Where Infrastructure Means Prisons: A Drive into the Naqab and the Illusion
of Israeli Democracy
Out of close to 250,000 Palestinian Beduin in the Naqab, about half live in
"unrecognized villages." This means they get no roads, no electricity or
running water, no schools or medical facilities - no services at all.
by Miko Peled
June 14th, 2021
Mint Press News
By Miko Peled
THE NAQAB, PALESTINE - As I was preparing to leave Palestine, I found it
harder to fall asleep. I spent the last few days in Jerusalem, mostly
walking between the neighborhoods of Sheikh Jarrah in the north and Silwan
in the south, crossing through the alleys of the Old City on the way. But
even during the days when things had seemingly calmed down, like lava that
seems to have cooled on the surface but is still hot on the inside,
eruptions that tell of greater eruptions to come were everywhere.
Two fine boys taken
Abdul Khaliq and Mohammed Burnat - sons of the well-known Bil'in activist
and popular resistance leader, Iyad Burnat - were arrested and for days
their parents knew nothing of their whereabouts. These two fine young men
were kidnapped by armed Israeli terrorists. As I was driving through
Jerusalem, I passed by the Moskubiya, or the Russian Compound, where they
were being held. The Moskubiya is a notorious prison and interrogation
center where the Israeli authorities interrogate and torture Palestinians.
It sits in the heart of downtown West Jerusalem, cafes and restaurants all
around it filled with people having a good time. Too bad that they cannot
hear the screams of children being tortured right around the corner.
I cannot imagine what the parents of Abdul Khaliq and Mohammed must be going
through. Knowing that your children were kidnapped and are now being
tortured, beaten and threatened with no one to support or help them and
there is no law or authority that can provide them protection! If one or
both of them were to be killed or permanently injured there would be no
recourse. It is like a coming-of-age ceremony that countless young
Palestinians must go through because they live on the oppressed side of an
apartheid regime.
Iyad Burnat family
Iyad Burnat poses with his family circa 2019. Twitter | @IyadBurnat
A younger generation stands
It was just a few days ago that I spent a long day driving through the
Naqab. The first part of the day I was in Bir El-Saba to visit the Zionist
district court, where a hearing was taking place regarding the fate of
Palestinian activists from the Naqab. These were activists who had been
beaten by an Israeli mob and then detained, and the court was discussing
their possible release.
Later that day I drove with friends to the unrecognized village of Sawawin.
We wanted to visit another local activist who had just been released from
prison. The Naqab - or Negev, as Israel calls it - is the entire southern
half of Palestine, and its 250,000 Palestinian-Beduin residents are citizens
of the State of Israel but enjoy few if any, rights.
Out of close to 250,000 Palestinian Beduin in the Naqab, about half live in
"unrecognized villages." This means they get no services at all. There are
no roads, something I was about to experience for myself, as well as no
electricity or running water, no schools or medical facilities. This is the
apartheid state of "Israel." As a point of interest, it is estimated that
close to half of the refugee population in the Gaza Strip, as well as over a
million refugees in Jordan, are from the Naqab region.
As we were speeding down the highway in my tiny rented Citroen, I was told
to slow down and look for a place to get off the main road. There was no
road, just a place my friends thought was the starting point of the journey
that leads to Sawawin as well as several other Palestinian villages to which
the State of Israel refuses to provide services. The total population in
that part of the Naqab is around 50,000.
We drove with no clear road in sight, on dirt covered in rocks, going up
hills and down ravines and we were not really sure whether we were going the
right way. We passed other unrecognized villages along the way and asked for
directions - my friends, all Beduin Palestinians, speaking in Arabic with an
accent that is unique to the Naqab. About halfway through I was urged to
start driving faster, my very slow pace and the setting sun meant we would
soon see nothing.
It was about five or six miles before we reached Sawawin. The drive was long
and far from safe and we had to ask for directions three or four times. I
couldn't help thinking about the possibility of a medical emergency. "How
would an ambulance reach this place?" I asked. "Ambulances do not come
here," my friends responded. "If there is a medical emergency the residents
need to find their way to the main road."
Naqab
A child climbs on the remains of a home demolished by Israeli authorities in
Naqab Desert. Photo | Activestills
Six and half years in solitary confinement
We reached Sawawin as the sun was setting. We walked into a cinder block
structure where about thirty men were sitting on the floor in a large
circle. Some of them had their children huddled next to them. We took our
places in the circle, the seated area covered by a cloth, large pillows
placed on it for people to recline on, all covered in Bedouin-style cloth.
Arabic coffee was served, followed by large trays of rice and chicken. Then
more coffee, then tea and cigarettes.
The men were talking about prison and their experiences at the hands of the
Israeli authorities. One activist leader who had just been recently released
sat next to me. He told of his experience, which included six and a half
years in solitary confinement. He was a political prisoner but, unlike most
Palestinian political prisoners, he was not from the West Bank or the Gaza
Strip but a citizen of Israel. Out of fear that he would influence the
others he was kept in solitary.
Citizens with rights?
At one point one of my friends spoke. He told the others - many of whom were
arrested for just being at the wrong place at the wrong time, some as young
as thirteen or fourteen - about their rights. He reminded them that the
Palestinian Beduin in the Naqab have Israeli citizenship, which means they
are tried in civilian court, not military-like the residents of Gaza and the
West Bank. He reminded them that they have a right to remain silent, and a
right to see a lawyer.
He also stated that the state gets around these rights by designating
Palestinian detainees as "security" detainees. This means the Shabak, or
secret police, have the right to keep the detainees for long periods of time
and interrogate them without their seeing a lawyer.
The illusion of democracy in action
As the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, swears in a new government to
replace Benjamin Netanyahu, one can see the illusion of democracy in action.
It is a democracy for the few, who continue to rule and oppress the many.
While many question marks regarding the new government remain - such as how
long it will take before Netanyahu returns to the prime minister's chair -
one thing is clear: Mohammad and Abdul Khaliq Burnat, as well as countless
others throughout Palestine, will continue to fight the apartheid regime and
pay a heavy price.