of thousands of structures have been built in Bedouin communities, and new ones are built more quickly than the state can demolish them. They are illegal since the state never issues construction permits for the unrecognized villages. In July 2011 the state filed a NIS 1.8 million suit against 34 Bedouins from the Abu Mediam and Abu Jabber families, whom they accuse of illegal encroachment on state lands. The suit seeks to reclaim the state costs of evicting families from the Negev village. Evictions In July 2010, Israel Land Administration inspectors and 1,300 police officers demolished the villages' 46 buildings and uprooted 850 trees, which were transferred for replanting elsewhere. Witnesses told CNN that the hundreds of Israeli riot police who stormed the village were accompanied by "busloads of cheering civilians". Israeli police said that there were "no disturbances". Hundreds of olive trees belonging to the villagers were uprooted. Israeli left-wing activists mildly clashed with police during the demolition. Some residents immediately began rebuilding their homes. Shlomo Tziser, a Land Administration administrator told the press that, "the people who live here have homes in Rahat and Kfar Kassem. We are implementing a verdict for the evacuation of the area which has passed all legal instances. Today we shall evacuate them and should they return we'll do it again." One week after the last demolition (August 4), the village was razed again after residents returned and rebuilt some parts of it. Six people were arrested during the second demolition of the village. The Bedouin Knesset member, Taleb el-Sana, was forcibly removed from the scene by police after he had tried to stop the demolition. Over the next two weeks, the village was demolished a third (August 10) and a fourth time (August 17) after residents rebuilt it. The demolition on August 17 took place at dawn during Ramadan while the villagers were fasting. Throughout the following months, residents continued to return to the village and build makeshift structures. On January 16, 2011, Israeli security forces demolished eleven makeshift buildings. Protesters clashed with police, who responded with pepper spray and paintball guns. Five protesters were injured. Taleb el-Sana attended and told Israeli media that, "The state is pushing its Bedouin citizens to the point where they may launch a popular intifada, which will have severe results." The inhabitants immediately returned to the site. The following day, police arrived at the site and