The Interior Ministry and the Israel Lands Administration on Wednesday razed six homes occupied by some 70 Bedouin in an unrecognized village in the Negev.

Police officers accompanying the ministry and ILA demolition team arrested four residents of the village, which comprises some 200-300 members of the Al-Ataika family.

According to on-site workers, some of the families whose house were destroyed were expected to move to new homes as part of the expansion of the Bedouin village of Rahat. Construction of the new homes has not yet been completed, however.

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The residents are in the midst of negotiations over the completion of their homes, but meanwhile, have nowhere to live.

Abu Al-Karim Ataika, a resident of the village, said his family was in the course of negotiations with the Bedouin administration subordinate to the ILA. He said the families were told to relocate so that a new road could be paved near to their homes.

The ILA, which owns the land in question, sent a demolition notice to residents about a year ago. Residents say they were relocated to the unrecognized village in the 1950s from their homes near Ofakim and thus have ownership claim over the land.