Palestinian Bedouin and their future in Naqab/Negev

The Bedouin village, al-‘Araqib, situated eight kilometers north of Biʾr al-Sabʿa/Be'er-Sheva city, has been so far demolished 208 times. Its residents resist by rebuilding it again and again. In her activism, Nadia Alatawneh, architect by profession, focuses on securing the right of Palestinian Bedouin to remain on their land. She reports on their situation in Naqab/Negev desert - persecuted by the Israeli state, whose citizenship they carry - as well as the role that the Jewish National Fund plays in the destruction of their land, their villages, their homes and their permanent eviction.

On 19 th July 2022, Amnesty International stated its concern that “the housing rights of Bedouin citizens in Israel are not respected, and that they are discriminated against with regard to other economic, social and cultural rights” linking it to “a policy aimed at maintaining Israel’s system of oppression and domination over Palestinians”.

Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Middle East and North Africa Director said: “Instead of demolishing homes, the Israeli authorities should dismantle discriminatory planning and building policies that have put Bedouin citizens in the absurd situation of being labelled trespassers on their own lands”.

There are 35 unrecognized villages in the Naqab/Negev region – almost all of them are older than the State of Israel. Their ‘unrecognized’ status means that they are under imminent threat of destruction and their 100,000 Palestinian inhabitants at the threat of eviction and homelessness.

The event is hosted by:

Palestine Speaks, Palestine Committee Stuttgart, and Jewish Voice for Peace,
in cooperation with Mozaik.