Land and Planning Rights

Planning and Development | Land Allocation and Housing Assistance | Unrecognized Villages

The Arab minority in Israel has long suffered state discrimination in matters of land and planning rights. Dating back to the 1950 Absentees' Property Law, used to seize control of land owned by the Palestinian refugees forced to flee in 1948, Israel has used legal implements to marginalize Arab citizens. Since then, Israel has consistently employed a discriminatory land distribution policy. While over 1000 new Jewish communities have been established, not a single Arab settlement has been authorized. Jewish settlements in the Naqab are retroactively recognized, while Bedouin villages that pre-date Israel's independence are not – left without water, electricity, or infrastructure. Arab towns and villages are over-represented among the state's lowest socioeconomic tiers.

Adalah is actively challenging these laws from a range of angles across the country. Our legal advocacy efforts include, among others, petitioning the courts and planning committees against forced evictions and home demolitions in the Naqab; attacking the JNF for making land available only to Jews; challenging the state's refusal to recognize or provide services to Arab villages and neighborhoods; objecting to planning decisions which prioritize Jewish settlements over Arab ones; and seeking to overturn policies which discriminate against Arabs in the provision of mortgages and housing assistance.

A complete list of cases is available here. To filter by specific topics, use the links above:

The Right to an Address for Arab Citizens Living in Unrecognized Villages
HCJ 3607/97, Mohammed Sawa'ed, et. al. v. Ministry of the Interior, et. al. Latest Update 3.2.2011
Last Update: 24/01/2012

Recognition for the Unrecognized Neighborhood of Al-Jelasi
HCJ 7960/99, Hashem Sawa'ed, et. al. v. Regional Council of Misgav, et. al.
Last Update: 24/01/2012

Expansion of the Jurisdiction of Omer Municipality to Encompass the Land of Arab Unrecognized Villages
HCJ 6672/00, Jazi Abu Kaf, et. al. v. Minister of the Interior, et. al.
Last Update: 24/01/2012

Challenging Demolition Orders against the Sawaed Brothers' Homes in Husseniya.
Permission for Criminal Appeal 1782/03, Misgav Local Planning and Building Committee v. Yousef and Housni Sawaed.
Last Update: 24/01/2012

45 Urgent Motions to Cancel Ex Parte Demolition Orders Issued against Almost All Homes in the Unrecognized Arab Bedouin Village of Al-Sura in the Naqab
Beer el-Sebe Magistrates' Court, Different Motions 9364/06 Suleiman Nasasra and Adalah v. The State of Israel
Last Update: 08/08/2007

Demanding that the Arab Town of Jizr al-Zarqa be Connected via Roadway to the Tel Aviv-Haifa Coastal Highway
A.P. 1998/08 Local Council of Jisr al-Zarqa v. Ma'atz (Public Works Agency)
Last Update: 24/06/2008

Motions to Cancel Ex Parte Demolition Orders Against 33 homes in the Unrecognized Arab Bedouin Village of Umm el-Hieran in the Naqab
Beer el-Sabe Magistrates' Court, Different Motions 6928/03 Abu el-Qian Ali, et al. v. The State of Israel Beer el-Sebe Magistrates' Court, Different Motions 8477/06 Abu el-Qian Ali, et al. v. The State of Israel
Last Update: 25/01/2012

Seeking the Cancellation of Evacuation Lawsuits Against about 1,000 Arab Bedouin Citizens of Israel Living in Atir-Umm el-Hieran in the Naqab and Demanding Recognition for the Unrecognized Village
Beer el-Sabe Magistrates' Court, Civil File 3326/04 and 1769/08 The State of Israel and the Israel Land Administration v. Ibrahim Farhood Abu el-Qian, et al.
Appeal Against Magistrate Court Decision: Beer el-Sebe Magistrates' Court, C.A. 11165/09 Ibrahim Abu Al-Qia'an et al. v. The State of Israel
Last Update: 24/01/2012

Motion for Permission to Appeal State Demolition of Atir-Umm el-Hiran to Build Jewish Hiran
Motion for Permission to Appeal 3094/11 Ibrahim Farhood Abu al-Qi'an, et al v. The State of Israel
Last Update: 24/01/2012

Objection Submitted against the Building of a New Jewish Town to be Called "Hiran" on the Land on which Atir-Umm al-Hieran is Located (the Nahal Yatir area)
Planning Committee, objection filed in 1/11 by Adalah, Bimkom and the Arab Bedouin residents of Umm al-Hieran to the National Council for Planning and Building (NCPB)
Last Update: 24/01/2012

Seeking Cancellation of Discriminatory ILA Land Distribution Decision
HCJ 9289/03, Adalah, et. al. v. Israel Lands Administration, et. al.
Last Update: 24/01/2012