At last ! May this be just the beginning of the end of the illegal land grabbing of the Beduin, and the full application of laws to all, especially Arabs and Haredi.

Isn't this what the Beduins have been doing for thousands of years as "people of the desert"? Sure, now that Israel has turned the country into a lush paradise, they want a part of it.

This is just emotive moaning in an attempt to arouse the symapthy of the usual anti-israel idiots. Every civilised country has planning laws, and if individuals (or groups) erect buildings without the required planning permission, these buildings are usually ordered to be demolished. If this isn't done voluntarily, the buildings concerned are demolished on the 'owner's' behalf (and the bill generally sent to the 'owner'). And yes, where necessary, this is enforced by the relevant country's police. As far as I can see this is no different to what might happen in England or Spain if the relevant group of people was large and the possibility of trouble in enforcement of the demolition order was forseen. And I fail to see exactly what relevance the colour of the uniform of Israel's police force has to do with anything - it's clearly just put in to conjur up a picture for emotive effect. One minute the Bedouin are complaining that there are not enough clinics etc. to support them in their villages, and the next they build what are effectively shanty areas with no planning permission, hence where no municipal pre-consideration has been possible into whether the infrastructure necessary to support their expansion in that area is in place..... What exactly do they expect?

Most of us Jews in the Negev have grown kids who leave the area for jobs, housing etc. If I have 20 children what are the chances they will all build beautiful private houses around mine? Impossible! But the Bedouins DOUBLE their population every 20 years or so and claim that all the land is theirs to build private homes on. The Jews are SUCKERS in this country and the Bedouin are NOT given a raw deal as all you nutso foreigners or Tel Avivis think! Come see for yourselves what is going on down here. FINALLY the government enforces the law with the Bedouin and NOT just with us. Thank you . THANK YOU! Hey government, if you don't want TONS of young Jewish Israelis leaving the country then you better start enforcing laws against the Bedouin and not just against the Jews!

travellers aka gypsy tinkers , take and are given land by local and central uk goverment, to live on etc, american indians have reservations, aborigines now have land rights, even some fish are free in certain parts of the sea, some animals have places free from hunters, so what you saying is like in uk , you have a million pound investment for a super, then the planning comitee gives you rubber stamp but and anyway the article is about israeli identity which is more troubling than any planning law.

Have the same people ever helped a right wing family when their home has been destroyed? No.

They destroyed 30 to 40 makeshift homes and uprooted hundreds of olive trees belonging to the villagers. More than 150,000 Bedouin live in Israel, mostly in and around the Negev desert. Around half live in villages that are not recognized by the state, and have no access to municipal services like water and electricity.

This has absolutely nothing to do with illegal homes.Only the authorities displaying their world renowned expertise on harrassment,cruelty and racism.

You have demonstrated your complete and utter ignorance of the situation. This isn't about planning laws. This is about the unfair distribution of building permits in Israel and total discrimination by the Interior Ministry and ILA against non-Jewish citizens of the country. Trust me the laws aren't enforced against Jews in strategic areas in the West Bank nor against well connected real estate moguls in the center of the country. The scale of forced to flatten this village is unprecedented. And I'm certain that if 1500 riot clad and armed Metropolitan Police showed up at a makeshift village of Irish Travelers on the outskirts of London, flattened it and then left the residents without shelter in the ruins the British people would kick up a fuss about it. Especially, if that Irish traveler village had been there for several decades! What the government did today is against people who serve in the IDF and identify with Israel!! How can they do this against our brothers in arms? They're determined to make all Arabs our enemies. This is not tikkun olam! It is sinat aham and it will bring us down!

So you're telling me the owners of these these razed homes had actually applied for permission to build as they ought, but not got it - anddefinitely due to some racist reason rather than for any of the usual municipality / town planning issues experienced in most countries - and that they had also built houses in a safe manner that were therefore fit for human habitation, in accordance with israel's building regs, so had no need to be demolished for safety reasons? I ask the question because you tell me that I don't understand the situation, and if that is so, I'd really like to. (However, #10, i can see already that you are just an anti-Israel idiot who would look for the worst interpretation on anything reported here).

in the middle of the desert they don't have to stick to city planning code. so what was the reason of denying them building permissions?

The ethnic cleansing that began in 1948 continues as Israel shows its true face. If Israel doesn't want the world awash in anti-Semitism they had better stop their vile and disgusting actions. Sadly, what Israel does reflects on Jews around the world especially since Israel says it is the "homeland" of all Jews. Not for this Jew and not for a growing number of Jews who detest what Israel is doing. I am thankful for the courageous Israeli jews who stand up to the great injustices perpetrated by israel against those not considered to be first class citizens. Theirs is a hard row to hoe in an increasingly racist state.