September 7, 2010, after the 4th demolition of Al Araqib. (All photos: Ariel Azoff)
The village of Al Araqib was entirely demolished for the first time on July 27th, 2010. Early that morning, an estimated 1,500 Israeli police, supported by helicopters and bulldozers, surrounded the village. Within three hours, the Israeli Land Authority (ILA) razed the entire village to the ground, leaving 300 people including women and children without shelter or water in the peak of summer in the desert. In total, 46 structures (including 30 homes) were completely destroyed along with sheep pens, chicken coups, orchards and olive groves—the source of the villagers’ livelihood. More than 1,000 trees were uprooted and discarded. Residents were given no time to recover their belongings from their homes and assets such as generators, cars and tractors were seized. The village has been repeatedly destroyed to make way for a project sponsored by the Jewish National Fund.
Here are a selection of photographs taken during visits to the village at different times over the past 10 months:
August 27, 2010, after the 3rd demolition and during the holy month of Ramadan:
September 7, 2010, after the 4th demolition:
Trees planted by the Jewish National Fund are visible on the far hillside.
October 6, 2010, after the 5th demolition:
8 months later, everyone has lost count of the number of demolitions. Many have come in rapid succession over a period of a day or week. After the 15th demolition, the bulldozers began clearing away the rubble so that homes could not be rebuilt and the land could be made ready for the forest to be planted. Later, they began constructing mounds of dirt (pictured below) spaced regularly apart to make it difficult for the villagers to erect tents.
May 31, 2011, after more than 25 demolitions:
“I was born on this land, I will stay on this land, and, God willing, I will die on this land.” – Hakmeh Abu-Medeghem, Al Araqib
Ariel Azoff is a Middle East adventurer and aspiring writer who currently works for a human rights organization in Haifa. She has a B.A. in Arabic and political science from Georgetown University. To see more of her photos from Al Araqib visit Midthoughtblog.com.
