Israel’s new cabinet held its first formal meeting June 20. The atmosphere was positive with smiles all around, but there was a commotion. Ra’am members arrived in a panic, exclaiming that Green Patrol teams (a unit of the Environmental Protection Ministry empowered to carry out inspections and investigations) were on their way to the unrecognized Bedouin village of Bir Hadj, accompanied by police officers, with some 300 demolition orders ready to issue.
The mini political drama seemed to center on Ra’am Knesset member Saeed Alkharumi, the only member of Ra’am to abstain from the vote on the formation of the government, despite the coalition agreement his party had signed. Many words and promises were exchanged and in the end, no demolition orders were issued.
