Haifa protesters stand in solidarity with Negev Palestinians amid forced evictions

The Israeli city of Haifa saw protests on Sunday in solidarity with Palestinian Bedouins who face being displaced from their homes in the Negev ["Naqab"] Desert.

Protesters held the protest in the city's German Quarter, raising Palestinian flags and chanting "From Haifa to the Negev, revolution of dignity and anger".

"We demand an end to these [displacement] attempts, and the popular struggle is the only way to deliver our message, and we call on all people to take to the streets in order to stop the attacks on all of Palestine’s cities, not just the Negev," activist Nisreen Jabareen said during the protest in Haifa.

From Haifa to Negev...

"Our revolution is fire and anger"...

A firm stand in the occupied city of Haifa in support of the occupied Negev#فلسطين 𓂆 🇵🇸#SahabatPalestina_ID pic.twitter.com/E2R22xE7sV

— ғᴏʀᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴘᴀʟᴇsᴛɪɴᴇ (@Forever__Pal06) January 17, 2022

A controversial right-wing tree planting project in the village of Sawe Al-Atrash, Negev has threatened Palestinian land and homes.

The issue has also sowed discord within the Israeli government’s fragile coalition, which includes a Palestinian Islamist party.

Israeli authorities have brutally suppressed protests from the region's local Palestinian population, including women and children.

Over 100 people were arrested in the crackdown, while dozens remain in detention.

"There are demonstrations in all villages and cities in solidarity with the Negev," said activist Majd Kayyal.

"Tens of thousands of our Bedouin people in the Negev suffer from continuous displacement attempts in order to uproot them from their land and homes. The Negev is half of the Palestinian homeland, and it is our duty to be ready to struggle in defence of the Negev," he added.

Hind Hajar Salman, coordinator at the Bedouin Without Borders non-profit association, said developments in the Negev are a continuation of the 1948 Nakba, when Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes during the creation of Israel.

"What has happened since last Monday is not the beginning in the Negev, and it will not be the end," she said.

"The bulldozing stopped due to the people taking to the streets, and the youth’s participation in the demonstrations is clear since the uprising of last May, and they have full awareness of everything that is happening, and they know that they are the owners of the [land]."

Protests have also been held in the occupied West Bank and Gaza in support of the Palestinians of the Negev. Protests were seen in other cities in Israel, including Jaffa and Nazareth.