Israeli bulldozers raze 15 homes in Arab Bedouin village in southern Israel

Israeli bulldozers demolished 15 homes in the Bedouin village of Arab al-Mask in southern Israel on Wednesday, displacing an entire community of some 100 residents, Palestinian media said.

The village is one of the Arab Bedouin communities unrecognized by Israel in the Negev region.

According to the official news agency Wafa, the demolition followed a decision by the Be'er Sheva District Court ordering the evacuation and destruction of all residential structures in the village.

Witnesses said that Israeli authorities also destroyed tents and livestock pens in the Wadi Fa'i area in the southern Negev region.

In the Negev area, there are 35 villages that are unrecognized by the Israeli authorities, whose residents were expelled from their homes in 1948. Any building activity there is considered illegal and is subject to demolition.

Meanwhile, the Israeli authorities demolished two Palestinian homes in the Silwan town of occupied East Jerusalem for the alleged lack of a building permit.

According to witnesses, military bulldozers of the Israeli-run Jerusalem Municipality tore down the two structures in Al-Bustan neighborhood.

In recent months, Israel has intensified home demolitions in the neighborhood where the Jerusalem Municipality plans to build a “biblical park,” according to Palestinians.

Silwan remains one of the most targeted areas in East Jerusalem for demolitions and land confiscations by the Israeli authorities.

Human rights organizations accuse Israel of deliberately restricting building permits for Palestinians in East Jerusalem as part of a broader effort to limit the Palestinian population in the occupied city.