ADALAH PRESS RELEASE
23 May 2011

(Haifa, Israel) On 18 May 2011, Adalah and Baladna held a public event at the Al-Meidan Theater in Haifa on the Nakba of the Arab Bedouin in the Naqab (Negev). The speakers discussed the problems faced by the unrecognized villages and the legal and popular struggle to solve them. It also addressed the recent Nakba commemorations and protests, which resulted in the killings of a number of demonstrators and the arrest of activists. Around 80 people attended the commemoration, including Arab Bedouin youth from unrecognized villages.

Adalah Attorney Haneen Naamnih opened the event with a minute's silence for the victims who were killed during the Nakba demonstrations in 2011. She welcomed the guests and introduced the program.

Ms. Manar Yaqoub, Chair of the Board of Directors of Baladna, gave a short speech in which she stressed the significant and active role that is played by Palestinian youth, and the importance of youth empowerment. Dr. Mahmoud Yazbak, Chair of the Board of Directors of Adalah, then spoke about the need for the event given recent developments in the Naqab and the dire situation in the unrecognized villages.

Next, a short film directed by Eli Rezik for Adalah about the unrecognized village of Atir–Umm el-Hieran in the Naqab was premiered.

Adalah Attorney Suhad Bishara then presented a new report issued by Adalah entitled "Nomads Against Their Will", which details the government's plan to displace the 1,000 Arab Bedouin residents of Atir–Umm el-Hieran. The report contains original maps, documentation and photographs from the Israeli state archives, and the legal tracks followed by Israel to consolidate its policies of uprooting and displacement.

Dr. Amer Huzayyel, the deputy and acting mayor of Rahat, followed and gave a talk about the government's plans to confiscate more Arab land in the Naqab, emphasizing that all the current proposals were ineffective and essentially continued violating the rights of the Arab Bedouin.

Next the General Director of the Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages, Mr. Jazi Abu Kaff detailed the devastating situation in the unrecognized villages, which still lack essential services, including clean drinking water and electricity.

Mr. Mumtaz Khatib, a youth activist, presented the final talk about the struggle on the ground on the Naqab. He took the demolished village of Al-Araqib as an example of how the issues of the Naqab can become national issues.

The seminar closed with questions from the audience about the political situation of the Arab Bedouin in the Naqab and the future of the struggle to secure their rights.

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