RCUV: Israeli police destroy family homes in Negev

from The Regional Council for the Unrecognized Negev Arab Villages

Yesterday, Wednesday June 6th 2007, at 8:45am the bulldozers came accompanies by hundreds of police officers to the village of Hashem Zaneh in the Israeli Negev and demolished four structures belonging to the Abu-Ghanimeh family. The first belonged to a family of eight: parents and their six children. The next two belonged to two young men who had intended to marry this summer and bring their brides to their new homes. These modest dwellings had been built slowly over the last year and a half, slowly collecting the funds needed, building the home as they could. When they received the demolition warnings three months ago, they went to the authorities and asked if there was any place they could build a house for their new family to be and the authorities response was “we have no answers for you.” The forth was a shiq, the traditional space of hospitality for any guests arriving in the neighborhood.

A month ago we gathered in the same village of Hashem Zaneh as we celebrated the opening of a new playground that the village had built with the help of the organizations AJEEC and the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages. But celebrations in the unrecognized villages are rare and short.

For more information: Yeela Raanan, RCUV. yallylivnat@gmail.com