The Netanyahu government is opening another front, against its own citizens
The Israeli government is persecuting its Palestinian Arab citizens in order to open another front, as declared by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich when he said in June of this year that Israel’s Palestinian Arab citizens pose an “internal front” to the country. Today, hundreds of policemen were sent to destroy houses in the Bedouin village of Um Batin in the Naqab. Since his appointment in the Netanyahu government, Ben-Gvir has been trying to create a front of violence and oppression against the Palestinian Arab citizens of the state.
This morning, August 7th, Israeli authorities, accompanied by a large contingent of heavily armed police forces, stormed the Bedouin village of Umm Batin to demolish the Abu Kaf family’s home, which has housed generations. Despite strong resistance from residents, who staged a sit-in protest inside the home, Israeli officers proceeded with their bulldozers. Within a few hours, what was once a warm home was reduced to rubble and ruins.
More than 100,000 Palestinian Arab citizens in the Naqab (Negev) still live in tents and dilapidated buildings, either on land they own or on government-designated lands where they have been relocated. While the Israeli government has established hundreds of settlements for Jewish citizens across the country, including settlements deemed illegal by the UN in the territories occupied since 1967, it continues to deny the Palestinian Arab residents of the Naqab the right to build houses on their lands.
Deploying such a large number of police officers to demolish a house in a small village in the Naqab, amid unprecedented tensions and ongoing conflict, exacerbates the housing crisis rather than resolving it. The Israeli government's actions indicate a reluctance to work towards a ceasefire and suggest an attempt to open another front against its Palestinian Arab citizens, including doctors, construction workers, and teachers, who strive to live peacefully in their homeland.
Today’s demolition exemplifies the broader issue exacerbated by the recent expansion of enforcement powers granted to the fascist Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir. Under the Kaminitz Law, which intensifies the enforcement of building regulations through increased demolitions, fines, and penalties, Ben-Gvir has been on a crusade to impose stringent measures across the country with little regard for due process.
The Israeli government's persistent refusal to approve master plans or issue building permits for Palestinian Arab localities forces many to construct homes without official recognition. This lack of formal acknowledgment often results in harsh punitive measures, including home demolitions carried out with significant police presence.
As the Israeli government deliberately creates a housing crisis aimed at encouraging young Jewish couples to move to settlements in the occupied territories, while also forcing other young couples to take out massive loans to afford average housing, government officials are actively demolishing homes, leaving entire families homeless and struggling to find shelter.
The Director of the Mossawa Center, Jafar Farah, stated, "The police officers sent today on the orders of Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir serve his political agenda, which is designed to create hostility and hatred between Jews and Palestinian Arabs from the sea to the river. Every effort must be made to stop the war and prevent the Netanyahu government from causing further bloodshed."
Hadash Knesset Member Yousef Atawna, who was present during the demolition, has condemned these actions, calling for an end to what he describes as a "racist war" against Naqab’s Palestinian Arab residents. “From the day he took office, the failed minister declared war on the Bedouin society in the Naqab, and instead of finding solutions for the citizens he is entrusted with maintaining their safety and well-being, he destroys, evicts, exterminates, and leaves whole families and children homeless and without any property,” Atawna wrote in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter). Knesset Member Ofer Cassif has also criticized the minister's actions, highlighting false claims about the residents and emphasizing the severe consequences of transferring enforcement powers to Ben-Gvir.
The Mossawa Center stands in solidarity with the affected communities and reaffirms its commitment to advocating for the rights and dignity of human rights and the rights of Palestinian Arab citizens.
We call on the international community and local authorities to address these injustices and work towards sustainable solutions that respect the rights and needs of all residents. More importantly, these actions that are carried out by Netanyahu and his far-right ministers all stem from the same ideology of occupation that has brought endless death and destruction to Gaza and the West Bank. The international community must act at once to bring about a permanent ceasefire and an end to the bloodshed in Gaza and commit to rebuilding and restoring the lives that have been destroyed there.
