Update: Adalah's Legal Actions to Save the Unrecognized Arab Bedouin Village of Atir-Umm al-Hieran in the Naqab

28/02/2012

In January 2012, Adalah worked on a series of legal submissions regarding the unrecognized Arab Bedouin village of Atir-Umm al-Hieran in the Naqab. The village is slated to be demolished and the land used to build a new Jewish town named "Hiran" and a Jewish National Fund (JNF)-sponsored forest called Yatir. Adalah is petitioning the Israeli courts against the demolition and eviction orders, and submitting objections to land planning committees. Adalah Attorneys Suhad Bishara and Aram Mahameed prepared the legal filings.

(Beer el-Sabe, Israel) In January 2012, Adalah worked on a series of legal submissions regarding the unrecognized Arab Bedouin village of Atir-Umm al-Hieran in the Naqab. The village is slated to be demolished and the land used to build a new Jewish town named "Hiran" and a Jewish National Fund (JNF)-sponsored forest called Yatir. Adalah is petitioning the Israeli courts against the demolition and eviction orders, and submitting objections to land planning committees. Adalah Attorneys Suhad Bishara and Aram Mahameed prepared the legal filings.

The village of Atir-Umm al-Hieran, home to approximately 1000 Arab Bedouin citizens of Israel, is located in the region of Nahal Yatir, east of the government-planned town of Hura. The village consists of two main areas, Atir-Umm al-Hieran, each with an area containing roughly half the residents. Construction in the town uses cinderblocks and stones, in a manner that reflects the rural lifestyle and traditional villages of the Abu Al-Qian tribe. The village was established with the consent and at the request of the State of Israel in 1956, nearly 56 years ago.

The state is now seeking to evict residents from both parts of the village in order to build a Jewish settlement named 'Hiran' on the ruins of Umm al-Hieran, and to plant a forest on the ruins of Atir. Israeli authorities have taken the following legislative and planning actions:

1. Ex parte demolition orders seeking the demolition of all the houses in Umm el-Hieran, issued in 2003 by the Beer Sheva Magistrates' Court. The court rejected Adalah's petitions to cancel the demolition orders in December 2011. The court ruled that because residents of the village undertook construction without a permit, and will not be able to receive building permits within the framework of the planned [Jewish] community of "Hiran," there is a public interest that justifies demolishing the homes. In January 2012, Adalah filed an appeal on behalf of the residents against that decision to the Beer Sheva District Court (Criminal Appeal 50761-01-12 Abu Al-Qian v. State of Israel).
2. Lawsuits to evict all residents of Umm el-Hieran were filed in 2004. In some lawsuits, the Beer Sheva Magistrates' Court ruled that the residents had been given legal permission to live on the land because the tribe of Abu Al Qian was displaced to their current location decades ago at the request of the authorities. However, the Court held that since the state permitted the residents to live there free of charge, the state maintains the authority to reverse that permission through a legal process, and subsequently ordered the eviction. The Beer Sheva District Court dismissed Adalah's appeal on behalf of residents against that judgment. Adalah then submitted a request for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court on 17 April 2011 and a hearing is scheduled for July 2012. Other eviction lawsuits against residents of the village are awaiting preliminary hearing in Beer Sheva Magistrates' Court, scheduled for March 2012.
3. Adalah together with Bimkom – Planners for Human Rights submitted an objection on 31 October 2007 to the Master Plan for the Metropolitan Area of Beer Sheva (Regional Master Plan 23/14/4), which covers most of the northern Naqab (Negev). The objection was submitted on behalf of 82 Arab Bedouin residents and heads of families of Atir-Umm el-Hiran. The Master Plan disregards the locations and needs of thousands of Arab Bedouin in unrecognized villages. After listening to objections in July 2008, the investigator recommended recognizing Atir. The Subcommittee for National Planning Issues adopted the investigator's recommendations in July 2010.

However, following a request for a rehearing submitted on behalf of the Prime Minister, the Subcommittee for National Planning Issues reversed its decision in November 2010 and cancelled the recognition. The final decision has not yet been released. After learning of the government's intentions to submit the Master Plan for final approval by the Minister of Interior, Adalah and Bimkom demanded on 10 January 2012 that the National Council for Planning and Building (NCPB) not submit the plan for approval until the objectors receive the final decision from the National Council. Simultaneously, Adalah and Bimkom asked on 19 January 2012 to be granted a hearing with the Minister before the plan is approved.
4. Adalah and Bimkom filed an Objection to Plan No. 15/02/107 which includes plans for asuburban Jewish town named 'Hiran' to be built in place of Umm el-Hieran, by demolishing the homes of the current residents. These homes are located on land designated for residential use. The District Committee for Planning and Building – Southern District rejected the residents' objections in January 2012. On 25 January 2012, Adalah filed a motion for permission to appeal to the National Council for Planning and Building.
5. On 21 December 2011, Adalah and Bimkom filed an objection to the "Yatir Forest" Plan No. 264/03/11. The plan, initiated by the Jewish National Fund (JNF), seeks to demolish homes in Atir and to plant trees in their place as part of the Yatir Forest plan. Objections to the plan were submitted to the District Committee for Planning and Building - Southern District. The petitioners are awaiting a date for a hearing to present their objections.