RAMALLAH, Feb 27 (JMCC) - Some 600 Bedouin living in the south-eastern suburbs of Jerusalem have been given eviction notices by the Israeli military, a Palestinian official said Sunday.

Speaking to Voice of Palestine Radio, Jerusalem Fateh leader Hatem Abdel Qader said that the Bedouin live in Wadi Abu Hendi, a strategic area leading to the Dead Sea.

Apparently, there is an Israeli plan to evict all Bedouin tribes that live in the eastern parts of Jerusalem and to seal the area with a settlement belt, he told listeners.

Abdel Qader said that the plan to build settlements in the area was first created in 1997 but stalled by a court injunction.

Israel has come under repeated criticism from United Nations agencies for the demolition of Bedouin homes in the occupied West Bank.

Living in traditional herding communities, Bedouin in the West Bank are largely refugees from inside Israel. They are some of the most marginalized and needy Palestinians, found in rural areas under Israeli control.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that last year Israel demolished 350 structures in these areas alone.