Hundreds of protesters today blocked major intersections connecting the south of the country - the Negev desert - with the center. They are demanding that the government reverse the cancellation of the “Negev law,” a series of laws meant to provide incentives and assistance to the municipalities of the Negev. The budget cuts approved by the cabinet yesterday nixed the special financial aid package to the southern region. Garbage trucks and other heavy equipment were rolled into the Ashdod and Dimona junctions disrupting traffic from the south heading north. Police used force to open the blocked intersections. Protesting other cuts to the 2002 budget, dozens of students and disabled Israelis demonstrated today in front of the Ministry of Finance in Jerusalem.