Petition against Plan for Substandard “Temporary Housing” and Infrastructure in All Bedouin Communities in the Naqab
Today, 8 December 2025, the Be’er Sheva District Court will hear the petition challenging the planning authorities’ approval of the temporary housing plan.
On 30 November 2025, Adalah, dozens of local councils of “unrecognized” Bedouin villages, together with the Regional Council for Unrecognized Villages in the Negev and the NGO Bimkom, filed a petition with the Be’er Sheva District Court challenging the National Planning Council’s decision to approve the plan of the Authority for Bedouin Development and Settlement in the Negev. This plan envisions the construction of 1,200 temporary housing units and temporary infrastructure in all Bedouin communities in the Naqab (Negev, southern Israel).
The plan, approved on 8 September 2025, included only minor amendments by the planning committee and failed to address the core claims raised by the organizations in their objection to the planning authorities. The plan notes that some of these housing units are intended as “transitional housing”. With this plan, the state aims to forcibly displace Bedouin residents from their homes without providing permanent housing solutions or land plots.
CLICK HERE to read the petition.
The petition was submitted by Adalah attorneys Myssana Morany and Dr. Suhad Bishara.
The Bedouin Authority claims that the lack of infrastructure in unrecognized villages obstructs “regularization” of these communities. In reality, rather than addressing this long-standing injustice—the lack of recognition and infrastructure for these longstanding communities—the plan entrenches inequality by establishing lower planning standards in Bedouin villages. Under this plan, temporary housing permits will be issued even where infrastructure is inadequate. These permits are valid for only five years, after which, if permanent permits are not provided, residents will be forced to vacate. The plan does not clarify what happens if the state fails to establish permanent infrastructure, making permanent housing effectively impossible.
From a planning perspective, the petition argues that the plan is deeply flawed. Temporary structures deteriorate quickly and are unsuitable for the harsh desert climate, failing to provide adequate or dignified living conditions. The plan also allows construction without proper access to essential infrastructure and public services, including education, welfare, and healthcare. Roads to temporary housing will be merely “reasonable,” electricity will not be connected to the national grid, water lines will be exposed and unsafe, and private sewage systems within housing plots will create public health risks. The plan also lacks drainage solutions.
The petition notes that the Ministry of Education opposed the plan, highlighting that schools in temporary infrastructure face serious operational challenges. The Ministry’s objection stated: “Where an educational institution operates without permanent infrastructure and relies on temporary solutions such as generators, water tanks, and disrupted access, the institution suffers significant harm. In practice, institutions operating under such conditions cannot function properly throughout the school year.” Despite this, the plan was approved.
The petition further emphasizes that the plan deepens racial segregation in the Naqab: “The plan creates two separate planning systems in the Naqab. One serves Israeli Jewish citizens and settlements, prioritizing their welfare and development. The other subordinates the entire Bedouin population to forced relocation, temporary housing, and lower planning standards, perpetuating systemic inequality.”
The petition asserts that the plan is based on an unreasonable and discriminatory planning concept, violating the right to adequate housing and basic human dignity: “The plan fundamentally alters the planning status of these Bedouin communities—removing permanent water, sewage, and electricity infrastructure; proper housing; shelter; public spaces; and accessible public services. It effectively turns the northern Naqab into a space of displacement camps where residents live in temporary structures without adequate infrastructure or services.”
On 2 December 2025, the Be’er Sheva District Court consolidated this petition with a petition filed by the city of Rahat against the plan. A hearing on the request for an interim injunction to halt the plan pending the court’s decision is scheduled for today, Monday, 8 December 2025.
