The Israel Lands Authority and the security forces cleared out an illegal outpost in the Negev Wednesday morning, after Bedouin inhabitants invaded state land in Wadi Khalil near the Shoket interchange, which had been intensified already in the late 1990s.
In recent years, the outpost has been the main obstacle in the further development and paving of Highway 6 to the south. For years, the state, through the Bedouin Settlement Authority, conducted negotiations to evacuate the site, and offered its residents a range of extensive compensations.
Until recently, the residents have tried to thwart eviction from the area through a petition to the High Court, claiming that they are ready to move to the settlement of Tel Sheva, but judges Yitzhak Amit, Daphne Barak-Erez and Khaled Kabub rejected the petition unanimously.
The High Court ruled that the state made every effort to reach a dialogue with the residents, the plans were approved many years ago, and the claim that it is possible for them to move to Tel Sheva, will delay the continued construction of Highway 6 for at least two years.
The residents of the outpost will be located in the nearby settlement of Umm Batin, where plots of land have been prepared and which the state is giving them for free as compensation, in addition to a payment of hundreds of thousands of shekels per household in lieu of the illegal structures.
Umm Batin, a recognized settlement in the Al Qasum council, is located only about a kilometer from the place, and its residents, members of the Abu Essa tribe, have a tribal affiliation with the residents of Umm Salim.
The Regavim movement said that, "The vision and plans for the development of the Negev have been blocked too many times and for too many years because of construction criminals. Highway 6 is a critical lifeline for the State of Israel and its development. It is unfathomable to think that the construction of the section from the Shoket interchange southwards has been blocked for so many years. Looking into the future, it is clear to everyone that the State of Israel must develop infrastructures and complete them for the well-being of the residents of the Negev and the future generations."
The office of the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, issued a statement, saying: "The demolition of dozens of illegal buildings in Abu Essa in the Negev is an important step in sovereignty and governance. Indeed, just as the minister promised upon taking office, there is an increase in the demolition of illegal houses in the Negev and the minister is proud to lead this policy. He is doing so every week at round tables, as well as with the participation of the Authority for the Regulation of Bedouin Settlements in the Negev with Minister Amichai Chikli, the Israel Land Authority, led by Minister Goldknopf and Israel Land Authority Head, Yanki Quint, the Land Enforcement Authority, and the Green Patrol.”
It was also reported: "We express our special appreciation to the Southern District Police and the police chief Amir Cohen who implemented the policy and worked to enforce the law with determination. Every law breaker in the Negev will know that the lands of the Negev have not been abandoned and the State of Israel will fight a vicious war against those who take over land and try to determine facts on the ground."
Ben Gvir said: "The demolition this morning in the Negev is the result of our intensive work with the Land Enforcement Authority, the Green Patrol, the Israel Land Authority, the office of Minister Amichai Chikli, of course the Israel Police which upholds my policies – sovereignty and governance in the Negev. The criminals need to understand that the days of building where they want, doing what they want, are over. There will be leadership in the Negev."
MK Walid al-Huashla (Ra’am) responded: "This morning, the Netanyahu and Ben Gvir government started with inflexibility and malice to demolish 50 homes of the Abu Essa family in Wadi al-Khalil in the Negev. Hundreds of residents, children and the elderly, are being evacuated from their homes, by a government that insists on running over and forcefully harming the Bedouin population in the Negev."
He added that "the Wadi al-Khalil residents agreed to evacuate to the Al-Mitla neighborhood in Tel Sheva, but the state insists on not communicating, not listening, not waiting, but destroying by force. This is a dangerous move by those who want to destroy, not only the neighborhood, but the whole fabric of shared life in the Negev."