House demolitions in the Negev
One of the principle means by which the Israeli government coerces the residents of unrecognized villages to abandon their land and relocate to government-planned towns is by not providing an avenue for authorized construction within their villages and demolishing houses.
The government issues demolition orders on houses that were built without permits. Then, among the houses which receive such demolition orders, government officials choose at random which homes will be demolished. The home owner lives in uncertainty, never knowing if his house will be next, or when the bulldozers will finally appear. Most often, a family’s property is destroyed when a home is demolished because residents are rarely given enough time to retrieve their belongings.
In 2003, General Director of the Ministry of Interior, Mr. Mordecai Mordecai, provided the following details concerning the policy of home demolitions: In 2002, out of an estimated 30,000 illegal structures (with a further 1,500 houses being built annually without permits), 113 houses were demolished and another 323 lawsuits were served to owners of houses deemed illegal. In 2003, 157 houses were demolished in unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev. By the end of June 2004, 67 houses were demolished.
Since 2005, the number of house demolitions taking place each year in the Negev has risen, and in 2009, a total of 254 homes were destroyed. In February 2010, the situation become even more dire, as the Ministry of Interior, the Israel Lands Administration and the Israeli Police’s Southern District jointly resolved to triple the rate of house demolitions in unrecognized Bedouin villages.
This indicates the Israeli government’s intention of carrying out an unwritten policy: destroying all Bedouin villages in the Negev.
Record of House Demolitions and Crop Destruction, 2013
- May 22 - Three houses demolished in the recognized village of Al Said, near Hura.
- May 20 – Tent burned in Bir Hadij.
- May 16 – A large police force and the Israel Land Administration (ILA) barricaded the unrecognized village of Atir in the northern Negev, carried out fifteen demolitions in the village, and uprooted many trees.
- May 9 – Al Arakib demolished for the 47th time.
- May 9 - One house was demolished in the village of Hirbat Al-Batl, south of Rahat.
- May 9 – One structure was demolished in the town of Segev-Shalom.
- May 9 – One house was demolished in the village of A-Sayed
- April 22 – A house was demolished at the city of Rahat.
- April 22- A shack was demolished north of Ar’ara Benegev.
- April 18 – a shop was demolished at the village of Wadi Al-Na’am.
- April 18 – a house was demolished at the village of Umm-Ratam.
- April 18 – a house was demolished south of Rahat.
- April 10 – Al Arakib demolished for the 46th time.
- March 13 – In Wadi Al-Meshash, one house was demolished and a teenage female was arrested.
- March 11 – In Tel Al-Malach, west of Kseife, one house was demolished.
- March 13 – In Al-Arakib, west of route 40 between Lehavim and Goral junctions, the village was demolished for the 45th time.
- March 11 – In Makhul, one house was demolished.
- March 11 – West of Kseife, one shack was demolished.
- February 27 – In Kseife, one house was demolished.
- February 27 – In Al Zarnug, an unrecognized village north of route 25, an animal pen was demolished.
- February 27 – In Umm-Batin, north east of Tel-Sheva, one house was demolished.
- February 21 – North east of Hura, dozens of acres were plowed.
- February 21 – In Sawa, dozens of acres were plowed.
- February 21 – In Kaser A-Ser, dozens of acres were plowed.
- February 19 – In Wadi Al Naam, an unrecognized Bedouin village near Ramat Hovav, fields were plowed.
- February 12 – West of Al-Arakib, west of route 40 between Lehavim and Goral junctions, five houses of the Al-Oqbi family were demolished.
- February 12 – In Al-Arakib, west of route 40 between Lehavim and Goral junctions, the village was demolished for the 44th time.
- February 12- In Umm-Batin, north-east of Tel-Sheva, hundreds of acres of fields were plowed.
- February 12- In Lakiya, hundreds of acres of fields were plowed.
- February 12- In Hirbat Al-Batel, south of Rahat, hundreds of acres of fields were plowed.
- February 6 – In A-Sayed, west of Hura, three houses were demolished.
- February 6 – In Wadi Al-Na’am, near Ramat-Hovav east of route 40, one house and one stable were demolished.
- February 5 – South of Rahat, hundreds of acres of fields were plowed.
- January 17 – In Al-Arakib, west of route 40 between Lehavim and Goral junctions, the village was demolished for the 43rd time.
- January 17 – In Al Madbakh, east of Segev-Shalom, two houses were demolished.
- January 17 – In Lakiya, one house was demolished.
- January 12 – In Dakhia, north of Rahat, one house was demolished.
- January 12- In Tel-Sheva, one house was demolished.
- January 9 – In Umm-Namila, north of Rahat, one house was demolished.
- January 9 – In Tel-Sheva, one house was demolished.
Record of House Demolitions and Crop Destruction, 2012
- December 24 – In Segev-Shalom, one house was demolished.
- December 24 – In A-Sayed, west of Hura, 70 olive trees were uprooted.
- December 19 – In Al-Zarnug, near Nevatim north of route 25, one house was demolished.
- December 19 – In Umm-Batin, north-east of Tel-Sheva, one house was demolished.
- December 11 – In Al-Arakib, west of route 40 between Lehavim and Goral junctions, the village was demolished for the 42nd time.
- November 14 – In Al Zarnug, near Nevatim north of route 25, one house was demolished.
- November 14 – In Al-Sdir, north-east of Aroer junction, a mosque was demolished.
- November 14 – In Al Arakib, west of route 40 between Lehavim and Goral junctions, the village was demolished for the 41st time.
- November 6 – In Segev-Shalom, one mini-caravan was demolished.
- November 6 – In Kseife, one house was demolished.
- November 6 – South of Al-Arakib, west of route 40 between Lehavim and Goral junctions, five houses were demolished.
- October 18 – In Al-Arakib, west of route 40 between Lehavim and Goral junctions, the village was demolished for the 40th time.
- October 9 – One home was demolished in Kochleh village.
- September 27 – One home was demolished in Bir Hadaj village.
- September 20 – Five homes were demolished in the village of Wadi Ari’ha, one house was demolished in Abde, and one house was demolished in Bir-Hadaj.
- September 12 – In Al-Arakib, tents were demolished for the 39th time.
- August 29 – Six Bedouin homes were demolished: two homes in Bir Hadaj, one house in Rachmeh (near Yeruham), one large home in Khirbet Al-Batel, one house south of Arad and one home in Abu Krinat.
- August 16 – In Al-Arakib, tents were demolished for the 38th time.
- July 17 – In Al-Arakib, tents were demolished for the 37th time.
- July 4 – Two homes and a mosque were destroyed in Wadi Aricha, North of Mitzpeh Ramon, and one home was demolished in Segev Shalom.
- June 24 – In Al-Arakib, tents were demolished for the 36th time.
- June 11 – One house in Segev Shalom, one fence in Bir Hadaj, and three huts and a chicken pen south of Rahat were demolished.
- June 6 – Three houses in Tel Sheva, one house in Sawa and two homes in Umm Ratam were demolished.
- May 23 – In Al-Arakib, tents were demolished for the 35th time.
- May 8 – One house in Squeb A-Salam (Segev-Shalom) and part of a newly-renovated house in Khirbat Al-Batal were demolished.
- May 2 – In Khirbat Al-Batal, one house was demolished.
- April 23 – In Al-Arakib, tents were demolished for the 34th time.
- April 23 – In Umm Batin, one home was demolished.
- March 7 – In Tel-Arad, Aroer and Wadi Al-Na’am, Israeli government tractors plowed under crop fields.
- March 6 – In Lakia, three homes were demolished.
- March 6 - In Al-Arakib, tents were demolished for the 33rd time.
- February 22 – In El-Hamam, Wadi Rawain, and A-rif, Israeli government tractors plowed under crop fields.
- February 19 - In Lakia, two homes were demolished by the Ministry of Interior, while residents took apart three structures on their own.
- February 15 – East of Hura, one home was demolished.
- February 15 – In Hashem Zane, 0ne shack was demolished.
- February 13 - In Al-Arakib, tents were demolished for the 32nd time.
- January 18 – In Segev-Shalom, one structure was demolished.
- January 18 – In Al-Arakib, tents were demolished for the 31st time.
- January 9 – In Hura, one home was demolished.
- January 9 – In Alsira, one home was demolished.
House demolitions archive
Home demolitions and crop spraying archive – 2011
House demolitions and crop spraying archive – 2010
House demolitions and crop spraying archive – since 2001











