3rd Session NGO - Sidreh Arab Bedouin Organization on Item III and IV Thank you madam Chair. Madam my name is (Hannan Issana), I work for the Association on Women in an-Naqab. I would like to thank my colleague (Rauya Aburbreah) for her excellent presentation on the issue of housing and land. I have got an addition when the Israeli speak about the Arabs of an-Naqab, Israeli always portray as if the Bedouins as if they are occupying the whole of the south of the country the area (Nejab Annabah) before 1948, before the establishment of the state of Israel we lived on 90 per cent of the area of an-Naqab today we live only on 3 per cent area of an-Naqab. The conflict, the problem with the Arabs, the Bedouins of an-Naqab and the government of Israel concerns 3 per cent of the area. Unfortunately, the government of Israel has been legislating promulgated laws that allowed that to confiscate the land of the Bedouins and to prevent the Bedouins the right to the ownership of land. Madam, I know that this Forum is on the active participation in economic life, we cannot be effective we cannot participate in economic life without having a right to housing and a right to livelihood as long as our houses are being demolished we cannot and we are deprived of essential services. We are calling upon the government of Israel to review and to review the laws that Israel itself promulgated to serve its own interests as to the ownership of those lands. And let Israel compare all of those laws to the second census list by our people then for 6 years Israel has a scheme, a plan, it is a racial plan against the Bedouins of an-Naqab and this is, we know, how it is doing. Israel is trying to move the largest number of Arabs of an-Naqab to the smallest area of the land. I am truly happy that we are attending this Forum because as you know the economic and social situation of the minorities is extremely difficult and it was very difficult for us and it is difficult for us to have a rights attained in land in our livelihood and we hope that this Forum is going to assist us to get our rights to land and to housing and to stop the demolition of the houses because in the past every year 100 houses were demolished every year and last year 700 houses were demolished in an-Naqab (…). Like for example, you could help us by the establishment by a fact-finding commission that would visit an-Naqab and find out how our livelihood is being destroyed. Thank you.