Israeli occupation authorities, under the protection of police forces, on Tuesday demolished Palestinian houses in the village of Al-Araqib in Al-Naqab for the 197th time in a row. A systematic process that has been raging since 2000, leaving residents outdoors despite the bitter cold.

“Israeli occupation forces forced the homes of residents of Al-Araqeeb and demolished it for the 197th time,” the activist, Aziz Al-Tory said.

He added that the Israeli mechanisms demolished the homes despite the cold and rainy weather, displacing dozens of families most of the kids and women.

The occupation aims to displace the residents of Al-Araqib from their original lands, paving the way for its exploitation in expansionist settlement projects.

Al-Araqib is a Palestinian village located to the north of the city of Beersheba in the Al-Naqab desert (southern Palestine). It was established for the first time during Ottoman rule. It is one of 51 villages in the Negev that the occupation government does not recognize.

About 240,000 Palestinians live in the Al-Naqab desert, half of whom live in villages and gatherings, some of which have been in place for hundreds of years.