Residents of the Negev village, Bir Hadaj, told Israeli media on Saturday they believed police were covering up the cause of death of several camels discovered dead on Friday.
On Friday, Israel Police announced they would investigate the deaths of four camels in the Negev after they were discovered dead and partially decomposed. No shell casings were found at the scene.
The residents of the village told Israeli media that the four camels were worth about 80,000 shekels and were found in an IDF training zone.
The IDF claimed there was no evidence that the IDF soldiers were involved in the incident.
The residents shared their doubts with Israeli media, claiming that they had been electronically tracking the camels and that they were alive at least the day before. They claim this is part of a wider series of hate crimes against the Bedouin community.
Residents said they had faced several attacks from masked men in IDF uniforms. One shepherd from the village said he and his wife were attacked by masked men in army uniforms only the day before the camels were discovered at the same location.
The resident said the men forced him to hand over all his agricultural equipment, which was then burned; they also stole his wife's phone.
The residents said they believed the same people were responsible for shooting camels.
"Only they could do this. They have been hanging around the area for a long time and terrorizing the Bedouin residents," one resident told Haaretz.
A culture of cover-ups
Residents expressed dissatisfaction with the Israel Police's "culture of covering up." The same resident criticized the police statements about decomposition and bullet casings, saying, "Decay comes after at least a week, especially since we're in cold weather."
"Maybe the casings were buried in the sand, maybe the shooters picked them up, I don't know. But that doesn't mean the camels weren't shot. According to the photos and videos, you can see clear gunshot wounds."
The residents said they had faced persistent attacks over the years. In one incident, a resident claimed masked men arrived in pickup trucks and assaulted a woman for no reason.
"They come like criminals, with their faces covered and glasses over their eyes, and you can't tell who is standing in front of you. There is no badge there. There are no body cameras that can record," a resident said. "the area is at a boiling point."
In other incidents, residents from the village reported facing harassment and assault from members of the police and security services.
In one incident in 2022, the Israel Police claimed the resident had arrived in the middle of an arrest and refused to leave, leading multiple members of the Israel Border Police to drag him from the car and beat him before releasing him as he was traveling with his two-year-old daughter.
Several residents said that this was a regular practice for undercover police in the Negev, stating that "It's either you run away or you get beaten up."