Land and Planning Rights

Planning and Development | Land Allocation and Housing Assistance | Unrecognized Villages


The Arab minority in Israel has long suffered state discrimination in matters of land and planning rights. Dating back to the 1950 Absentees' Property Law, used to seize control of land owned by the Palestinian refugees forced to flee in 1948, Israel has used legal implements to marginalize Arab citizens. Since then, Israel has consistently employed a discriminatory land distribution policy. While over 1000 new Jewish communities have been established, not a single Arab settlement has been authorized. Jewish settlements in the Naqab are retroactively recognized, while Bedouin villages that pre-date Israel's independence are not – left without water, electricity, or infrastructure. Arab towns and villages are over-represented among the state's lowest socioeconomic tiers.

Adalah is actively challenging these laws from a range of angles across the country. Our legal advocacy efforts include, among others, petitioning the courts and planning committees against forced evictions and home demolitions in the Naqab; attacking the JNF for making land available only to Jews; challenging the state's refusal to recognize or provide services to Arab villages and neighborhoods; objecting to planning decisions which prioritize Jewish settlements over Arab ones; and seeking to overturn policies which discriminate against Arabs in the provision of mortgages and housing assistance.

A complete list of cases is available here. To filter by specific topics, use the links above:


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HCJ 3607/97, Mohammed Sawa'ed, et. al. v. Ministry of the Interior, et. al. Latest Update 3.2.2011
District Committee for Planning and Building, Objection to the Negev Military Intelligence Complex Plan, No. דר/31/מבט/102
Beer el-Sabe Magistrates' Court, Different Motions 6928/03 Abu el-Qian Ali, et al. v. The State of Israel Beer el-Sebe Magistrates' Court, Different Motions 8477/06 Abu el-Qian Ali, et al. v. The...
HCJ 7960/99, Hashem Sawa'ed, et. al. v. Regional Council of Misgav, et. al.
HCJ 6672/00, Jazi Abu Kaf, et. al. v. Minister of the Interior, et. al.
Permission for Criminal Appeal 1782/03, Misgav Local Planning and Building Committee v. Yousef and Housni Sawaed.
Beer el-Sabe Magistrates' Court, Civil File 3326/04 and 1769/08 The State of Israel and the Israel Land Administration v. Ibrahim Farhood Abu el-Qian, et al. Appeal Against Magistrate Court...
Motion for Permission to Appeal 3094/11 Ibrahim Farhood Abu al-Qi'an, et al v. The State of Israel
Planning Committee, objection filed in 1/11 by Adalah, Bimkom and the Arab Bedouin residents of Umm al-Hieran to the National Council for Planning and Building (NCPB)
In 10/03, Adalah filed a petition and a motion for an injunction to the Supreme Court on behalf of the National Committee of Arab Mayors and in its own name against the Israel Lands Administration...
Petition submitted in 10/04 against the Israel Lands Administration (ILA), the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and the Minister of Finance (MOF), demanding the cancellation of an ILA policy and a...
Petition and motion for an injunction submitted to the Supreme Court in 10/05 in Adalah's name and on behalf an Arab Bedouin citizen of Israel against the Bedouin Development Agency (BDA), the...
C.A. (Civil Appeal) 4067/07, Jabareen, et al. v. The State of Israel, et al.
H.C. 6176/06, The Cooperative Organization for the Agricultural Settlement of Kamoun v. The National Council for Planning and Building et al.
District Committee for Planning and Building – Southern District, Objection to the Yatir Forest Detailed Plan No. 11/03/264
Petition filed by Adalah on behalf of married Arab couple Ms. Fatina Ebriq Zubeidat and Mr. Ahmed Zubeidat against the community town of Rakefet and the Israel Land Authority (ILA). The Court...
Planning Committee, objection filed in 10/10 by Adalah and Arab Center for Alternative Planning