Evicting the Bedouin

Evicting the Bedouin For centuries, the Bedouin have lived in the Negev desert. Now, they're being driven out by the Israeli government to make way for Jewish settlers.
"Israel is trying to make a mild ethnic cleansing," alleges Salomka Dunaevsky from the Human Rights organisation Ta Ayosh. Like many Israelis, she's increasingly concerned about her government's treatment of Arabs. As concern grows that Arabs will outnumber Jews in Israel within a few years, the government is trying to attract more Jews. It sees the Negev desert as a new frontier it can fill with Jewish immigrants and settlers from Gaza. But standing in the way are some of their own citizens - the Bedouin. "These people are loyal citizens to the State of Israel," laments MP Kolet Avital. "We risk turning them into enemies." At the same time as it's moving in new Jewish settlers, the government is making it illegal for the Bedouin to live in the desert in unrecognised villages. Their camps are being bulldozed and crops sprayed with poison. The plan is to move them to special townships in the cities. But evicted Bedouin are struggling to adapt to life in the cities. "Here, everything is wrong," complains Ahmed Al-Kranowi. "It's like a prison."
FULL SYNOPSIS

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