Israeli forces demolish Bedouin village of al-Araqib

Israeli forces Thursday demolished the Bedouin village of al-Araqib in the Negev region of southern Israel for the 104th time, locals told Ma’an.

Aziz al-Touri, a resident of al-Araqib, told Ma’an that the demolition was seen by the community as a continuation of “crimes committed against our lands,” and said that Israeli assaults on the village would only “increase our determination to stay on our land.”

Israeli forces began targeting the village with demolitions in 2010, along with filing multiple lawsuits against the residents and imposing more than 2 million shekels ($527,920 ) worth of fines.

The first demolition of al-Araqib took place a little over six years ago on June 27, 2010, and has been demolished 103 more times as of Thursday.

Al-Araqib is one of 35 Bedouin villages considered “unrecognized” by the Israeli state. According to ACRI, more than half of the approximately 160,000 Negev Bedouins reside in unrecognized villages.