Description

Smoke rises from an elementary school in the Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj after police forces shot tear gas at students (photo: Adalah)

Shells of tear gas and sound grenades that were gathered after being used against Bedouin school children in the Negev (photo: Sleman Abu Laqia)


Children receiving treatment for tear gas burns, November 12, 2012. Photo by Jalal Ziadna, published in Haaretz November 13, 2012


VIDEO:Tear gas fired at schoolchildren at Bir Hadaj Elementary School

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With all eyes on Gaza, Israeli police forces shoot tear gas into an elementary school, wounding 29 and arresting 19 others after attempting to place eviction notices on several buildings in the Bir Hadaj village in the Negev.


By Yuval Ben-Ami for +972

Sometimes all a schoolteacher can do is hold up his cellphone and film children fleeing the playground, or being carried off by other teachers. Sleman Abu Laqia, of the village Bir Hadaj in southern Israel, found himself in this situation Monday morning. The schoolyard was supposed to serve as a safe zone for the children, while police stormed the village, giving out house demolition notices. It proved inadequate.

As things quieted down, Sleman collected the empty canisters, assembled them on a table beneath the sign reading “Bir Hadaj Elementary School” in Hebrew and Arabic, and took one more shot. It is this picture that appeared in my Facebook feed this morning, with a caption explaining that over twenty children were rushed to the hospital. I looked the story up in the Hebrew news sites. Haaretz – nothing. Ynet – nothing, NRG –zilch.

This only left one option. Which was to travel down south and see for myself. Having boarded the train, I contacted Nadia Ben-Youssef of Adalah, The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, and was literally relieved to discover that she knew what I was talking about. A story this intense, which goes completely ignored by the media, can make one fear delusion.

Nadia gave me some background. Unlike most Bedouin communities around Be’er Sheva, Bir Hadaj is recognized by the state. It is nearly impossible, however, for residents to receive building permits, and natural growth of many families forces the residents to build illegally. Representatives of the Israel Land Authority came to the village on October 10 with eviction notices, preceding house demolition, and were chased away by a local mob. They returned the following day, reinforced by police, and posted the notices. On October 18, the villagers declared a strike and demonstrated peacefully. Ten individuals were detained the day before, and later released without charge.

I arrived at the grand atrium of Be’er Sheva’s District Court, and met Salman Abu-Hammed, the head of the village’s council, with a few of its elders. Abu-Hammed told me that early in the morning, a large number of policemen surrounded the village, supported by two crowd dispersal trucks, a helicopter and between 20 and 30 vehicles. He claimed that eviction notices were posted at random, on houses built several decades ago, and said he suspects the entire event to be a provocation. “They came prepared to beat people up, to punish people for the previous confrontations. They also brought mista’arvim [policemen disguised as Bedouin] to cause provocation and stir the situation out of control.”

The forces moved into the town down its only paved road, the one that leads to the school, with the villagers attempting to block their stride along the way. “I hear the police saying that they stood 300 meters from the school,” says Sleman the teacher. “That is ridiculous. It is much more dangerous to shoot into a school yard from a distance, when you can’t see who’s there.” Fortunately, no child was hurt directly, but several were moved to Be’er Sheva’s Soroka Hospital following the incident in a state of shock, as were three adults allegedly hurt by rubber bullets. The villagers told me that among the wounded was a pregnant woman.

Nineteen of the village’s residents were taken into custody, and the village’s elders were waiting in the court for them to be bought before a judge. When a judge did arrive, I made a mistake, taking a photo with my iPhone, and was instantly taken outside. This was of course my bad. I am not used to courtrooms and forgot about the restriction. Standing outside, I experienced ever more sharply the absurdity. Where were the journalists who typically cover such cases and are versed with the legal issues? Why was it left for an ignorant travel blogger like myself to cover this story alone? Where was the mainstream media?

I phoned a major media personality and asked him whether he had heard of the events. He did, and promised me he would look further into it. Later on, he texted me the following message: “29 children arrived at the (Soroka) hospital with concerns related to gas inhalation, they were examined and released. No pregnant woman was hurt or sent to the hospital. Masked youth attacked officials who brought eviction notices, burned a silo at Kibbutz Revivim and threw stones at moving vehicles. They were arrested.”

This was, of course, an abbreviation of the police spokesperson’s press release. The manner in which it was repeated attests in my eyes both to the laziness of the Israeli media in matters relating to the Arabic speaking public, and to our need to justify an unjust system. I was later told that the media was too busy covering the mounting tension in and around Gaza (which is likely why the operation took place specifically today), and found my train halted on the way back due to missile threats, but the problem seems to run far deeper. The official version calms us, and so we cling to it. It is also correct, in most cases, but leaves out much of the story. Just picture the press release and headline if this school had been full of Jewish children, and you’ll get the rest of it.

UPDATE: As of 10:30 p.m., 5 members of the village, including one minor, were brought before a Be’er Sheva judge.

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Clashes erupt in Bedouin village as Israel's Interior Ministry distributes demolition orders

Bedouin claim Israel Police fired tear gas at local school; police deny allegation, saying tear gas was used to disperse riot 300 meters away.

By Yanir Yagna for Haaretz


Residents of a Bedouin village in the Negev claim that police fired tear gas canisters at a local school Monday during clashes that erupted when Interior Ministry inspectors tried to distribute demolition orders for illegal construction.

The police denied the allegation, saying that while tear gas was fired to disperse the rioters, it was used at least 300 meters from the school.

But 29 children were taken to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva, where they were treated for burning eyes - a standard reaction to tear gas - and then released.

The riot erupted when the inspectors, accompanied by police, arrived at the village of Bir Hadaj Monday morning. Rocks and other objects were thrown at the police, and residents burned tires to try to keep them from entering. Police responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the rioters.

Salman Abu Hamid, chairman of the village council, said the police also "fired tear gas at the school, as a result of which lots of children needed medical attention and they were taken to the hospital."

Police said that after the clash was over, some of the demonstrators went to nearby Route 222 and threw rocks at passing cars. They also burned three haylofts at Kibbutz Revivim and blew up three water tanks, police said.

"The disturbances and serious violence by young lawbreakers against the security forces and innocent civilians will be dealt with severely and with zero tolerance," Brig. Gen. Peretz Amar told Haaretz. "We will continue to enforce the law everywhere and at all times, and these actions will not weaken our resolve."

Bir Hadaj residents also clashed with police when they came to post demolition orders two weeks ago. Rocks were thrown at the force in that instance as well.

"Unfortunately, this isn't the first time village residents have used violence against policemen who came to enforce the law," said a senior officer in the police's Southern District.

A statement released by the Southern District said yesterday's incident involved "masked and extremely violent delinquents who systematically disregard the rule of law and prevent law enforcement activities, including handing out demolition orders and attaching them to illegal structures. This morning, when a police force arrived at the village along with Interior Ministry officials, several of the village's youths began hurling stones at security forces, as well as torching tires and damaging police cars."

The statement added that the incident took place "300 meters from the school compound" and that "19 suspects were taken in for questioning."

"The police view the severe rioting and violence that the youths employed against security forces and innocent civilians with the utmost severity, and intend to arrest all those involved in the disruptions and bring them to justice," the statement concluded.

Attorney Rawia Aburabia of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel countered that the police violence should be investigated. She also objected to the demolitions.

"The whole issue of construction without permits is expected to be sorted out during the process of obtaining recognition for the town," she explained. "Under these circumstances, it would behoove the authorities to refrain from demolitions until the planning process is completed."

MK Dov Khenin (Hadash ) sent a letter to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein, Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino and Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar demanding that they investigate the incident. "The police are meant to protect children in school and make every effort to prevent harm from coming to them, certainly from its own actions," he wrote.