Striking schoolchildren hang out in their village of Al-Atrash in the Negev desert. This Wednesday, January 12, they hesitate to cross a small field of olive trees which borders this agglomerate of sheet metal and cement, not recognized by the State, where some 9,000 Bedouins live. “Do you think we can go there?” We’re going to get arrested…” Suddenly, behind the branches, a hundred Israeli police charge. Young adults from the village, hooded, flow back through the alleys.
On the hill in open terrain, police quad bikes kick up a cloud of dust. Four officers tight in their riot armor plant themselves in the middle of a wild parking lot, mounted on heavy Andalusian horses. Funny plastic visors protect the eyes of animals. “They would need camels, it would be more suitable”, judges a woman sheltering behind a fence. A stray donkey brays at the top of its lungs under a hovering drone.
The clashes, which continued on Thursday, began on Monday. That day, Jewish National Fund (JNF) bulldozers began leveling nearby land to plant trees, which were supposed to circumscribe the village and prevent it from expanding. Riots ensued. On Tuesday, Bedouin youths blocked nearby Route 31. Stones placed on rails near Beersheba brought a train to a standstill. About twenty young people were arrested. Then thirty Wednesday, and thirteen Thursday. The JNF has landscaped 32 hectares, according to village authorities, and planted half a dozen saplings.
Meanwhile, this crisis has paralyzed Parliament in Jerusalem, threatening to bring down the Israeli government for a few eucalyptus trees. She revealed the fractures of the unprecedented coalition, in power since June. Among the eight parties, which go from the left to the far right, the United Arab List (LAU), a small Islamic-conservative party (four out of 120 deputies), draws a large part of its votes from the Negev. Its leader, Mansour Abbas, refused on Wednesday to vote on any amendment in the Knesset, depriving the government of its majority.
Unrecognized villages
Mr. Abbas took a historic step by joining him in June. He caused a sensation again in December by asserting that Israel is a Jewish state and will remain so. But the notables of the Negev remind him of his promises: to legalize the unrecognized villages, recognize their rights to part of the land and put an end to the destruction of buildings by the State, which continues to the great displeasure of Mr. Abbas.
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