RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Bedouin al-Araqib village (status unrecognized by Israel) in the Negev (Naqab) region is facing an ongoing demolition campaign that started on the morning of June 27, 2010, when the whole village was flattened to the ground. Since then, demolition work has been recurring each time the inhabitants set up new tents, with Israel claiming lack of permits. The latest incident took place April 5 and was the 96th to date.
Before the demolition campaign started in 2010, Araqib had a population of 400. The number is now down to 22 families (80 people) after some inhabitants were forced to leave the village.