Following Hearing in Be’er Sheva Magistrates’ Court and Submission of Closing Arguments, Residents of Ras Jrabah Await Court Decision on their Lawsuit Against the State’s Attempt to Evict them from their Homes
On 7 February 2023, Adalah submitted its closing arguments to the Be’er Sheva Magistrates’ Court in the case of the pending evictions of the Bedouin village of Ras Jrabah in the Naqab. In its submission, Adalah argued that the state’s attempt to evict Ras Jrabah’s approximately 500 residents violates constitutional and administrative law, as well as the residents’ land and property rights.
This lawsuit – consisting of 10 eviction suits brought by the Israel Land Authority – is an attempt by the government of Israel to evict the residents of Ras Jrabah, who have lived on their land for generations, before the state of Israel was established. The lawsuit, first filed against the residents in May 2019, is for the explicit purpose of expanding the neighboring Jewish city of Dimona in its place.
Prior to the hearings held on 22 and 23 May 2022 at the Be’er Sheva Magistrates’ Court, testimonies were submitted by elderly residents of the village, which detailed the tribes’ historical relationship to the land and laid out the long history of their community living there, which was corroborated by a variety of documentary evidence, including state documents. Experts, including urban planners and historians, also submitted written testimonies as to the abundance of evidence – namely, aerial photographs – proving the Bedouins’ residence there since at least 1956 and suggesting alternative planning that would allow for the recognition of the village in its location either as a separate village or as part of the new neighborhood of expanded Dimona.
During the court hearings on the cases, experts and residents of Ras Jrabah were cross-examined by the state, however the residents were not permitted at any time during the state’s cross-examination to provide their oral narrative testimonies regarding their history and lives in Ras Jrabah and how they would be impacted by the impending evictions and home demolitions. Adalah attorneys also cross-examined state witnesses.
In the closing arguments submitted on behalf of the residents, Adalah Attorneys Myssana Morany and Fady Khoury, argued that these evictions are illegal, as they do not comply with the relevant statute of limitations nor administrative law, as they constitute an abuse of procedures and have not been put forward in good faith.
Furthermore, Adalah argued that the members of Bedouin community on this land are in no way trespassers, as has been asserted by the state, as they have been on this land for decades, as evidenced by, among other things: 1) assurances from military authorities to the members of the tribe that their lands will be protected – as stated in the testimony of village residents – and that they were not evicted during the time of the military rule; 2) the provision of a water connection by the state authorities several decades ago; 3) the notation in many official documents of the defendants’ address as the tribe of el–Hawashleh/Abu Reqaiq - Dimona, indicating that the authorities knew that they live in the area and consented to it; and 4) that the state did not take enforcement actions against the residents for decades.
Adalah attorneys additionally submitted proof that the explicit purpose of this eviction plan is to continue to use the land for residential purposes, for other citizens who are not Bedouin. And indeed, no alternative plan for the land – including the possibility of inclusion of the Bedouin residents in the expanded Dimona – was even considered by the state. During the cross-examination by the Bedouin Authority Inspector, he claimed that the inclusion of the Bedouin residents of Ras Jrabah as part of Dimona was not even an option, becuase in his role, he has no such authority to include them and can only consider their relocation to the Bedouin township. This clearly does not comply with principles of equality.
Finally, the arguments laid out how these evictions, if carried out, will violate a plethora of constitutional rights of the residents, including the right to dignity, the right to housing, and the right to equality.
Following this, the state submitted their responsive arguments on 8 March 2023. The residents of Ras Jrabah continue to await a decision on the case from the Magistrates’ Court.
Related Press Releases:
Court to hear Adalah’s defense arguments against evacuation of 500 residents of Ras Jrabah
