Be’er Sheva District Court rejects state’s appeal; demolition orders against Arab Bedouin village of Alsira remain cancelled
On 1 May 2014, the Be’er Sheva District Court rejected an appeal by the state, which challenged the Kiryat Magistrates’ Court decision to cancel 51 demolition orders against the unrecognized Arab Bedouin village of Alsira in the Naqab/Negev.
Judge Tali Haimovich wrote in her decision: “The appeal revolved around a village that was built before the establishment of the state, and has existed since without any problems…there would need to be a strong and genuine public interest to justify the need for uprooting 350 people from their homes and displacing them.”
In 2006, Adalah asked the Kiryat Gat Magistrates’ Court to issue 51 injunctions to stop the state from proceeding with demolition orders against the vast majority of the homes in Alsira. In August 2007, the Magistrates’ Court ordered the freezing of the home demolition orders, and in January 2011, the court accepted Adalah’s motions to cancel the orders. The state appealed the decision to the Be’er Sheva District Court in October 2012, which was rejected this week. Adalah challenged the state appeal and asked the District Court to uphold the Magistrates’ Court decision.
Adalah Attorney Suhad Bishara, who has represented the villagers in legal proceedings since 2006, commented on the news: “Adalah welcomes the court’s ruling, which protects the residents’ right to live in their village that has existed since before the establishment of the state, but which has faced the looming threat of demolition for nearly a decade. We see the decision as setting an important legal precedent, and we hope it will guide the courts to issue similar decisions to cancel the demolition and eviction orders in the villages of Atir and Umm el-Hieran, which have existed for more than 50 years and are also faced with the risk of destruction. We hope that the decision will serve as a model for the courts in other cases relating to demolition and evictions.”
Khalil Alamour, a member of Alsira’s local committee, said: “We believe in the justice of our cause and our right to live a decent life in the lands of our ancestors, as well as our right to develop the village as equal citizens. We call on the authorities to recognize the village and refrain from policies that leave the Arab Bedouin villages of the Naqab in poor conditions. We live a basic life, but for a decade we have lived with the daily threat of displacement. We hope the court’s decision will lead the state to change its policies and plans for the demolition of other unrecognized villages.”
Read more:
Court rejects state’s request to demolish Bedouin village
Case Citation: Beer el-Sabe District Court, Different Criminal Appeal 62341-01-12, State of Israel v. Odeh Mousa Nasasra (state’s appeal dismissed, 1 May 2014)
