Bedouins from the Negev protest in front of the Israeli Knesset. Mahmoud Illean/Demotix. All rights reserved.
In Israel’s Negev desert, ethnic cleansing is once again rearing its ugly head. The unrecognised Bedouin village of Umm Al Hiran faces demolition and replacement with a Jewish town, Hiran. Seven hundred villagers face displacement, and only because they are of the wrong ethnicity.
Umm Al Hiran is one of tens of unrecognised villages in the Negev, inhabited by descendants of the Abu al-Qian tribe. Located in the area of Wadi Attir, the village is divided into two areas: Umm Al Hiran and Attir. Attir is also facing demolition in order to expand a Jewish National Fund (JNF) forest—in Israel, greenery is more important than Palestinians. Both these areas are in the master plan of the Be’er Sheva metropolitan area.
