“We will not allow illegal construction and takeover of land and we will use all the necessary means and force to enforce the law,” said Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir. “The sentence for any illegal house is one – demolition. I am proud to lead a strong policy of destroying illegal houses in the Negev, this is the only way to return governance and sovereignty to the Negev, which has been abandoned for many years.”

Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled in 2015 that Umm al Hiran was built on state land already earmarked for a Jewish community of 10,000 to be called Dror.

However, efforts to relocate Umm al Hiran’s 300 residents to the nearby Bedouin town of Hura after that ruling proved fruitless.

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