Israel demolishes 40 Palestinian homes in Negev village amid clashes

By Fekry Abdeen and Tarek Chouiref

JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL (AA) – Israeli authorities on Wednesday demolished 40 Palestinian homes in the Arab village of al-Sir in the Negev desert, sparking clashes with residents who tried to resist the operation.

Videos circulating on social media showed police firing tear gas and stun grenades at crowds of Arab protesters. Witnesses said officers also assaulted demonstrators, leading to scuffles.

Arab Israeli lawmaker Samir bin Said from the Arab Movement for Change said police “used violence against residents, including sound bombs and tear gas,” which left several people injured and led to multiple arrests.

He added that some of the wounded required hospitalization.

“We cannot accept a policy of chasing people from their homes and trying to uproot them from their land,” the lawmaker said, stressing that families have a basic human right to live in dignity on their property.

The Israeli government classifies approximately 40 villages in the Negev Desert as "unrecognized," claiming that the roughly 55,000 Palestinian Bedouins living there cannot prove their ownership of the land.

There are around 1.6 million Arabs in Israel, accounting for around 20 percent of the country's population.