Last update - 00:00 01/08/2007
16 Bedouin hurt in clash over demolition of homes in Negev
By Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz Correspondent
Sixteen Bedouin, including two pregnant women, were injured Wednesday in clashes with police over the demolition of two homes in the unrecognized village of Al-Nassra in the Negev.
Residents of the village say that police were unreasonably violent. Police, on the other hand, say that they were attacked by the Bedouin residents.
On Wednesday morning, Interior Ministry officials entered the village under police escort with a warrant to demolish two houses that were still under construction.
The residents of the homes say they have long been seeking to have them included in the recognized Bedouin village of Kuseifa, which is only a few hundred meters away.
According to the Bedouin, children began to throw rocks during the demolition. Parents who came to stop the children suddenly found themselves being attacked by police.
According to the police, the clashes began after dozens of Bedouin began throwing rocks at police, lightly injuring two policemen.
Two weeks ago, Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit and former interior minister Ze'ev Boim relayed a request to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, asking him to freeze any plans to demolish Bedouin homes in the Negev for one year, so that a public committee could discuss the issue. Mazuz has yet to respond.