Israel's Arab communities protested against the government's plan of resettling and displacing Bedouin communities in Negev desert on Monday, local media reported.

The so-called "Begin-Prawer Plan," approved in first reading by Knesset (parliament) last month, threatens to evict thousands of Bedouin residents from villages.

Although the police initially authorized the rally, riot police later dispersed the main rally at Ben Gurion University in Negev, arresting 14 demonstrators and wounding one woman.

A police spokesperson told Xinhua that the demonstrators tried to block a road and to attack policemen.

"We consider the plan as a declaration of war by the government, " said Dr. Thabet Abu Rass, manager of the Negev branch of Adalah, legal center for Arab minority rights in Israel.

Dr. Abu Rass said that the plan forces urbanization on Bedouins, who currently live mostly in villages, and forbids them to own lands in western Negev.

Taleb A-Sanah, former member of the Knesset and member of the Bedouin community, is worried that the plan "is going to lead to an Intifada in Negev." Endi

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