Umm al-Hiran

Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh at the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran in southern Israel, after being hit in the head with a sponge-tipped bullet on January 18, 2017. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Police botched investigation into shooting of Arab MK, report finds

Human rights group demands Israel Police reopen its case into the 2017 shooting of Joint List Chairman Ayman Odeh in the head with a sponge-tipped bullet after finding the initial investigation was ‘negligent.’ The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel is appealing Israel Police’s investigation of its officers’ conduct during a home demolition in the unrecognized Bedouin village of Umm…

By Oren Ziv October 25, 2019

MK Ayman Odeh lies wounded from sponge-tipped bullets next to Israeli police in the Bedouin village of Umm el-Hiran, Negev, January 18, 2017. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

New evidence backs Arab MK’s claims that police shot him

An investigation by a London-based research center shows MK Ayman Odeh was shot with a sponge-tipped bullet during clashes in Umm al-Hiran in 2017. Police repeatedly claimed he was hit by a stone thrown by one of the protesters. New evidence suggests Israeli police shot Palestinian Member of Knesset Ayman Odeh in the head with a sponge-tipped bullet during…

By Oren Ziv June 5, 2019

Palestinian citizens of Israel and Jewish supporters protest against the Jewish Nation-State Law in Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, August 11, 2018. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Palestinian citizens of Israel debate an election boycott

After four years of one of the most hostile governments for Palestinians in Israel, Arab citizens are debating whether participating in or boycotting the upcoming Knesset elections is the best way to advance their struggle. By Henriette Chacar and Edo Konrad Frustrated with the breakdown of internal Arab party politics, and beset by an endless stream of attacks by politicians…

By +972 Magazine April 7, 2019

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Activists protest the demolition of Wadi al-Ahmar near the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank on September 12, 2018. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

Activists dig in ahead of Khan al-Ahmar demolition

Israel may demolish and evict the Palestinian-Bedouin community any day now, and activists are maintaining a presence there until it does. Israeli forces demolish a small, protest camp that was erected earlier in the week. By Oren Ziv An Israeli High Court injunction preventing the forced displacement and demolition of the Bedouin community of Khan…

By Oren Ziv September 13, 2018

Palestinians citizens of Israel participate in a vigil in the town of Ramle marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, on November 25, 2015. (Yotam Ronen)

The Arab public wants better policing — and Israeli police don’t care

Israel’s state comptroller released recommendations for improving policing in Arab communities. But none of them seem to address the real problem: police indifference. By Nisreen Salameh Shahbari On a cold February morning this year, my four-year-old son’s daycare was broken into. Sights of happy children singing and drawing were replaced with photos of horrific destruction and looting.…

By +972 Magazine August 26, 2018

Residents of the Bedouin village Khan al-Ahmar look on as a bulldozer paves an access road to be used by Israeli forces in the imminent demolition of the West Bank hamlet, July 4, 2018. (Oren Ziv)

Police arrest 10 as Israel prepares to demolish entire village

Dozens of Palestinian, international, and Israeli activists try to stop bulldozers from paving an access road that will make easier the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank. Israeli security forces arrested 10 Palestinians Wednesday as they began preparing for the demolition of an unrecognized Bedouin village in the West Bank. IDF and police forces, along…

By Oren Ziv July 4, 2018

Thousands hold a funeral for Yacoub Abu al-Qi'an in the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran. Abu al-Qi'an was shot dead by police as security forces demolished homes in the village, January 24, 2017. (Keren Manor/Activestills.org)

State closes case on officers who killed Bedouin man in Umm al-Hiran

State attorney rules the police who shot and killed Yacob al-Qi’an in January 2017 did not commit a crime, says no conclusive evidence incident was a terror attack. By +972 Magazine Staff Israel’s State Attorney Shai Nitzan ruled Tuesday that the police officers who shot to death Yaqub Musa Abu al-Qi’an in the unrecognized Bedouin…

By +972 Magazine May 1, 2018

Standing Together activists during a demonstration at Israel's Tunnels Checkpoint, between Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

The new Jewish-Arab movement that plans to save the Israeli left

Standing Together, a new joint Arab-Jewish movement, is aiming to transform Israeli politics. It won’t be easy, but the Israeli left’s first step back to power might be believing that it can win again. The Israeli left is in the midst of an historic crisis. Out of power for over 20 years (with the exception…

By Joshua Leifer April 9, 2018

Bedouins collect their belongings from the ruins of their demolished homes in the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran, January 18, 2017. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Israel to demolish a Bedouin village next month, build a Jewish town in its place

Israel is planning to demolish Umm al-Hiran and expel its 1,000 residents at the end of April. After that, it will build a Jewish town on its ruins. By +972 Magazine Staff Israeli authorities handed out demolition orders to the entire Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran on Wednesday, as part of a plan to demolish and expel…

By +972 Magazine March 22, 2018

Palestinian worshipers hold a mass prayer in the streets of East Jerusalem as an act of civil disobedience after Israel implemented new entry arrangements for Al-Aqsa Mosque, Wadi Joz, East Jerusalem, July 21, 2017. (Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

+972 Magazine’s 20 most-read posts of 2017

From the Palestinian director shattering taboos in her own society, to a journey away from Zionism, to Richard Gere likening Hebron to Jim Crow, here are the most popular articles we published this past year. By +972 Magazine Staff 20. Looted from Beirut 35 years ago, now on display in Tel Aviv Read the full article here. 19. Two…

By +972 Magazine December 29, 2017

Illustrative photo of Palestinian embroidery. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

How Bedouin women were exploited to ‘Judaize’ the Negev at NY Fashion Week

An organization that settles Jews in the Negev, and with a central role in the story of displacement at Umm al-Hiran, enlists a famous Israeli designer to team up with Bedouin women for a NY Fashion Week fundraiser. The problem — nobody told the Bedouin women what they were up to. Israeli designer Aviad Arik Herman,…

By Samah Salaime September 6, 2017

Bedouin women collect their belongings from the ruins of their demolished homes in the village of Umm al-Hiran, Negev desert, January 18, 2017. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Israel is razing a Bedouin village to build a Jewish-only town on its ruins

Israeli authorities have promised the courts that the displaced Bedouin residents would have an opportunity to live in the new community. New documents show that is far from the case. Despite assurances made to Israel’s High Court of Justice, a new town being built on the ruins of a Bedouin village in southern Israel is…

By Edo Konrad August 10, 2017

Right-wing protesters wave Israeli flags as they demonstrate against a ceremony commemorating the Nakba that was held by Palestinian and Israeli students in the entrance to the Tel Aviv University. The event took place under heavy police presence, May 13, 2013. (Photo by: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

The redundancy of Israel’s ‘Jewish Nation-State Law’

The Israeli government is pushing a law that would force judges to prioritize Israel’s Jewish character over democratic principles. But that has always been the case. The “Jewish Nation-State Law,” which is currently making its way through the Knesset as a proposed Basic Law – the closest thing Israel has to a constitutional amendment – would require…

By Amjad Iraqi July 12, 2017