Northern District Planning and Building Committee Cancels Plan to Establish a Nature Reserve in the el-Malak Valley: De Facto Land Confiscation Averted

On 22 August 2004 the Northern District Planning and Building Committee (NDPBC) decided to cancel Local Plan G-7337, submitted to it in March 2002 by the Nature Reserve and National Park Authority (NRNPA). Had the plan been approved, the NRNPA would have declared an area of over 3,200 acres (13,184 dunams) of land in the el-Malak Valley, located in the north of Israel, as a nature reserve and national park, constituting a direct threat of Arab-owned land confiscation in the area. The plan would also have imposed restrictions on farmers and landowners, and prevented them from cultivating their land as they deemed appropriate.

Following the drafting of the plan, which covers the area of el-Malak Valley, and extends to the Arab towns of el-Kabiah, Basmet Tabon, el-Helif, el-Khawaled, el-Hamereh, as far as Shafa'amr, Adalah filed an objection to the NDPBC on 13 March 2002, demanding its cancellation on behalf of 100 farmers, Palestinian citizens of Israel, from the area.

In the objection, Adalah Attorney Suhad Bishara argued that the plan severely violates the basic rights of the farmers to own their land, stressing that these farmers have been cultivating these lands for decades, prior even to the establishment of the state of Israel. Moreover, there is no connection between the land owned and cultivated by the farmers, and the stated objectives of the plan, which include the public need for the protection of the area's natural resources and appearance by the establishment of the nature reserve and national park. Adalah contended that the cultivated lands represent an integral part of the area, and its natural appearance, and that the plan ignores the longstanding relationship between the Arab farmers and their land, and the integral role they play in preserving it. Further, the plan would infringe the farmers' right to freedom of employment, and in so doing deprive them of their primary source of income.

Adalah also argued that the plan is discriminatory as it fails to establish clear objective criteria for establishing a nature reserve in the area; rather, the geographical specifications of the plan appear to be designed specifically to enclose and limit the growth of Arab towns in the area, and in particular el-Kabiah, Basmet Tabon, el-Helif, and el-Hamereh. Without offering any objective explanation, the proposed nature reserve excludes all the area's forests, which are located close to Jewish towns, such as Alonim, Aloni Abba, Bet Lehem Hagalilit and Alon Hagalil. Furthermore, the area designated as a nature reserve and national park illogically contains virtually no natural forests.

The plan also contains factual inaccuracies, which present a misleading and contradictory picture of the current status of the land in question, Adalah further argued. The situation on the ground as the plan's maps represent it, does not correspond with the reality. For instance, the area designated as a nature reserve under the plan encompasses the two Arab villages of el-Hamereh and Ras Ali. The village of el-Hamereh appears far from its actual location, while the village of Ras Ali does not appear at all; without prior knowledge, an individual reviewing the plan would not be aware of the ramifications of the plan for these villages. In presenting false and misleading information in its plan, Adalah argued that the NRNPA, as a government agency, failed to uphold its obligation to the public, and violated the rights of citizens and other interested individuals to evaluate the plan and its consequences, and to object accordingly. Moreover, the inaccuracies also contravene the principles of the plan itself, which prescribe clear and easily intelligible planning procedures.

In its latest decision, the NDPBC cancelled the plan, in accordance with a request made by the NRNPA, in order that the latter can reduce the area covered by the plan, and re-submit it in the future.