The Negev uprising and the lie of co-existing with the occupation
January 18, 2022
Arab Israelis shout slogans as they stage a protest in the mostly Arab city of Umm al-Fahm in northern Israel in solidarity with Bedouin communites in the Negev Desert on January 14, 2022 [AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images]
Majed El-Zebdah
January 18, 2022
The recent events at the Negev, which were punctuated by popular Palestinian confrontations with the occupation army, in which men and women alike participated in the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land in the occupied Negev, brought back to our memory the scenes of Palestinian steadfastness in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of occupied Jerusalem, and the events of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. It was also reminiscent of the Intifada of the Stones, and the events of Land Day, in which the Palestinian people rose up in defence of the land of Palestine, and in rejection of the occupation's plans to uproot the Palestinians from their land and expel them from their homes as part of a settlement plan that has been ongoing for the past century. However, it has still been unsuccessful in persuading the Palestinians to emigrate from their land voluntarily.
The recent razing operations carried out by the extremist right-wing occupation government, which targeted the Naqa area, east of the city of Tel El-Saba in the occupied Negev, under the pretext of forestation of barren lands, is an extension of the occupation state's anti-Palestinian policy. This policy consists of repression, arrests, raiding homes and assaulting innocent people, with the aim of pushing the Palestinians to surrender – and, thus, not confront the racism of the occupation, or thwarts its ongoing settlement plans in the occupied Negev region.
The successive occupation governments refuse to recognise the right of the Palestinians of the Negev to live in their villages, which are over 45 in number. They are also being deprived of infrastructure and electricity and the occupation is forcing them to live in a crowded manner in a very tight area of the Negev land, which makes up over half of the geography of historical Palestine. It is practicing a racist policy that contradicts the claims of the occupation governments that the Israeli state is an oasis of democracy and a model for coexistence between the Palestinians and the Occupation.
The occupation government's attempts to control, by armed force, the six Palestinian villages in the Naqa area, east of Beersheba, and its insistence on expelling its more than 30,000 Palestinian residents confirms, once again, the impossibility of coexistence with the occupation's racism and the continuous policies of Judaisation of the Palestinian land. It also exposes the falsehood of the claims made by some who believed that, if they offered political support to the extremist Bennett-Lapid government, in return the occupation would agree to establish an infrastructure for the Palestinians in the occupied Negev. The recent events in the Negev confirmed that the Palestinian supporters of the extremist occupation governments live in illusions far from reality.
Israel is trying to steal more Palestinian land in the Negev – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]
The scenes of steadfastness that we all followed through the uprising of our people in the occupied Negev in the face of the occupation army, the solidarity vigils in support of this national movement in Gaza, Umm Al-Fahm, Haifa, Jaffa and Nazareth, and the statements of support issued by the Palestinian forces in support of the Negev uprising, confirms the unity of our Palestinian people in confronting the occupation. It also proves that resistance, in all of its forms, including popular and armed resistance, is a national means around which the Palestinian people are rallying, and they now see comprehensive confrontation as the only way to uproot the occupation from the land of Palestine.
READ: Israeli police arrest 41 Arabs in the Negev, amid protests
Although the Fatah movement issued a statement rejecting the occupation's aggression against the people of the Negev, it is worth noting that the PA and PLO, along with their official bodies which are meant to represent the Palestinian people, have remained silent in the face of the heated events in the occupied Negev, as if these events do not concern them. It is as if they are afraid to denounce the extremist actions of the Bennett-Lapid government for fear of the government depriving them of the economic privileges enjoyed by its leaders from occupied Ramallah.
In conclusion, we declare our solidarity with our people in the occupied Negev, and we consider their support a national duty that should be performed by all Palestinians. The Palestinian people, wherever they are, are being targeted for expulsion by the Zionist occupation governments. The victory of our people in the Negev in this confrontation that was imposed on them by force is a victory for all Palestinians and the Palestinian cause.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.
Israel arrests dozens of Palestinians, including children, in Negev
Israel arrested dozens of its Palestinian citizens in the flashpoint Negev ("Naqab") Desert region on Tuesday following protests over forced displacement.
Children were among the 41 Palestinians taken into custody in the region, where local families are facing displacement from their land to allow a forest to be planted.
Youths were detained across the Negev and police raided several villages, including Tel Al-Saba, the Arabic-language news site Arab 48 reported, citing witnesses.
At Tel Al-Saba, 12 people were taken into custody, according to the Al-Jarmaq news outlet.
It follows Israeli police disrupting locals' demonstrations against the threatened destruction in Sawah village.
RELATED
Nakba in The Negev: Israel ramps up Palestinian displacement
The 41 latest arrests bring the total number of Palestinian Bedouins arrested in the Negev to more than 130 since Monday last week, according to Negev-based activist Riya Al'Sanah.
There are 55 Palestinians, including 11 children, who are still detained, she added.
Lawyers from the Negev and beyond have offered free legal assistance to those arrested.
They have claimed Palestinians are being kept in poor conditions and questioned the fairness of the judicial process.
"Despite being Israeli citizens, who should, in theory, have access to fair legal proceedings, it is clear that detainees are facing structural and systematic racism and discrimination embedded in the Israeli legal system," lawyer Shahda ibn Bari said.
Another, Marwan Abu Frieh asserted: "What's happening in the courts resembles what takes place during interrogations at police stations and detention centers.
"Detention extensions are carried out without any legal justification."
He said a child aged 14 has had his extension prolonged on three occasions "without justification", adding that "judgments are seemingly handed down without due consideration of facts".
Meanwhile, the Higher Steering Committee for Arabs in the Naqab (HSCAN) slammed Israel's police, accusing them of perpetrating abuses against protesters in the region, the Arabi 21 news website said.
Many Palestinians have been reportedly wounded by Israeli security forces since protests began last week.
Demonstrations will be held by the HSCAN every day to secure the freedom of those being held.
The body has also urged religious leaders to act, including by discussing the Negev's plight at Friday prayers.
The 41 latest arrests bring the total number of Palestinians arrested in the Negev to more than 130 since Monday last week, according to one activist.
More than 130 Palestinians have reportedly been arrested in the Negev since Monday last week [Menahem KAHANA/AFP/Getty]
More than 130 Palestinians have reportedly been arrested in the Negev since Monday last week [Menahem KAHANA/AFP/Getty]
Israel arrested dozens of its Palestinian citizens in the flashpoint Negev ("Naqab") Desert region on Tuesday following protests over forced displacement.
Children were among the 41 Palestinians taken into custody in the region, where local families are facing displacement from their land to allow a forest to be planted.
Youths were detained across the Negev and police raided several villages, including Tel Al-Saba, the Arabic-language news site Arab 48 reported, citing witnesses.
At Tel Al-Saba, 12 people were taken into custody, according to the Al-Jarmaq news outlet.
It follows Israeli police disrupting locals' demonstrations against the threatened destruction in Sawah village.
RELATED
Nakba in The Negev: Israel ramps up Palestinian displacement
The 41 latest arrests bring the total number of Palestinian Bedouins arrested in the Negev to more than 130 since Monday last week, according to Negev-based activist Riya Al'Sanah.
There are 55 Palestinians, including 11 children, who are still detained, she added.
Lawyers from the Negev and beyond have offered free legal assistance to those arrested.
They have claimed Palestinians are being kept in poor conditions and questioned the fairness of the judicial process.
"Despite being Israeli citizens, who should, in theory, have access to fair legal proceedings, it is clear that detainees are facing structural and systematic racism and discrimination embedded in the Israeli legal system," lawyer Shahda ibn Bari said.
Another, Marwan Abu Frieh asserted: "What's happening in the courts resembles what takes place during interrogations at police stations and detention centers.
"Detention extensions are carried out without any legal justification."
He said a child aged 14 has had his extension prolonged on three occasions "without justification", adding that "judgments are seemingly handed down without due consideration of facts".
Meanwhile, the Higher Steering Committee for Arabs in the Naqab (HSCAN) slammed Israel's police, accusing them of perpetrating abuses against protesters in the region, the Arabi 21 news website said.
Many Palestinians have been reportedly wounded by Israeli security forces since protests began last week.
Demonstrations will be held by the HSCAN every day to secure the freedom of those being held.
The body has also urged religious leaders to act, including by discussing the Negev's plight at Friday prayers.
Israeli General calls for a repeat of 1948 massacre against Palestinians in Negev
January 18, 2022
Israeli police arrest a Bedouin man in the village of Al-Atrash
January 18, 2022
Israeli police arrest a Bedouin man in the village of Al-Atrash
in the Negev desert on 13 January 2022
[MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images]
January 18, 2022
An Israeli General has urged for a repeat of the 1948 military massacre that resulted in Israel's occupation of the Naqab Desert, also known as the Negev, and the forceful expulsion of tens of thousands of Palestinian residents.
Major General Yom-Tov Samiah, who served as commander of the Southern Zone in the Israeli Army during the Second Intifada, wrote on Twitter: "Operation 'Yoav' will soon return to liberate the Negev. Luckily General Shaike Gavish, who led the operation at the time is alive. He will pass on some lessons."
Operation Yoav was one of the two large-scale operations launched by the army in October 1948, which opened a road to the Negev.
Nearly 120,000 Palestinians, including the elderly, women and children resided in the area; however, following Israel's massacre, only 30,000 Palestinians were left.
"If we continue at this rate of loss of control we will have to retake the Negev and Galilee. Civil war is on the doorstep," added Major General Yom-Tov Samiah.
Many Negev Bedouin, Arab residents who have Israeli citizenship, live in unrecognised townships scattered across the southern desert.
Hundreds of local Arabs demonstrated in the Negev in recent days in protest of the confiscation of their lands by the Jewish National Fund, an organisation that collects money from Jews around the world to seize Palestinian property.
The police used sound bombs, rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse people, causing several injuries, according to the statement.
Arab citizens in the Negev region are estimated at around 300,000, living on 5 per cent of their land, 95 per cent of which they say has been confiscated by Israel since 1948.
January 18, 2022
An Israeli General has urged for a repeat of the 1948 military massacre that resulted in Israel's occupation of the Naqab Desert, also known as the Negev, and the forceful expulsion of tens of thousands of Palestinian residents.
Major General Yom-Tov Samiah, who served as commander of the Southern Zone in the Israeli Army during the Second Intifada, wrote on Twitter: "Operation 'Yoav' will soon return to liberate the Negev. Luckily General Shaike Gavish, who led the operation at the time is alive. He will pass on some lessons."
Operation Yoav was one of the two large-scale operations launched by the army in October 1948, which opened a road to the Negev.
Nearly 120,000 Palestinians, including the elderly, women and children resided in the area; however, following Israel's massacre, only 30,000 Palestinians were left.
"If we continue at this rate of loss of control we will have to retake the Negev and Galilee. Civil war is on the doorstep," added Major General Yom-Tov Samiah.
Many Negev Bedouin, Arab residents who have Israeli citizenship, live in unrecognised townships scattered across the southern desert.
Hundreds of local Arabs demonstrated in the Negev in recent days in protest of the confiscation of their lands by the Jewish National Fund, an organisation that collects money from Jews around the world to seize Palestinian property.
The police used sound bombs, rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse people, causing several injuries, according to the statement.
Arab citizens in the Negev region are estimated at around 300,000, living on 5 per cent of their land, 95 per cent of which they say has been confiscated by Israel since 1948.
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