The Badia Tribes Gathering in the Gaza Strip condemned the arrest at dawn on Monday of Sheikh Sayyah al-Turi and his wife by Israeli occupation forces who had stormed the village of al-Araqib.
In a statement provided to the “Safa” agency, the coalition of tribes confirmed that Sheikh Al-Turi is regarded as a symbol of struggle. “He is like the rest of the sheikhs of Palestine who cling to their land and their rights, and he confronts the occupying state with his iron will in the battle to stay on their land in the village of Al-Araqib, the oldest of the occupied entity’s state,” the statement read.
He emphasised that Sheikh al-Turi and his sons had been detained on multiple occasions “to dissuade them from their struggle and keep to their land.”
It urged the desert tribes to aid the residents of the village of Al-Araqib and its sheikh in their struggle, defend them from the cruelty of the occupation, and encourage their tenacity and resistance.
Early this morning, members of the “Yoaf” section of the occupation police invaded the abandoned settlement of Al-Araqib in the Negev and detained Sheikh Sayyah Al-Turi and his wife.
It is noteworthy that the occupying authorities destroyed the al-Araqib tents for the 216th time in a row at the beginning of May, protected by sizable police forces and its units, since their first destruction on July 27, 2010.
In response to the plans to uproot and displace them from their land, the residents of Al-Araqib constantly rebuild their tents out of wood and nylon covering. This keeps them safe from the bitter cold of winter and the scorching heat of summer.