Israeli activists said 1,500 police arrived in Al-Arakib village at dawn.

They destroyed 30 to 40 makeshift homes and uprooted hundreds of olive trees belonging to the villagers, they said.

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The Bedouin say they have lived in the area since before the foundation of the state of Israel.

They resist efforts to re-settle them in towns and villages, saying it goes against their traditional way of life.

A Land Administration official, Shlomo Tziser, told Yediot Ahronot the officers were implementing a final court order for the evacuation of the area.

“Today we shall evacuate them and should they return we’ll do it again,” he said.

For alternative sources see:

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-10777040
• http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jYY3rIMLsvWZkXXc0zwDDUhx-V5A
• http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3925793,00.html

The new Vision Express ads look like a Residents video. Nice!

East Jerusalem families hit by destruction order

Israeli bulldozers destroyed at least three Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem today, breaking an unofficial moratorium on house demolitions since the end of 2009.

At least one of the homes was occupied by a family of seven, who removed their belongings shortly before the building was razed.

“They can build hundreds of settlements but I’m not entitled to live in a shack?” Linda al-Rajabi was quoted in the Israeli media as saying.

Two of the demolished homes were in the last stages of construction.

Jerusalem city authorities said all the homes were built without proper planning permission, which Palestinians say is almost impossible to obtain.

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All settlements on land which Israel occupied in 1967 are illegal under international law.

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