PRESS BRIEF | Adalah demands end to ban on entry of non-residents into public park in Lehavim

07/09/2022

Prevention of non-residents' entry into park began during COVID-19 restrictions, but has continued following complaints of Lehavim residents against Palestinian Bedouin non-resident visitors.

On 7 September 2022, Adalah sent a letter to the Lehavim local council demanding that they refrain from banning non-residents from entering the “Birds’ Park” in the jurisdiction of the southern Israeli town. The park, which is operated by the Lahavim local council, has been open to residents of Lahavim and residents from nearby towns for years. The prevention of non-residents' entry into the park began during the COVID-19 restrictions, but has since continued following complaints of Lehavim residents against Palestinian Bedouin non-resident visitors of the park. Adalah argued that the Lehavim’s policy amounts to illegal discrimination based on nationality, and demanded that non-residents and the general public immediately be permitted to enter the park.