The Israeli Land Authority "Evacuated the Area" in the village of Tawil Abu-Jarwal: they collected the tents of the Al-Tallaqa family into trucks and took to the nearby dump.
Report by Yeela Raanan, Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages
On Thursday morning, August 30, 2007, hundreds of policepeople accompanied four bulldozers and several trucks came to the village of Twail Abu-Jarwal. This time, they thought, they will "do it right", as the village people insist on re-building their village. The unrecognized village of Twail Abu-Jarwal has been demolished entirely already nine times: this is the tenth. The bulldozers evacuated the area entirely: 20 tents, that were the homes of more than 100 people: men, women, elderly and children – were collected in to trucks, together with the belongings of the village people, and sent to the local dump. "This is how they think of us", said a 55 year-old woman that was left in the sun, "like trash."
When they completed the destruction, the policepeople and the rest sat to make coffee and eat their lunch. "They even laughed", said Muhamad, who's tent was sent to the dump. The children and women who's water tank was destroyed, who had no shade just stood and stared.
A young man from the village was arrested. The police say he "was disruptive". His arrest was extended until after the weekend.
The village leader, Aqil el-Talalqa, a retired school principal, has been trying for years to bring a solution for the residence of his village people. The government of Israel has no answers for him. The Minister of Housing and Construction, Zeev Boim, has recently claimed that he wishes to create trust between the government and the Bedouin community, and that the demolitions must halt for a year. The Israeli Land Authority is in his jurisdiction, and their brutal demolitions continue.
Appeal for tents
The village people mostly need tents. If you live in Israel or have friends or relatives in Israel who can donate your old tent, or are willing to sponsor a tent, or know of a place in Israel to buy good second hand military-style tents, please inform me:
Yeela Raanan, RCUV. yallylivnat@gmail.com Tel: 054 7487005.
An announcement
The BBC World Service broadcast a documentary this week on "Our World", entitled THE BEDOUIN OF ISRAEL. It was broadcast every day between August 29th and September 3rd: We hope that this documentary will eventually be shown in other countries, especially the United States.
Thank you
Yeela Raanan, RCUV