Jerusalem, 13 October, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Dozens of illegal structures in the Bedouin diaspora near Rahat in the Negev were demolished Monday in a large-scale enforcement operation following a lengthy legal process.
The Land Enforcement Authority’s enforcement unit carried out the operation with the Yoav unit and the Israel Police against the Dahia residential cluster, belonging to the Abu Wadi clan, south of Beit Kama.
The court rejected claims by residents and ruled that the structures constituted an encroachment on state land that must be vacated.
The right-wing Regavim movement welcomed the demolitions, saying government enforcement efforts were restoring Israeli sovereignty to the Negev after years of neglect.
Regavim’s southern district director Yehuda Kapach rejected claims by left-wing groups that the site was an ancient village and the operation was racist. He cited aerial photographs presented in court, arguing that the illegal settlement dated only to the 1990s.
