Objections to New discriminatory ILA Naqab (Negev) Plan in the Naqab which Violates the Land Rights of Arab Citizens of Israel
On 10 June 2003, Adalah, in cooperation with the Committee for the Defence of Land Rights of Internally Displaced Persons in the Naqab, submitted an objection on behalf of eleven Arab Bedouin citizens of Israel to the Joint Regional Committee for Redivision of Agricultural Land (JRC). The objectors raised numerous challenges against Local Plan "Kibbutz Shuval and surrounding area, 10/MSD" and demanded its cancellation. Adalah Attorney Suhad Bishara prepared and filed the objection.
The plan was initiated by the Israel Lands Administration (ILA) with the consent of those who were presented as the "landowners," namely the State of Israel, the Jewish National Fund, and the Development Authority. The goals of the plan are defined as: "(a) preparing a detailed plan for registering the Shuval and the surrounding lands in the official Land Registry in accordance with the draft plans; (b) cancelling and merging existing divisions and plots [of land] and re-dividing them; and (c) determining land designations and areas." It was submitted to the JRC on 12 February 2003. The plan affects 21,000 dunams of land in the Naqab (Negev).
The lands at issue are in the Wadi Zuballa region, currently known as Kibbutz Shuval and its surrounding areas. This area was mostly populated by Arab Bedouin, who were living there for decades, even before the establishment of the State of Israel. With the establishment of the state and the imposition of military rule over Arab citizens of Israel (1948-1966), the residents received orders from the regional military governor instructing them to leave the area and to move to other areas in the Naqab. Some of the residents moved to Heirbat Zuballa, which is known today as the Rahat area, while others moved to Hura.
In May 1971, the Israeli Land Registry published a notice in accordance with the Land Registration Ordinance (revised 1969) announcing the beginning of a process of land registration in the Naqab. Some of the region's residents, including the objectors to this plan, submitted land ownership declarations in response to this notice. Since the notice was published and the land claims were filed, no schedule was set, no action was taken, and nothing has been resolved.
Adalah raised four main arguments challenging the plan:
1) The plan violates the right to due process. The ILA began a process of land rights registration in 1971, which was never completed. Approval of the plan would nullify, without review, the previously filed land ownership claims, and would erode the legitimacy of the land registration process. Most significantly, if approved, the plan would de facto bring about a large-scale confiscation of land by the state.
2) The plan is misleading, inaccurate, and uses imprecise language. The plan maintains that it was submitted with the consent of the "landowners," namely the State of Israel, the JNF, and the Development Authority. However, as noted, the process of land registration begun in 1971 was never completed, and land ownership claims remain unresolved. The plan is also internally inconsistent, as an attached map of the area presented by the ILA clearly demarcates "unregistered land." The vague language used in the plan obscures or conceals essential elements regarding the effect of the plan. Norms of administrative process require fairness, clarity, transparency, and good faith. The plan circumvents the procedures of the land registration process; for example, the consequences that the plan will have on land ownership claims pending since 1971 are not clearly stated.
3) The plan fails to meet the criteria for a 'plan for the re-division of land' as set out in Article 69 of the Planning and Building Law (1965). According to the law, a re-division of land must only be undertaken when it will result in more efficient land use. The plan fails to strike an appropriate balance between serving the public good and private land ownership rights.
4) The ILA exceeded its authority by initiating and submitting the plan. The Israeli Land Registry is vested with the responsibility of dealing with land ownership claims and the registration of land.
The Committee for the Defence of Land Rights of Internally Displaced Persons in the Naqab has prepared maps demarcating the land ownership claims asserted by the objectors. These maps were submitted to the JRC as part of the objection. No date has been set by the JRC for hearings on the plan.
