Following Adalah and ACAP’s Petition to Israel’s Supreme Court: Govt. to Include Nine Arab Towns in Wadi Ara in National Priority Areas for Housing
CLICK HERE to read the response
On 21 May 2023, the government approved Decision No. 561, which designates National Priority Areas (NPA) for housing, administering governmental development subsidies at an annual value of 900 million NIS (approximately 245 million USD). Towns included in the new priority areas map will be entitled to a range of benefits, including funding from the Ministry of Construction and Housing for development expenses for public infrastructure and new residential construction on what is considered state-owned land. Benefits also include subsidized housing and mortgages, and significantly reduced rates (up to 79%) for land use for both residential and commercial purposes.
For the first time, nine Arab towns and villages in the Wadi Ara (“little triangle”) region will be included in the list of NPA localities eligible for exceptional state subsidies and benefits on construction and land development. These include the city of Umm al-Fahem, along with the villages of the Ma'ale Iron local council, Zalafa, Musheirifa, Salem, and Bayada, and the villages of Barta'a, Mu'awiya, and Ayn al-Sahla - which are all located in the jurisdiction of the Basma Local Council.
This development comes after Adalah and the Arab Center for Alternative Planning (ACAP) challenged the state in a Supreme Court petition, in 2020, against the implementation of a discriminatory system that resulted in the exclusion of all of the Arab localities in this region in the housing NPA policy, while neighboring Jewish-Israeli towns with considerably higher social-economic rankings were awarded generous benefits after receiving NPA status. The petition, filed on behalf of all Arab local authorities in Wadi Ara and 74 area residents, in cooperation with the Public Committee for the Defense of Land and Housing in Wadi Ara, argued that the criteria set forth in the previous governmental decision concerning NPAs did not meet the standards that were anchored in legislation that the Knesset was required to pass as a result of a 2006 landmark ruling on a previous petition filed by Adalah. In that ruling, the Supreme Court deemed a different governmental decision on NPAs illegal on the ground that it was discriminatory, and determined that such a massive allocation of state resources must be regulated by legislation that meets constitutional standards.
Case Citation: 5510/20, Umm al-Fahm Municipality et al v. Israeli Prime Minister
CLICK HERE to read more about the petition
In April 2021, the Israeli Supreme Court granted an order nisi in the petition, ordering the state to explain within 30 days why Arab localities in the "northern triangle" are not slated to receive the same development benefits received by neighboring Jewish localities with higher socio-economic rankings. After the court allowed repeated temporary extensions of the governmental decision due to political instability and recurrent elections, the government passed the new decision shortly before it was due to update the court on 23 May 2023.
CLICK HERE to read more about the order nisi
The new decision reduces the impact of a discriminatory criterion that determines eligibility based on the socio-economic classification of the sub-district within which a locality is situated, rather than the individual status of each locality. As a result, a few Arab towns and villages, at the lower end of the socio-economic ranking index, are now eligible for the benefits. In its recent update to the Supreme Court, the state argued that, as a result, Adalah’s petition had become factually irrelevant and should be rejected. However, several other Arab towns, such as A'ra, Kafr Qara, Baqa al-Gharbiyye, Jatt, and the villages of Um Al-Kataf, Meisar and El’aryan, with very low socio-economic rankings, remain excluded, while Jewish-Israeli towns in the same sub-district and with significantly higher rankings, continue to enjoy the generous benefits. Adalah and ACAP continue to argue that full remedy has yet to be given by the court and therefore the petition must remain pending, and that the court should give a decisive order to eliminate all the discriminatory elements in the existing policy. Adalah will file its written response to the state’s update by 16 July 2023.
In response to the government’s decision, Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel and the Arab Center for Alternative Planning (ACAP) stated:
“Historically, successive Israeli governments have systematically excluded Arab towns in Wadi Ara from National Priority Area (NPA) designations. Therefore, the government’s decision is significant for the towns that have been included, which have been struggling with a severe housing crisis for decades. Undoubtedly, this decision marks a historic achievement for the towns in Wadi Ara and will have a substantial impact on resolving the housing crisis in the affected towns. Nevertheless, Israel continues to discriminate using the NPA designation, excluding many Arab towns that rank very low in socio-economic status. We will continue our efforts to combat ongoing discrimination and to secure the equal designation of Arab towns as National Priority Areas.”
Related press releases
Israeli Supreme Court to Hold Hearing on the National Priority Areas (NPA) Case tomorrow, 14 November 2022 13 November 2022
Arab towns petition Israeli Supreme Court: We demand gov’t development benefits enjoyed by neighboring Jewish towns 06 August 2020
