bulldozers and destroyed.

al-Arakib

The activists argued with the police, reminding them that in a state where the authorities demolish homes, there's no mercy for any home – not in Beit Shean and not in al-Arakib; not in Lod and Ramla; not in Jaffa or Kfar Shalem. For whom exactly are you demolishing these homes? Do you like being the agents of the JNF, demolishing homes so that they can plant trees? And not for the sake of nature, but to take over the lands that belong to these people?

Gadi Algazi was accused of attempting "to obstruct a policeman in the performance of his duty by clinging with all his might onto the pole of tent that was designated for demolition". Algazi was told that he would be released only if he agreed, in writing, not to return to al-Arakib for a period of 15 days. He refused to sign the proffered document, explaining that the people of al-Arakib are his friends, and that it is his political and social obligation to stand by them, together with other activists. "Nothing will prevent us from visiting them during their holiday of Ramadan and assist them in rebuilding their homes," he said. Algazi was told that, if he did not sign, he would be brought before a judge and, if he persists in refusing to sign the document, he will be arrested and jailed.

At the Beer Sheva courthouse, the police hoped to impose restrictive conditions on Algazi that would oblige him not to be present in al-Arakib, similar to the conditions it tried to impose on other activists arrested during protest activities in the previous days, for example Aiman Odeh (Secretary of the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality), who insisted on his right to visit al-Arakib and won. But the attorneys Shahda Ibn-Bari and Nasser Al-Atawna surprised the police when the argued that there is no room for imposing restrictive conditions on activists, when no arrest warrants have been issued against them and the investigation had already been concluded. The judge immediately accepted their argument and within minutes Algazi was released. The court later heard the case of the demonstrators that had been arrested on the previous day near al-Arakib; two of them, Muhammad Mahajneh and Muhammad Masarwe were released several hours later and Eyal Nir remained in custody overnight after he refused to pledge not to visit al-Arakib for three days.

al-Arakib

Several members of Tarabut-Hithabrut returned to al-Arakib following Algazi's release in order to again express their support for the villagers and shake their hands. The people of al-Arakib were already busy rebuilding their homes, yet again. In fact, as soon as the police had left the site, construction work began with the assistance of activists. This country needs brave people and that defend their homes and their rights, their land -- and democracy. In al-Arakib there are people like this – and they have many friends and supporters.

But these brave people need much more solidarity than what they're currently getting. They need civil courage in their society; they need more Jewish activists – as well as mass support in the Negev from Palestinian citizens throughout the country. It's time to stand up to fight together. We must not let al-Arakib fall – we cannot allow its brave residents to stand alone.

  • Want to come help the villagers build and help them to defend al-Arakib? Contact the staff of Tarabut's committee for unrecognized villages: tarabut@gmail.com or call us: 052-6886867.

Photos: Oren Ziv, ActiveStills; Joseph Dana; Michal Rotem - Forum for Coexistence and Civil Equality in the Negev.