Following eviction
Photo courtesy of the family
Bedouin family evicted from Ramat Hasharon residence
Ramat Hasharon inspectors, police arrive at family's residential compound, demolish structures, citing illegal invasion to area. Family insists evacuated because 'we're Bedouin Arabs'
The Bedouin Amkatran family filed a complaint Tuesday with the Herzliya
police against the Ramat Hasharon
Municipality for evacuating them from their home.
"We were born and raised on this land and went to schools in the Tel Aviv area," said Amir Amkatran, a member of the family who was evicted from its residence near the Cinema-City compound in the municipal jurisdiction of Ramat Hasharon.
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The Ramat Hasharon Municipality said the family has invaded the area illegally, but the evicted family argues it was removed from the area "only because we're Bedouin Arabs."
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Eviction aftermath, Monday (Photo: courtesy of the family)
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(Photo: Courtesy of the family)
Representatives of Ramat Hasharon City Hall, accompanied by Tel Aviv District Police, arrived at the family's residential compound and demolished the structures in which the Amkatran family resided.
The family is now living with relatives in the north.
According to Amir Amkatran, "They tore down the structures with no warning or demolition orders. We've been living on these lands before the State was formed. We have many Jewish friends we've known for many years. Unfortunately, Ramat Hasharon wants to chase us away from our lands so as to steal them and take control over them.
"I still can't fathom how they can take down houses without demolition orders. We've asked them to come up with warrants but they didn’t. The entire family can prove that this is our land and no one has a right to drive us away. We will not keep quiet about this and we intend to file a lawsuit against this move."
His relative, Sujan, said "We don’t know where to go. The Ramat Hasharon Municipality destroyed our houses and our lives… they had no consideration for our kids. It's all because we're Bedouin Arabs. We will fight for our rights until we take back the lands we were driven away from."
According to the Ramat Hasharon Municipality, "The Bedouins' stay in the area belonging to the municipality and the Israel Land Administration is the result of illegal invasion," adding that the family's residential constructions were also built illegally.
"The Ramat Hasharon Municipality acts in accordance with the law, and it is within legal jurisdiction that the court-ordered demolition was executed.
"To the best of our knowledge," the city stated, "the invaders' place of residence is the village of Shibli, where they are to return. Neither upon eviction nor before that was there any child or minor in the invaded area."
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