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First it was the Palestinians, now it's the Bedouins

The Israelis constantly claim that not only is it a democracy, but that all its citizens are treated equally. It is a faleshood! For instance, whilst there are Israeli Palestinians as members of the Knesset, there are many impediments to Palestinians, who are citizens of Israel, being afforded equal rights such as access to schooling or the ability to own land.

Now it is the Beduoins who are the subject of what can only be seen as blatant discrimination. It is the subject of Human Rights Watch Report:

"Israel should declare an immediate moratorium on demolitions of Bedouin homes and create an independent commission to investigate pervasive land and housing discrimination against its Bedouin citizens in the Negev, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.

Israeli policies have put the Bedouin in a lose-lose situation. The state has forced them off the land they claimed as their own and into illegal shanty towns, cut off from basic necessities like water and electricity.

The 130-page report, “Off the Map: Land and Housing Rights Violations in Israel’s Unrecognized Bedouin Villages,” documents how discriminatory Israeli laws and practices force tens of thousands of Bedouin in the south of Israel to live in “unrecognized” shanty towns where they are under constant threat of seeing their homes demolished and their communities torn apart.

Human Rights Watch based its findings on interviews conducted in 13 unrecognized Bedouin villages and three government-planned Bedouin townships in the Negev. It interviewed dozens of Bedouin residents, as well as activists, community organizations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), academics, and lawyers in Israel. Human Rights Watch submitted a detailed letter to the government in 2007 with preliminary findings and questions, and incorporated relevant information from the Ministry of Justice’s response into the report.

“Israeli policies have put the Bedouin in a lose-lose situation,” said Joe Stork, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The state has forced them off the land they claimed as their own and into illegal shanty towns, cut off from basic necessities like water and electricity.”

Israel has demolished thousands of Negev Bedouin homes since the 1970s, and hundreds in 2007 alone. Authorities say that 45,000 existing Bedouin homes in approximately 39 “unrecognized” villages were built illegally and thus potential targets for demolition. Israeli officials contend that they are simply enforcing zoning and building codes. But Human Rights Watch found that officials systematically demolish Bedouin homes while often overlooking or retroactively legalizing unlawful construction by Jewish citizens."

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