24.11.11

Last session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

14.11.11

Invitation to photography exhibition in Paris

30.10.11

13.9.11

As many of you are no doubt aware, on Sunday, September 11 the Israeli cabinet approved a revised version of the Praver Plan which, if implemented, will lead to 30,000 Bedouin being evicted from their homes by force and relocated into already overcrowded townships. Additionally, as part of the plan thousands of homes will be demolished. The Forum was informed today that the plan will be discussed by the Knesset this Sunday, September 18 in the middle of its vacation. 

In the view of the Forum, the plan is a considerable withdrawal from the recommendations found in the 2008 report by the Goldberg Committee which the Praver Plan was intended to implement. The Goldberg Committee provided that Bedouin villages ought to be recognised as far as possible, whereas the Praver Plan wholly fails to respect the Bedouin’s historical connection to the land and take into account their needs.

The plan is not only counter to international human rights law, but also the recent observations and recommendations of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya. Further details are provided below.

The community without exception has rejected the plan and has chosen to respond through a range of initiatives. The Arab committee is intending to visit the Negev on Sunday, September 18 to assess the situation. This will be further complemented by other demonstrations and protests throughout the center and the Negev. Additionally, a number of community events are being developed in order to explain the plan to the villages likely to be affected and others. 

Finally, Khalil Alamour, member of the Forum’s Secretariat, will be presenting the matter to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights during its third periodical review of the State of Israel in Geneva in November. 

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, James Anaya, has publicly condemned Israel’s treatment of its Bedouin citizens and called on the government to immediately refrain from demolishing any more homes in the Negev and ensure the delivery of essential services to both recognised and unrecognised villages. 

If the rationale for the government’s demolition of unrecognised villages, the Special Rapporteur provided, is the need to clear the way for maintaining a Jewish presence throughout the Negev, such motivation is racially discriminatory. 

The Special Rapportuer was further critical of the fact that the state had failed to implement an effective land claim procedure for the Bedouin to invoke, prior to their removal from their lands or to the demolition of their homes. As a result they were left “defenceless” in face of threats which resulted in their forced removal. 

Additionally, the Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality welcomed the Special Rapporteur’s reference to the village of Al-Arakib which has been demolished a total of 26 times since July 2010 and his observation that free, prior and informed consent as required by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the case of forced removal was clearly not obtained. 

Israel has repeatedly failed to cooperate with the investigations of the Special Rapporteur. First, Prof. Anaya’s request of 1 September 2010 (not long after the first mass destruction of Al Arakib) to visit Israel and investigate further, has remained unanswered by Israel. The Forum calls on the Israeli government to approve the Special Rapporteur’s visit to Israel in order to witness first-hand the devastating impact of the state’s demolition policy. 

Additionally, Israel failed to respond within the stipulated 60-day time frame to a letter of February 2011 in which Prof. Anaya called the government’s attention to the intensified demolitions. 

Such disrespect for UN monitoring process reinforces, in the view of the Forum, that Israel holds it can demolish the homes of its most vulnerable citizens with impunity.  

In August 2011, Israel belatedly responded to the issues raised by the Special Rapporteur and among other matters stated that it did not accept the classification of its Bedouin citizens as an indigenous people. Prof. Anaya, however, rejected this position, stating that, “The Bedouin people share in the characteristics of indigenous peoples worldwide, including a connection to lands and the maintenance of cultural traditions that are distinct from those of majority populations.”  Thus, the Bedouin fall within the ambit of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate. 

In the view of the Forum, the state’s hostile opinion only serves to further alienate the Negev Bedouin and make dialogue and negotiations towards peaceful coexistence more difficult.

The Forum urges the government to sign the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Its failure to do so only perpetuates the government’s longstanding position of failing to protect its indigenous Bedouin citizens.

The village of Al Arakib was again demolished by a force of dozens of policeman on Thursday, September 8. This operation was the 26th time that all the structures outside of the cemetery had been razed to the ground by the authorities in their attempt to clear the land of its indigenous Bedouin citizens. 

Karen Douglas
Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality
www.dukium.org

The Forum recently learned that the Praver Plan has been included as an agenda item in the upcoming weekly government meeting on Sunday, September 4. Additionally, two months of public hearings regarding the proposed plan are likely to commence shortly. 

By way of background, in early June 2011, an Israeli media outlet reported that a plan presented by the implementation panel headed by Mr Ehud Praver, and consequentially referred to as the ‘Praver Plan’, was to be voted on by the government in the coming days. Despite the fact that the purpose of the plan was to resolve land ownership issues in the Negev, community representatives were denied the opportunity to consult with the Praver team about the formulation of the proposed policy. When the final version of the Praver Plan was finally released, it was opposed by many civil society organisations (including the Forum) on the grounds that it contradicted the findings and recommendations of the Goldberg Committee. Nevertheless, it appears that ultimately the Prime Minister’s Office decided to defer the vote as a result of political right-wing pressure and strong objection from ministers claiming that the plan would hand over state lands to the Bedouin. In late June, it was reported that National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror had been appointed to re-examine the Praver Plan.

The Forum has not been provided with a revised draft of the Praver Plan. In light of the fact, however, that the government succumbed to right-wing political pressure, we are in fact not optimistic that it has been amended to accommodate the rights and interests of the state's Bedouin citizens.

Additionally, the Forum is sceptical that the public hearings will be impartial, with an opportunity to influence a delegation with a predetermined plan of action to resolve the land conflict in the Negev. As a result, the Forum predicts that full participation by the Negev Bedouin community who feel disenchanted by a process that has repeatedly excluded their voice, will be unlikely. 

If you wish to share this report, a link to it can be found on our website here.

FORUM REPORTS BACK TO UN HUMAN RIGHTS BODIES

On Tuesday, the Forum took the opportunity to contribute to, and participate in, the work of both the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and the Human Rights Committee (HRC). These UN bodies are responsible for monitoring state parties' compliance with their international human rights obligations and are important tools for civil society actors, such as the Forum, to report on the State of Israel's treatment of its Bedouin citizens in the Negev.

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)

We submitted our responses to the list of issues published by the CESCR in its consideration of the third periodic report of the State of Israel under the the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Among many other matters, the CESCR specifically asked the state to explain what action it had taken to implement the recommendations of the Goldberg Committee, the role of the Jewish National Fund in the disposition of land resources and progress towards local elections for the Abu Basma Council.

This represents a valuable opportunity to shape the CESCR's Concluding Observations which will be formulated during its session and review of Israel from 14 to 17 November 2011 in Geneva. It is anticipated that Khalil Alamour, a member of the Forum's Secretariat, will be attending.

Human Rights Committee (HRC)

Additionally, the Forum was offered the opportunity to partake in the HRC's review of the implementation of its Concluding Observations on Israel from July 2010. A select number of issues were chosen for this follow-up procedure including the situation of the Bedouin. Paragraph 24 states as follows:

“[T]he Committee is concerned at allegations of forced evictions of the Bedouin population … and of inadequate consideration of traditional needs of the population in the State party’s planning efforts for the development of the Negev, in particular the fact that agriculture is part of the livelihood and tradition of the Bedouin population. The Committee is further concerned at difficulties of access to health structures, education, water and electricity for the Bedouin population living in towns which the State party has not recognised (arts. 26 and 27).

In its planning efforts in the Negev area, the State party should respect the Bedouin population’s right to their ancestral land and their traditional livelihood based on agriculture. The State party should also guarantee the Bedouin population’s access to health structures, education, water and electricity, irrespective of their whereabouts on the territory of the State party.”

The Forum highlighted in particular the rise of home demolitions in the unrecognised villages and that the government instituted legal proceedings against the residents of Al Arakib to recover the sum of 1.8 NIS million from the residents for the cost of part of the demolition operations. To date, it has been demolished a total of 25 times. Further, the Forum together with our colleagues at Physicians for Human Rights drew the CESCR's attention to a rise in the infant mortality rate among the Bedouin population due to less access to health services.

Following the state's submission of its follow-up report, the HRC's Rapporteur on Follow-up to Concluding Observations will begin to assess the responses and enter into a dialogue with the State on any points that the HRC consider have not been adequately addressed or where the Committee's recommendations have not been fully implemented. The Forum will keep you informed of all developments.

Click here to read the submission to the ESCR and here to read the report to the HRC.

Karen Douglas
Resource Development Coordinator
Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality
www.dukium.org

This morning, the bulldozers returned to Al Arakib as was feared after they were spotted waiting for instructions at Shoket Junction earlier in the day. All of the structures outside of the cemetery (6 or 7 in total) were demolished.  As the residents do not have any new materials with which to build, the women are presently sewing the plastic sheeting back together. 

Additionally, six houses situated between the villages of Sawwin and Chasam Zaneh were levelled to the ground this morning.

For further information, please call Haia Noach on 0507701119.

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Following NCF's last update on May 18 regarding Dr Awad Abu-Freich's case before the court, we write today with disappointing news.

Advocate Carmel Pomerantz, whose office is representing Dr Awad, has informed us that after considering the state's response which was submitted on Wednesday, May 18, the court decided that the request does not show sufficient grounds for an injunction. The threshold for an injunction to be granted at the appeal stage (after losing the case at the first instance) is very high and Justice Dantziger ruled that Dr Awad did not meet this threshold. This means, in effect, that the JNF-KKL are free to return to Dr Awad's land and continue their aforrestation activities.

We will endeavour to keep you informed of the JNF's activities. 

Below are some photos (anscheinend nicht auf der website) of last Sunday's weekly vigil on Route 40 into Be'er Sheva and Al Arakib.

On Wednesday, May 11 there was a wave of demolitions across the Negev with the ILA visiting the villages of Al Arakib, Umm Ratam, Al Rara, Al Zarnog and Al Bcherah.

About half a dozen structures in Al Arakib, outside of the cemetery, were demolished by the ILA. The JNF continues its works to build terraces of earth suitable for planting the north west of the village.

In Umm Ratam, during the demolition of a family home, three people including a woman were wounded and one man was arrested. One home in each of the villages of Al Rara and Al Zarnog was also destroyed while in Al Bcherah a sheep pen was leveled to the ground. 

Sana Ibn Bari attending the UNPFII

Advocate Sana Ibn Bari is now in New York to attend the annual UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.  The UNPFII is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council and this will be the seventh year that a Bedouin representative of the NCF will be attending.  Sana will work to draw international attention to the challenges facing the Bedouin the Negev and particularly the policy of home demolitions. 

Al Arakib: Ownership claims before court

There are interesting legal developments underway regarding ownership claims in Al Arakib, particularly that of Dr Awad Abu-Freich. Advocates Michael Sfard and Carmel Pomerantz are representing Dr Awad in this matter and they kindly provided NCF with this update.

By way of background, it is the state's responsibility to create a land registration system, however, it has failed to do so over all territories in Israel. In most areas in the Negev where there are land ownership claims by the Bedouin, the process has been delayed by the state for over three decades. After being un-frozen in the last ten years, almost all of the land has been registered in the name of the state. Following the establishment of the state in 1948, the Bedouin remained as residents on their lands until the 1950s when the state moved to evict them through legislating to confiscate the land (Land Acquisition Law 1953). In order to rely upon this particular law, it needed to be declared that the area was needed for security, settlement or development reasons (both before the confiscation and in the proceeding period) and that the owners were not present on the land at the time. Thus, in order to fulfil these legal conditions, the government evicted the residents of Al Arakib by ordering them to move temporarily so that military training could be carried out on their land and that once they were finished, they could return. The land was confiscated upon their departure with no warning or advice to the residents. 

In the 1970s, Israel began the land registration process in the Negev and announced that whoever has property claims should so declare. The land registration Officer is obligated to register the land in the name of whoever claims it or in case of disputed ownership, transfer the matter to the District Court to decide. In the case of Al Arakib, as with other areas, this process was frozen after the Bedouin residents submitted their ownership claims. 

In the 1990s, the JNF began afforestation work around Al Arakib which prompted the residents to return to their village and to later file motions in the District Court seeking an order that the land be registered in their name. Dr Awad is among the applicants. In response, the state claimed that this cannot be done on the grounds that the land was already confiscated (and registered in the state’s name in the Deeds registration). Additionally, after over 30 years of deferral the state renewed the land registration process and file counter claims to have the land registered in the state's name. Thus the case was transferred by the Bedouin land registration officer to the District Court to determine the ownership of the land. 

It is procedurally unclear how parties are to prove their claims, however, both sides filed their legal arguments in the matter. Disputably and according to the state,  the burden of proof lies with Dr Awad. On March 15, 2011 the court delivered an unclear, partial ruling (1162/07).  Judge Shpeser said that even if there is a "narrow gate" to present claims against those in the expropriation certificate, that opportunity has now passed in this particular case (and in fact, in all similar cases) on the grounds of unreasonable delay (laches). In other words, too much time has passed since the 1950s for the court to consider the Bedouins' arguments as it cannot be checked if they were present or not on the land at the time of the expropriation, and whether the land was used before 1952 for the purposes of security, development or settlement. 

Dr Awad filed an appeal in the Supreme Court on April 26, 2011 and the following day afforestation began work on the disputed land. This led Dr Awad to file a request on April 28 for a temporary injunction against the state and whoever is working in its name to cease all work. An immediate decision was received providing that until the state responds, the injunction is in force forbidding the state and whoever is working in its name to carry out any work. 

The court is expected to reach a decision in the next few days. It is anticipated that the court will either set down a hearing, dismiss the injunction allowing the state (JNF) to return to work, or request Dr Awad to file a response.

More charges against activists

In further developments, NCF Executive Director, Haia Noach, received notification last week of additional charges being laid against her following the incident during the sixth demolition on October 13, 2010. The two new charges are disturbing a policeman in his duty (article 275) and beating a policeman  in his duty (article 273) . The materials indicate that she is being accused of trying to escape the scene - ignoring the fact that she had her hands tightly handcuffed behind her back.

Further, Dr Awad was taken in for further questioning at Rahat police station on May 9 and interrogated for more than 3 hours. He believes that the state is preparing their case to lay charges against him.

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Karen Douglas
Resource Development Coordinator
Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality
www.dukium.org
054 747 1914

Karen Douglas
Resource Development Coordinator
Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality
www.dukium.org
054 747 1914