Beersheba: Israeli authorities demolished 80 structures in the Palestinian Bedouin village of Al Dahiya on Monday, leaving approximately 400 people displaced, Rahat’s mayor said.
The demolitions in the Negev, also known as the Naqab, left families facing uncertainty over where to find shelter. Israeli authorities said the buildings lacked permits.
Palestinian news agency WAFA said the operation targeted homes belonging to the Abu Wadi community and affected around 80 families. It followed the Beersheba District Court’s rejection of residents’ request to suspend demolition orders.
The permit explanation sits within a broader planning crisis. WAFA said unrecognised villages lack approved construction schemes, leaving residents exposed to demolition orders while facing barriers to regularising their homes.
The agency said tens of thousands of Arab citizens in the Naqab live in unrecognised villages with inadequate housing, infrastructure and services. It also reported an increase in demolitions across the region in recent years.
Al Dahiya’s residents are Palestinian Bedouins living inside Israel. Their displacement brings attention to Palestinian housing insecurity beyond Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where different legal and political conditions apply.
For the affected families, the immediate consequence is the loss of shelter. The unresolved issue is whether they can secure stable housing without facing further demolition.
