DHAKA: Bedouin Arabs living in Israel have been protesting in the Negev Desert and towns and cities over government plans to resettle them.

Thousands joined what was termed a ‘day of rage’ in the Negev itself, Haifa, Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.

The Bedouin say the plan will force them out of their ancestral land, reports the BBC.

Israeli officials say it aims to provide better services and infrastructure, and settle long-standing land disputes.

Police in the Negev used tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators, some of whom were throwing stones, reportedly injuring 15 officers.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that 28 people were arrested during protests in Haifa and the Negev village of Hura.

The resettlement plan, which envisages Bedouin being re-housed in newly built state-planned towns, still has to pass two more readings in parliament.

BDST: 1826 HRS, DEC 01, 2013