Israeli National Council for Planning and Building Reaffirms Plan to Demolish Arab Bedouin Village of Umm el-Hieran in the Naqab and Construct a Jewish Town in its Place
On 24 September 2012, a subcommittee of the National Council of Planning and Building (NCPB) rejected an appeal from Adalah and Bimkom against Master Plan 15/02/107 for the planned Israeli Jewish town of Hiran. Adalah and Bimkom brought the appeal in the names of Arab Bedouin families, citizens of Israel, living in Umm el-Hieran in the Naqab (Negev) desert against a decision by the District Planning Committee to approve the Master Plan and build “Hiran”, a new town for Jewish families to be constructed on the ruins of Umm el-Hieran, home to 1,000 residents in 150 families. The organizations first submitted an objection against the plan in January 2011.
In a unanimous decision, the Committee members noted a previous decision made by a subcommittee of the NCPB on the Master Plan for Metropolitan Beer el-Sabe that stated that, “the town of Hura provides a housing solution for the tribe of Abu al-Qian…” and that the town of Hiran is not intended for Bedouin residents. Members of the appeals committee added that on various occasions, State representatives described Hiran as a town for Jewish residents only; they meant that the town would be for all segments of the Jewish-majority society. The committee offered three options to the residents of Umm el-Hieran: move to the town of Hura; obtain vouchers to buy land in Hiran; or try to reach an agreement with the Israel Lands Administration (ILA) on a detailed plan for their homes within the scope of the proposed plan for Hiran.
In the wake of the decision, Adalah Attorney Suhad Bishara stated that the policy conforms to State’s policy of confiscating Arab Bedouin land in the Naqab, demolishing the villages and forcing residents to move to crowded and severely limited townships. The Abu el-Qi’an case is consistent with this policy, whereby the tribe was expelled from its land and Jewish residents were given their land in 1948, and then later, they were expelled again.
The Committee’s decision assumes that the residents of Umm el-Hieran, who were relocated to the village in 1956 by state authorities, have no right to their village, and that the State can easily move them from place to place without any justification or need for a plan for them. The decision entrenches a discriminatory policy of segregated housing, based on national, religious and ethnic separation, and infringes on the citizens’ constitutional rights to dignity, property, and equality.
Prior to 1948, the villagers lived in Khirbet Zubaleh, located in Wadi Zubaleh, which is now part of Kibbutz Shuval. In 1948, the Israeli Military Governor in the Naqab ordered the residents to leave their village and their homes and move to the area of Kharbet el-Hazil, and then again to Kohli and Abu Keff. In 1956, they were again displaced to Wadi Atir, where they have remained until today. The villagers were then given 7,000 dunams of land to live on and cultivate, and they built houses of brick and cement, making great effort to recreate the community that had been disrupted with each forced displacement. Now 150 families, 1,000 people, all of the Abu al-Qian tribe, live in Umm el-Hieran.
For media inquiries, contact Adalah Media Director Salah Mohsen: 0525950922, salah@adalah.org
See also:
Court and planning authority see “serious issues of rights and justice” and “problems” with plans for Jewish town of Hiran (20 September 2012)
Planning Council Rejects Objections filed against Master Plan for Beer Sheva (25 June 2012)
The Arab Bedouin and their Lands in the Naqab – the Tribal Dimension of Steadfastness, by Dr. Thabet Abu Ras, Director, Adalah’s Naqab Office (May 2012)
Update: Adalah’s Legal Actions to Save the Atir-Umm el-Hieran in the Naqab (28 February 2012)
