The legal-public struggle to evacuate the residents of the Bedouin locality of Umm al-Hiran started long before the decision to evacuate the illegal Amona outpost. However, the distressing results of the Amona evacuation cast its shadow over Umm al-Hiran as well. Despite all the appeals against the evacuation of Umm al-Hiran, the High Court of Justice passed a resolution in December that mandated evacuation by force. Nevertheless, the way that police and border guard forces raided the settlement this week in order to carry out the mission caused agitation throughout the entire Arab sector.

In the course of the Amona crisis and the attempts of the Israeli government to arrange an alternate outpost for the Amona residents, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu turned to Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan and instructed him on Dec. 17 to immediately enforce laws against illegal construction in the Arab sector.

True, the police have no responsibility over the legal process of issuing and carrying out demolition orders of illegal structures. This power is held by the National Unit for Enforcing Planning and Construction Laws in the Planning Administration, which is subordinate to the Finance Ministry. Police forces are only supposed to secure the unit’s inspectors. But in actual fact, ever since the onset of the demolition campaign mandated by Netanyahu, large police forces are sent to carry out demolition orders in the Arab sector. This is causing a crisis in Arab society, which views these acts as attacks directed against it by the Israeli establishment. This was the case last week in the course of the demolition operation in Qalansuwa on Jan. 10, and this week in Umm al-Hiran.

“Of course this is connected to Amona,” said Atiya al-Asam, chairman of the Regional Council of Unrecognized Bedouin Villages of the Negev. “The wave of demolitions increased in the Bedouin sector after the prime minister incited the public when he talked about ‘parity’ of demolitions. In fact, the residents of Umm al-Hiran are being evacuated in order to establish a Jewish locality instead of the Bedouin one. The Bedouin residents are being cast aside to a bitter fate. By contrast, I see that the Amona residents are being taken care of: Israel is building for them, arranging for them and giving a million shekels to each family. So where is equality?”