Years of Stalled Planning Leave the Arab Bedouin Village of Husseiniya at Risk of Losing Land Reserved for Expansion to Nearby City of Karmiel

The Arab Bedouin village of Husseiniya, located in northern Israel, south of Karmiel within the jurisdiction of the Misgav Regional Council, has faced severe and prolonged planning neglect despite being officially recognized by the state in 1996. Home to approximately 900 residents, the village now faces ongoing planning neglect that puts land designated for its development at risk.

Husseiniya’s official master plan was approved in 2003 and covers only 300 dunams (approximately 74 acres). Even when it was approved, the plan failed to meet the villagers’ needs. Over the past two decades, the village population has grown, and residents’ planning and housing needs have increased substantially, and yet the plans for the village have not been updated to take account of this growth. Like many Arab localities, this lack of adequate planning has forced residents to build without permits to meet basic housing needs.

In 2019, the Ministry of Housing and the Misgav Regional Council, together with a residents’ steering committee, began drafting an updated master plan for the village. However, six years later, the plan has not meaningfully progressed. 

At the same time, a comprehensive master plan for the  nearby predominantly Jewish city of Karmiel has been advanced and approved. This plan overlaps with land intended for Husseiniya’s updated master plan.

The planning rights NGO Bimkom, representing the Husseiniya village committee, submitted an objection to the plan for Karmiel in which it argued that it encroaches close to homes in Husseiniya and threatens to absorb part of the village. The objection emphasized that the plan includes land designated for Husseiniya’s development and for the legalization of existing homes and structures, and called for removing overlapping areas and maintaining a buffer zone between the two localities.

The objection was rejected in May 2025 on procedural grounds. The District Planning Committee argued that because the area was designated as a "Preferred Housing Complex," it fell under the jurisdiction of another committee - the National Committee for Preferred Housing Complexes (the PHCC).

On 7 September 2025, Adalah and Bimkom filed a petition to the Haifa District Court on behalf of the village committee challenging both decisions. The petition argues that the planning authorities unlawfully ignored Husseiniya’s existing and proposed master plans, relied on incomplete information, and failed to consider all relevant planning considerations. A hearing on the petition was held on 15 December 2025.

Case citation: Administrative Petition 22161-09-25 Husseiniya Local Committee et al. v. Chairperson of the Northern District Planning and Building Committee et al.

Demands to Advance Planning for Husseiniya

In parallel with the legal proceedings, Adalah and Bimkom addressed the Ministry of Housing and the Misgav Regional Council, demanding the immediate advancement of the new master plan for Husseiniya. In a letter sent on 6 August 2025, the organizations argued that the failure to advance the plan for the village—while approving other plans in the same area—is unreasonable and risks causing irreversible harm to village residents. A follow-up letter sent on 13 November 2025 has remained unanswered.

Representation of the Village before the National Committee for Preferred Housing Complexes (PHCC) 

Following the district committee’s rejection of the objection, Adalah and Bimkom approached the PHCC directly to ensure that Husseiniya’s planning needs would be heard and considered. A first meeting between the PHCC and the residents and their representatives was held on 11 December 2025.