For the first time since the October 2000 incidents, police used rubber-coated bullets against Israeli citizens. Medics report injuries from rubber-coated bullets. Prof. Raphi Walden, PHR-Israel: "The house demolition policy is detrimental to the inhabitants' fabric of life, health, and physical and mental integrity". Photo By Daniel Cherin.

During the discussion, PHR-Israel presented a position paper reviewing the severe health implications of the lack of appropriate environmental conditions in the unrecognized villages, including the lack of water services and infrastructure, electricity, roads, and sewage and sanitation systems. The paper also raised other issues such as house demolitions, lack of garbage removal services, and the environmental hazards and pollution emanating from industrial plants located next to population concentrations.

18 Israeli and American Jewish groups: Strongly Oppose Beer Sheva District Court’s failure yesterday to grant a permanent injunction preventing Israeli Government and JNF bulldozers from resuming work to plant a JNF forest in place of the Negev Bedouin village of Al-Arakib |  Strongly Object to Israeli Government and Jewish National Fund (JNF) for 9th Demolition of Al-Arakib | Call on all who care about Israel to join the over 10,000 who have already signed our new petitions of protest to Prime Minister Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Lieberman, Leaders of the Israel Lands Administration and JNF Leaders in Israel and the US

This unique photo essay of photographer Kobi Wolf, who has been documenting the unrecognized Bedouin Villages in the Negev Desert since 2006,  has recently won the PhotoPhilanthropy Activist Awards for 2010. See link for the full photo essay.