Israeli bulldozers, under the protection of police forces, on Wednesday destroyed 47 Bedouin homes in the southern Negev region, in the largest day of demolitions in years.

The demolitions, near Umm Butin village, targeted the houses of members of the same family, Abu Asa, leaving hundreds of them without a home, the Middle East Eye reported. 

Israeli authorities carried out the demolition under the pretext that the structures did not have the proper building permits, which are very rarely granted to Palestinian Bedouins in the Negev desert, known as the Naqab in Arabic.

Several Abu Asa family members decided to burn down their own homes prior to the operation rather than watch the Israelis destroy them. One Palestinian, Ahmed Abu Asa, was arrested after he tried to obstruct the bulldozers.