Position Paper Relating to Status of Arab Villages Submitted to Investigatory Committee for the Jurisdictional Borders of Beer el-Sabe and Other Towns in the Naqab

27/10/2004

On 27 September 2004, Adalah submitted a position paper to the Investigatory Committee for the Jurisdictional Borders of Beer el-Sabe (Beer Sheva), Yeroham, Shaqib el-Salam, and the regional councils of Abu Basma, Bene Shim'on, Merhavim, Ramat HaNegev, as well as lands located outside the jurisdiction of any local authority. The position paper addressed a request made by the Beer el-Sabe municipality for its jurisdiction to be extended over an area encompassing the unrecognized Arab Bedouin villages of Assir, 'Awajan and Karkour. Adalah opposes the proposed expansion for reasons set forth in the position paper.

Adalah's paper discussed the following issues: (1) The difficult socio-economic conditions of Arab towns and villages in the Naqab; (2) The inequitable distribution of land between Arab and Jewish towns, or the lack of "spatial fairness," in the Naqab; (3) The likely detrimental impact on the areas affected by the proposed expansion of Beer el-Sabe municipality's jurisdiction; and (4) Recommendations for the Committee. The paper was written by Adalah Attorney Suhad Bishara and Adalah's Urban and Regional Planner, Hana Hamdan.

(1) The Difficult Socio-Economic Conditions of Arab Towns in the Naqab

In order to place Adalah's opposition to the proposed expansion of the jurisdictional borders of Beer el-Sabe in context, the position paper explored the difficult socio-economic conditions facing the 130,000 Arab inhabitants of the Naqab, around 70,000 of whom live in 14 towns which have been officially recognized by Israel. Seven government-planned towns were established for the Arab Bedouin the 1960s and 1970s - Rahat, Lagiyya, Kessife, Tel el-Sabe (Tel Sheva), Hura, 'Arora, and Shaqib al-Salam (Segev Shalom). The remaining seven – Kasr el-Sir, Abu Krinat, Um Batin, Beer Hadaj, al-Atrash, Tarabeen el-Sana and Drejat – were recognized more recently. All of these towns were created for the purpose of concentrating the Arab Bedouin living in the Naqab on small, restricted areas of land, with a total disregard for their current and future circumstances and needs, and for the need to close the gaps which exist between the living standards of Arabs and Jews in the south.

Adalah provided figures demonstrating that all of the recognized towns are classified within the lowest band according to socio-economic criteria. For instance, the proportion of job seekers in each of these towns, which is the highest in the country, exceeds 30%: job seekers in Lagiyya comprise 33% of the town's labor force, and 31% of the labor force of Shaqib al-Salam. Adalah argued that these figures are even more alarming than they initially appear, given that the average age of Arab Bedouin living in the Naqab is significantly lower than that of Jews and other Arabs in the country: the percentage of Arabs in the Naqab aged between 0-19 years is 66.3%, compared with 50.6% for other Arabs and 33.8% for Jews.

In addition to the recognized towns, around 60,000 people live in close to 40 unrecognized Arab Bedouin villages in the Naqab. Some of these unrecognized villages existed prior to the establishment of the state, and others were settled after orders issued by the military regime imposed on all Palestinians in Israel from 1948 to 1966 led to the evacuation of existing Arab villages. Because of their continuing unrecognized status, the state often does not provide these villages with the most basic of services, with the result that many of their inhabitants lack water, electricity, schools and health services.

(2) Discrimination in Land Allocation in the Naqab – The Lack of Spatial Fairness

The position paper also examined planning policy in the Naqab, which is implemented according to the principle of "Judaizing the space." This policy aims to ensure Jewish use over the majority of the land, and to limit Arab use of the land as far as possible. To realize these goals, the state dedicates vast resources to the establishment of Jewish towns and expansive individual settlements, each of which stretches over thousands of dunams of land.

The net result of the state's planning policy in the Naqab is inequitable land allocation between Jewish and Arab towns. For example, the Beer el-Sabe sub-district alone covers 12,945km2 of land, whereas the combined area of land under the jurisdiction of the seven Arab Bedouin towns which were recognized in the 1960s and 1970s is only 59.9km2, representing a mere 0.5% of the land in the Naqab. The population of these seven towns equates to 16% of the region's total, and the Arabs living in the recognized and unrecognized villages combined make up 24%. Adalah detailed the spatial situation of the two neighboring towns of Tel el-Sabe and Omer to further illustrate the lack of spatial fairness. Omer is a Jewish town with a population of 5,800, with jurisdiction over an area of 12.7km2 The Arab town of Tel el-Sabe, by contrast, has a population of 11,200, with jurisdiction over an area of just 4.7km2.

(3) The Detrimental Impact of the Proposed Expansion of Beer el-Sabe Municipality's Jurisdiction

As stated in the position paper, Beer el-Sabe municipality currently has jurisdiction over 54.5km2 of land. The municipality is requesting the addition of a further 181.2km2 to this area, which represents a 4.3-fold increase in the total area. Adalah emphasized that the municipality has failed to provide any objective justification for this major expansion.

Adalah contended that the municipality's request for expansion ignores the very existence of the three unrecognized villages of Assir, 'Awajan and Karkour, which would be engulfed by the proposed expansion of Beer el-Sabe's jurisdictional borders. If implemented, the expansion could lead to the expulsion of the Arab Bedouin living in these villages, and violations of their basic rights. The Investigatory Committee was also commissioned to examine and give its recommendations on the jurisdictional status of lands which fall outside the borders of local authorities to the south of Beer el-Sabe, over an area in which seven additional unrecognized villages are located. Adalah argued that, unless the Committee takes into consideration the existence of unrecognized villages in its recommendations, the result is likely to be an exacerbation of the aforementioned difficult socio-economic circumstances under which their inhabitants live, and of the current lack of fairness in land allocation in the Naqab.

In addition, Beer el-Sabe municipality requested that its jurisdiction be expanded up to the jurisdictional borders of the recognized Arab towns of Rahat, Laqiyya, Shaqib al-Salam and Tel el-Sabe. Adalah argued that the proposed expansion would stunt the current and future growth and development of these towns which, as discussed in the position paper, already suffer from low standards of living and severe shortages of space.

The position paper further contended that the demarcation of towns' jurisdictional boundaries is a part of the planning process, and that this process in turn determines the future development of towns and regions. Adalah stressed that the position of a town's jurisdictional borders impacts directly and indirectly on neighboring towns: on their potential for expansion in the near and distant futures, and consequently on their ability to meet the development needs of their residents. Therefore, given the difficult socio-economic and spatial conditions in the affected Arab towns and villages in the Naqab, to grant the proposed expansion would be to widen the gaps between Arabs and Jews in the area. Such a widening would contravene basic principles of land allocation, which have been defined by the Supreme Court, and in particular the principle of just distribution.

(4) Adalah's Recommendations to the Committee

In the position paper, Adalah argued that the statistical information it provided for Palestinian Arab towns and villages in the Naqab is indicative of a policy of discrimination against the Arab minority on the one hand, and of their growing needs on the other. Therefore, given the detrimental effect which the proposed expansion of Beer el-Sabe's municipal jurisdiction would have on the Arab towns within and bordering the area of the proposed expansion, the Committee must take these data into account in reaching its decision. Adalah demanded that the Committee, as a national authority, should work according to the principle of just land distribution, taking into consideration the current situation and welfare of all the residents and local authorities in the region. Specifically, Adalah demanded that the Committee:

Not expand the jurisdiction of Beer el-Sabe, or any other town, at the expense of unrecognized Arab villages and their developmental potential;

Consider the possibility of establishing one or more local authorities as a means of contributing to a settlement of the status of the unrecognized villages;

Examine and take into consideration the current and future developmental needs of Beer el-Sabe's neighboring Arab towns;

Strive to achieve just and equitable land allocation among the various residential groups in the Naqab, taking into consideration the differing needs of these groups;

Grant the right of hearing to representatives from the affected unrecognized Arab villages and recognized Arab towns, and other groups with an interest in the matter, before reaching a decision over the proposed expansion of the area under Beer el-Sabe's jurisdiction.