Expansion of the Jurisdiction of Omer Municipality to Encompass the Land of Arab Unrecognized Villages

A petition was filed in 9/00 against the Minister of Interior and others to stop the proposed expansion of Omer (a wealthy Jewish town in the Naqab (Negev)) from including two neighboring unrecognized Arab villages - Em Batin and Al Maquman - within its jurisdiction. The petition argued that the expansion plan was recommended without any consultation or community participation in planning by the affected Arab Bedouin citizens of Israel living in these unrecognized villages. Supreme Court issued an injunction freezing the implementation of the plan. As a result of the filing of the petition, a new Committee was established to re-examine Omer's borders.

Result: In mid-2002, the Committee recommended that the disputed land be returned to its original, pre-expansion status, thus canceling the proposed annexation. The Minister then adopted the recommendations. Adalah requested that the Court compel the Minister to issue a writ abolishing the initial expansion plan for Omer. The Court refused this request, stating that the commitment of the Minister to adopt the Committee's recommendations sufficed. In 11/02, the petition was dismissed.

(H.C. 6672/00, Jazi Abu Kaf, et. al. v. Minister of the Interior, et. al., petition dismissed).