Press Release

Following Adalah's Petition: Israeli Supreme Court orders State to Pave a Safe Road to School in Arab Bedouin Unrecognized Village of al-Fur'a in the Naqab

At a hearing held on 16 November 2011, the Israeli Supreme Court leveled scathing criticism against the Ministries of Education and Transportation for not implementing a 2005 ruling of the court. In 2005, the court confirmed a commitment by the state, following a petition filed by Adalah, to open and pave a safe road and junction connecting the elementary school of the Arab Bedouin unrecognized villageal-Fur'a in the Naqab (Negev) to the main road.

The hearing was held on a new petition and motion for contempt of court filed by Adalah Attorney Rami Jubranin October 2011 against the state for its failure to comply with its own commitments and the court's 2005 decision.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Dorit Beinish ordered the two ministries to immediately implement the 2005 decision. She also stated that the state's failure to comply with the decision is a clear contempt ofcourt. She added that there is no explanation as to why so much time has passed without the state fulfilling its obligation, and that the pupils of the al-Fur'aschool are again under risk, as it is winter time. The court mandated that the state find a temporary, immediate and appropriate solution, and that it submit an updated notice regarding the construction of the road by the end of the year.

In September 2005 following a petition filed by Adalah in July 2005, the Supreme Court ordered the state to repair a road and traffic junction in order to facilitate access to the elementary school in al-Fur'a. Then, the Court emphasized the need for the construction to take place imminently.

The petition was filed by former Adalah Attorney Marwan Dalal on behalf of three Palestinian Arab Bedouin citizens of Israel - fathers of children studying at the school - and the head of the Village's Local Committee against the Ministries of Education, the Interior, Construction and Housing, and Transport, as well as the Abu Basma Regional Council in the Naqab.

Adalah argued in the petition that during the winter months, rainfall makes the dirt track to the school particularly treacherous, and that as a result, the vast majority of the school's teachers and 1,187 pupils, at the time, could not attend classes for fear of being injured. Consequently, the school is frequently closed and lessons suspended, and the lack of a safe and paved road thus severely impacts upon the pupils' studies and disrupts their educational progress. Adalah also emphasized that the state's failure to pave a road to the elementary school represents a clear violation of the children's rights to education and access to education under both Israeli and international human rights law.

Case Citation: HCJ 6673/05, Ali AfnanJabouah, et. al. v. Ministry of Education, et. al.