Bedouin villagers clash with foresters in Negev

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JERUSALEM (JTA) — Residents of a Bedouin village razed more than a dozen times clashed with workers from the Jewish National Fund who came to plant trees in the area.

Six people were injured in Thursday’s clashes in the unrecognized village of Al-Arakib in the Negev and three were arrested for throwing rocks, Ynet reported.

Other reports said that the Israel Land Administration came Thursday to demolish structures in the village for the 16th time since July 2010. 

An injunction against JNF and the Land Administration to halt forestry work on the village’s land was canceled last month by the Beersheba District Court, though the judge suggested that work should not resume because it "serves the public’s interest."

Residents rebuild their homes following each demolition.

In the first demolition order carried out last July 27, some 1,300 police escorted Land Administration officials into Al-Arakib before dawn, removing the area’s 300 residents before razing 45 structures, including homes and chicken coops.
 

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