The Israeli occupation authorities have been accused of coercing an elderly Palestinian into signing an order to demolish 15 homes in the Negev village of Umm Al-Hiran, Safa news agency has reported. Ahmed Abul-Qi’an is 74 and suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.
“Israeli police officers and employees of the Israel Land Authority came to the village very late at night on Friday,” said the head of the local village committee, Raed Abul-Qi’an. “Friday is an official holiday, but they took Ahmed into a corner and pushed him to sign the demolition orders. It was criminal.”
When the elderly Palestinian was told that he had signed the army order to destroy the 15 homes, he fell unconscious and was admitted to hospital where he was treated for two days.
#Israel’s #EthnicCleansing of Palestinians from the #Negev must stop https://t.co/DdPo7hsCzY |#Palestine #CrimeAgainstHumanity
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) November 30, 2016
According to the demolition orders, the residents must move to a new neighborhood called Hora. Their homes must be demolished by 30 December.
Abul-Qi’an denounced the weak popular and official Arab solidarity with the Bedouin issue. He called for a real movement against the “Israeli plans to uproot” the Palestinian Bedouin from their land.
Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch called the Israeli efforts to displace the Arabs of Umm Al-Hiran “ethnic cleansing” and demanded international intervention to prevent it from escalating.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
