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Israeli Bulldozers Damage Wheat Crops in Negev

Bedouin citizens from the Negev protest in front of the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem against afforestation on their lands, in late January 2022. (EPA)
Bedouin citizens from the Negev protest in front of the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem against afforestation on their lands, in late January 2022. (EPA)
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Israeli Bulldozers Damage Wheat Crops in Negev

Bedouin citizens from the Negev protest in front of the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem against afforestation on their lands, in late January 2022. (EPA)
Bedouin citizens from the Negev protest in front of the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem against afforestation on their lands, in late January 2022. (EPA)

Bulldozers from the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and the Israel Land Authority (ILA) destroyed on Sunday the agricultural farming lands of the Arab citizens in Umm Batin and Tal as-Sabi villages, under the protection of Israeli police and special units.

Witnesses said the police closed the area, prevented the land owners from approaching and destroyed wheat and barley crops. The police claimed the land being planted is state-owned.

In January, bloody clashes erupted between residents of the Negev region and Israeli police after the latter bulldozed their agricultural lands and uprooted olive trees.

Hussein al-Rafay’a, chairman of the Regional Council for Unrecognized Villages, said this process is carried out every year to harm the Arabs of the Negev who stick to their land ownership.

He stressed that the destruction process is part of a plan to end the Arab presence in the Negev.

Israel wants the land to remain barren to be easily looted, he added, viewing the destruction of agricultural crops as an extension of the Israeli authorities’ practices to seize Palestinian lands.

The Negev is a very vast area, located in southern Israel and stretching 12 million dunums.

Dr. Mansour al-Nasasra, a lecturer at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), said contrary to Israeli claims, there are dozens of historical documents that indicate that the Arabs of the Negev were aware of the importance of land registration.

They demanded that Ottoman authorities and then the British Mandate to officially recognize their ownership of the lands, he added.

Nasasra referred to the citizens’ meeting in this regard with the British Colonial Secretary, Winston Churchill.

The Palestinian academic said many were able to obtain Ottoman and Mandate deeds confirming their ownership of the land. However, Israeli authorities insist that these documents are insufficient.

“We are talking about less than five percent of the land in the Negev,” Nasasra stressed.

He pointed out that the Israeli authorities confiscated 95 percent of these lands in 1948 and now want to confiscate what's left.

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UN Envoy: What We See in Syria is a Mark of Collective Failure

Resolution 2254 was adopted by the Security Council on 18 December 2015 (UN archive)
Resolution 2254 was adopted by the Security Council on 18 December 2015 (UN archive)
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UN Envoy: What We See in Syria is a Mark of Collective Failure

Resolution 2254 was adopted by the Security Council on 18 December 2015 (UN archive)
Resolution 2254 was adopted by the Security Council on 18 December 2015 (UN archive)

United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said on Sunday he is closely monitoring the situation on the ground in Syria, where a dramatic shift in frontlines was seen in recent days.
“What we see in Syria today is a mark of a collective failure to bring about what has plainly been required now for many years – a genuine political process to implement Security Council resolution 2254,” the envoy said in a statement.
Pedersen noted that in Syria, a country torn by nearly 14 years of war and conflict, the latest developments pose severe risks to civilians and have serious implications for regional and international peace and security.
As an immediate priority, he said, “I strongly emphasize the urgent need for all to uphold their obligations under international law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.”
“This is a clear message to all parties engaged in hostilities of any kind. I will continue to push for civilian protection and deescalation,” the envoy added.
Pedersen then recalled the times he repeatedly warned of the risks of escalation in Syria, of the dangers of mere conflict management rather than conflict resolution, and the reality that no Syrian party or existing grouping of actors can resolve the Syrian conflict via military means.
“I call for urgent and serious political engagement – among Syrian and international stakeholders - to spare bloodshed and focus on a political solution in accordance with Security Council resolution 2254,” he said.
The envoy then affirmed his will to continue to engage all parties and stand ready to use my good offices to convene international and Syria stakeholders in new and comprehensive peace talks on Syria.
Presented by the US, Resolution 2254 was adopted by the Security Council on 18 December 2015.
It emphasizes the need for all parties in Syria to take confidence building measures to contribute to the viability of a political process and a lasting ceasefire, and calls on all states to use their influence with the Syrian government and the opposition to advance the peace process, confidence building measures and steps towards a ceasefire.
The resolution also expresses support for a Syrian-led political process that is facilitated by the UN and, within a target of six months, establishes credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance and sets a schedule and process for drafting a new constitution.
Since the adoption of the resolution, Geneva has hosted several meetings of the parties involved in the conflict in Syria. However, those parties failed to reach an agreement, especially after Moscow established in 2017 the Astana dialogue followed in 2018 by the Sochi process.
Resolution 2254 calls on the release of any arbitrarily detained persons, particularly women and children, and on the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) states to use their influence immediately to these ends.
It demands that all parties immediately cease any attacks against civilians and civilian objects as such, including attacks against medical facilities and personnel, and any indiscriminate use of weapons, including through shelling and aerial bombardment.