On 22 December 2025, Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel submitted an administrative petition to the Be’er Sheva District Court demanding that the Ministry of Education (MoE) reinstate school transportation services for students from the village of Abu Qureinat in the Naqab (Negev). The petition was submitted on behalf of 25 parents, representing 60 children from kindergarten to high school age, who were deprived of school transport services despite the fact that these services had been continuously available for more than 15 years, and without any change in their place of residence or in the location of the schools they attend. The MoE suddenly suspended the transportation services during the second half of the past academic year constituting a direct infringement on their right to education, their right to safe and regular access to schools, and the principle of equality.

To read the petition (in Hebrew)

The petition follows a letter sent by Adalah, dated 16 October 2025, to the MoE and the "Desert Oasis" Regional Council, on behalf of the village's residents, demanding the reinstatement of school transportation services and highlighting the dangerous condition of the roads leading to the schools and the lack of any alternative public transportation. Follow-up letters did not result in any concrete solutions.

The parents received a brief response from the MoE in September 2025 claiming that the students were not entitled to transportation based solely on the "distance criterion," arguing that they did not live far enough from the schools and ignoring all other considerations. The Regional Council, in its response dated 19 November 2025, stated that it was no longer responsible for school transportation.

Abu Qureinat, an Arab Bedouin village, is located south of Route 25 near the Arara Junction in the Naqab, and today falls under the jurisdiction of the "Desert Oasis" Regional Council. The village is one of 11 Bedouin villages recognized by the state. It was officially recognized in 1999 and is home to approximately 5,000 residents.

The petition argued that the MoE’s decision to halt transportation was made without issuing a detailed and justified administrative decision, without providing any prior notification to the parents, and without examining the actual reality of life in the village, which forces children to walk between 1.5 and 2.2 kilometers daily, in dangerous conditions that fail to reach even the lowest safety standards.

There are no sidewalks for pedestrians, no safe crossings, and no traffic safety measures. The roads pass through narrow dirt tracks that are also used by vehicles, in addition to the presence of stray dogs, and children are exposed to increased risks in harsh weather conditions, especially during rain and extreme cold. 

The petition also relied on a similar ruling made by the Be’er Sheva Administrative Court in the case of Bir Hadaj, following a petition filed by Adalah. In that decision, the court affirmed that distance alone is not the sole criterion for determining students' eligibility for school transportation, and that authorities must consider road conditions, safety, infrastructure, and students' ability to reach schools regularly and safely, particularly in villages that have suffered from neglect and marginalization over many years. Accordingly, the court ordered the MoE to reinstate transportation services for dozens of students from Bir Hadaj.

For more on the Bir Haddaj Decision

Adalah Attorney Salam Ersheid, who represents the petitioners, commented:

"What is happening in the village of Abu Qureinat is not an isolated incident, but rather an extension of a systematic policy that treats Bedouin children as if they are outside the state's calculations. Despite a recent court ruling obligating the Education Ministry to take into account all the facts and circumstances when making decisions that may affect students' ability to obtain their right to education, Adalah sees that the Ministry continues to implement its previous policies, depriving students of school transportation services without prior warning and without legal basis. Our appeal today is based on a fundamental principle: the state cannot evade its responsibility to guarantee these students' right to education, nor may it once again force them to pay the price for failed planning policies, neglect, and systematic discrimination."