Planning Status and Demolition of Buildings
Summary
The Jahalin tribe, following their expulsion by Israel in the early 1950s, embarked on a migration of several years, traversing various areas before eventually arriving to the northern region of the Judean Desert. After 1967, their migration slowed, and they settled in the vicinity of Al-Azariyeh, Abu Dis, and the outskirts of Jericho. Among these communities, Al-Khan Al-Ahmar stands out as the most renowned, having maintained its presence since 1974.
However, the Jahalin communities now face mounting pressure from nearby Israeli settlements and the Yesha Council (Council of Jewish Settlements in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip), along with affiliated organizations. These groups have initiated a campaign denouncing what they perceive as "The takeover of Area C by the Palestinian Authority" Regrettably, this campaign distorts the reality on the ground by falsely asserting that the Palestinian Authority is promoting illegal construction, surpassing the reasonable needs for community growth, in an attempt to acquire territory and impede Israeli settlement.
The primary objective of this campaign seems twofold. First, it seeks to intensify enforcement measures and demolitions of Bedouin structures, thereby restricting their ability to establish stable homes. Second, it aims to justify the construction of additional Israeli sites in the area, whether authorized or unauthorized.
Photography: Yaniv Nadav
Yet, not only do the dry statistics fail to support the claims underlying the campaign, they present a contrasting narrative. Since 1967, when the areas designated as Area C were predominantly inhabited by Palestinians, the Israeli population has experienced a growth ten times greater than that of the Palestinian population.
In the northern Judean Desert, for instance, the number of Bedouins belonging to the Jahalin tribe has only marginally increased from approximately 2,000 individuals in 1967 to approximately 3,500 today. In contrast, the Israeli settlement population has surged, increasing from zero in 1967 to approximately 60,000 residents today.
The number of Israeli settlers in Area C has been increasing dramatically since 1967, while Palestinians in the area have become a vast minority (which was not the case approximately two decades ago). The approval rate of requests submitted by Palestinians to the Israeli planning institutions for the issuance of building permits has dropped over the years and currently stands at less than 1%, while the number of permits issued in Area C for Israeli settlements is 350 times greater. A total of 12 comprehensive plans have been submitted by the Jahalin communities to regulate and address the planning needs of their settlements. However, to their disappointment, none have been given the attention they deserve through meaningful discussion or approval.
On the other hand, the Jahalin communities face a disproportionately high number of pending demolition orders targeting nearly all of their approximately 750 houses in the northern Judean Desert. This is in contrast to the mere one percent of buildings in the Israeli settlements of the area. Correspondingly, the number of house demolitions is also 10 times greater among the Bedouins, despite their population being less than 1/20th compared to that of the Israeli settlement in the same area. Adding to their challenges, several illegal outposts and agricultural farms have been established in close proximity to the Jahalin communities,
encroaching on their living space. Although the Civil Administration has issued demolition orders against these structures, not a single building has been dismantled, and an increasing number are being authorized retroactively.
Simultaneously, as part of a systematic policy, Israeli rangers are confining Bedouin shepherds and their herds to a narrow strip of land surrounding the communities, at times resorting to violent measures.
Out of all the areas in the northern Judean desert, a striking disparity emerges. While a staggering 75,000 dunams have been allocated to the Israeli settlement in the Adumim region (including Ma'ale Adumim, Kfar Adumim, Alon, Nofei Prat, Almon, Keidar and Mitzpe Jericho), a mere 320 dunams have been allocated to Jahalin, intended for limited construction plans to accommodate families who were uprooted from their place of residence during the expansion of Ma'ale Adumim. Some of the areas set aside for Israeli settlements include approximately 300,000 dunams of expropriated land, seized back in 1975 for the establishment of Mishor Adumim and Ma'ale Adumim.
As a result of this expropriation, some of the Jahalin communities that had been living on land owned by Palestinians, including Al-khan Al-Ahmar, suddenly found themselves sitting on state land with the state refusing to give them a permit. The denial of building permits to the Jahalin community, along with the deliberate obstruction of law enforcement, the discriminatory practice of selective demolitions solely targeting the Jahalin structures and the staunch opposition to any proposed plans for regularization
(including those pertaining to the Al-Khan Al-Ahmar community), all allude to a carefully orchestrated planning policy. This policy seeks to obstruct any form of Bedouin development in the northern region of the Judean desert, despite the historical presence of the Bedouin people as an integral part of the desert ecosystem and culture since time immemorial.
introduction
At present, there is a coordinated and well-financed campaign led by various right-wing organizations, including the Yesha Council, which revolves around the issue they refer to as "The Palestinian Authority's encroachment on Area C." The Bedouin members of the Jahalin tribe residing in the northern region of the Judean Desert bear the brunt of the repercussions caused by this campaign, which falsely alleges that the Palestinian Authority is promoting widespread illegal construction as a means to "gain control of the area" and "hinder Israeli settlement." It aims to intensify enforcement measures and escalate the demolition of
Bedouin structures on the one hand, simultaneously justifying the construction of additional Israeli settlements in the area, whether approved or not, on the other hand. However, the dry data not only fail to support the campaign’s claims, they present a contradictory narrative.
The Jahalin tribe arrived in the Judean Desert after being expelled by Israel in the early 1950s from the Tel-Arad area in the Negev (1).
After several years of migration, they arrived in the northern region of the Judean Desert. After 1967, their seasonal migration dwindled, and the communities were settled in place from the area of al-Azriyeh and Abu Dis to the outskirts of Jericho.
The most renowned of these communities is Al-Khan Al-Ahmar, which has maintained its position continuously since 1974. Although half a century has passed, only 28 families live there today, indicating a significantly slower rate of natural growth.
The objective of the document is to provide a concise overview of the planning challenges faced by the Jahalin tribe living in the
northern Judean desert.
The source of most of the data in the document is the Israeli government’s Civil Administration and "Bimkom - Planners for Planning Rights," unless otherwise stated. Since the Yesha Council campaign links the Jahalin communities to the general struggle they are waging against all Palestinian settlements in Area C, this document will also provide construction and planning data for the entire area, to shed light on the broader picture.
Table: Comparison between Jewish and Bedouin construction in the northern Judean Desert
*There are no exact numbers, it is the estimate of the historian Dr. Ovadia(2,4)
Gaps in Resource Allocations for Planning, and Planning Discrimination
According to the interim agreement (Oslo Agreement), the West Bank was divided into three areas - A, B, and C. In areas C, full security and planning responsibility rests with Israel. This situation was supposed to be temporary in preparation for a final settlement that was never reached.
According to an estimate by UN officials (OCHA), about 300,000 Palestinians were living in Area C in 2013, and it is likely that today their number is even higher. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, at the beginning of 2020, 432,000 Israelis were living in Area C.
All 30 Jahalin communities in the north of the Judean Desert, numbering about 3,500 people, are located in Area C (about 700 families from the Jahalin tribe, which mainly include the communities of Sariyeh, Korshan, Abu Dahok, and Salamat). The Israeli settlements that were built in the West Bank starting in the 1970s were initially established on land owned by Palestinians through military seizure orders. This was subsequently accomplished through various means, including the utilization of the Ottoman Land Law of 1858, which permits the declaration of lands as state property if they remain uncultivated for an extended period of time. Through these means, Israel has seized approximately 800,000 dunams of land, earmarked almost exclusively for Israeli settlements rather than being allocated equitably for all residents of the West Bank. The Israeli settlements have received hundreds of thousands of dunams, while the majority of Palestinian settlements have no development plans at all.
Permit Applications
The Yesha Council's campaign titled “The Palestinian Authority’s Takeover of Area C” alleges various claims, one of which is that Palestinians engage in illegal construction without obtaining permits from the Civil Administration. This assertion aims to discredit the comparison of permit data by suggesting bias. However, the available data contradicts this claim. It reveals a decline in the number of Palestinian permit applications due to their consistent rejection, with only a few rare exceptions. Consequently, the data demonstrates a significant rise in the population of Israeli residents compared to Palestinian and Bedouin residents. According to a report by the Ministry of Defense, in the 1970s, Palestinians submitted thousands of building permit applications each year, with an impressive approval rate of 97%. However, as the Israeli settlement project continued to expand, the approval rate for permit applications declined drastically. In the 1980s, permits were granted at a rate of approximately 30%, and in the first decade following the Oslo Accords, the rate dropped to a mere 5%. In recent years, with the intensification of the campaign against the "PA Takeover of Area C," the rate of permit approvals has reached an all-time low, now standing at a mere single-digit percentage. To illustrate this disparity, data from the Civil Administration indicates that between 2016 and 2020, out of 2,550 applications submitted by Palestinians, only 24 were approved (0.9%). In contrast, the Central Bureau of Statistics confirms that, during the same period, 8,356 permits were approved for Israeli settlements (350 times more for Israelis compared to Palestinians). Therefore, without a realistic possibility to obtain building permits on their private lands, the number of applications submitted by Palestinians is steadily decreasing. This situation extends to the Bedouin community, as their repeated attempts to regularize their settlements and acquire building permits, similar to nearby Israeli settlements, have been in vain. Despite the submission of plans prepared by the “Binkom” association for 12 communities of the Jahalin to the authorities over the years, not a single one of them has been approved.
In addition to construction carried out in compliance with permits for Israeli settlements, there is also unauthorized Israeli construction taking place, aimed at solidifying a presence on the ground. According to a document from the Civil Administration, by 2022 approximately 85 agricultural farms (most of which are illegal and some of which are situated on privately-owned Palestinian land) have been established in Area C. In addition, dozens of illegal outposts have been erected. In close proximity to the Jahalin and Al-khan al-Ahmar communities, agricultural farms and illegal settlement points have also been established just a few hundred meters away, stifling the growth of the Bedouin communities and impending their ability to thrive.
These ongoing systematic actions pertaining to the Jahalin community find their roots in a strategy outlined in the founding document of Kfar Adumim in 1978: "In the area there are many Bedouins who are also engaged in cultivating the land...the area for Bedouin residence must be closed and evacuated...Wadi Kelt must be declared a nature reserve...one must stop the spread of an Arab/rural settlement immediately by administratively closing the area of Arab villages...a chain of Jewish settlements must be built to interrupt the sequence of Arab settlement."
Throughout the years, various aspects of this vision have materialized into reality. The demarcation border was introduced into the planning policy in the northern Judean Desert so that the only permissible construction for the Bedouin is confined within the already established built-up areas of the Palestinian settlements (such as Anata, Abu Dis and Jericho). However, these locations are not suitable for the traditional lifestyles of the Bedouin, who have been living in the desert since they were displaced from the Tel Arad area.
Wadi Kelt was officially designated as a nature reserve and, in relation to this, Kfar Adumim filed a petition to the High Court, which is still ongoing. This process aims to restrict Bedouin grazing activity in the area (although, in principle, shepherds who used the reserve prior to the declaration are permitted to continue doing so). Any movement of herds beyond a narrow strip of land surrounding the communities triggers armed patrols, who sometimes resort to forceful or even violent measures to expel the herdsmen.
Contrary to the claim that there is more extensive construction in the Palestinian sector compared to Israeli settlements, the available data does not support this assertion. The number of Israeli settlers in Area C has been increasing significantly since 1967, while Palestinians in the area have become a minority (contrary to the situation approximately two decades ago). For example, in the north of the Judean Desert, the number of Bedouin members of the Jahalin tribe living in the area increased from about 2,000 in 1967 (according to the estimate of historian Dr. Yaron Ovadia, author of the book "The Bedouins in the Judean Desert - A Vanishing World"), to only 3,500 today. This growth rate is notably lower than the “natural growth” typically observed over a span of 55 years. On the other hand, the Israeli population in the same region has surged from zero in 1967 to approximately 60,000 individuals today.
Planning Resources
Apart from the striking contrast observed in permit approvals, it is important to highlight the disparity between the total area of land allocated for planning for Israelis compared to the total area designated for Palestinians.
To put this into perspective, the allocated area for Palestinians in Area C accounts for a mere 0.6%, encompassing approximately 22,000 dunams. In contrast, the designated area for Israeli settlements is an extensive 950,000 dunams, representing 26% of the total area. In other words, the area designated for Israeli settlements is 43 times the area allocated for Palestinians. Over the course of time, various measures have been taken to achieve this imbalance in land control. For example, between 1975-1977, approximately 30,000 dunams of land were expropriated in the northern Judean desert, including large, privately-owned plots belonging to the residents of the village of Anata (as indicated on the map below). Among others, the Mishor Adumim industrial area and the city of Ma'ale Adumim were built on these lands.
Al Khan Al Ahmar was also included in the expropriated territory. The residents of the community initially lived there with the consent of the landowners, who were Palestinians from Anata. However, due to the state’s decision to expropriate the land, they found themselves in a situation in which the government refused to grant them permits for the building of residential structures.
Over the years, the municipal area of Kfar Adumim was expanded through an IDF general’s order. As a result, the areas on which some of the neighboring Jahalin communities lived became part of the territory of Kfar Adumim, and all this without the Jahalin moving from their place of residence. Ironically, the campaign spearheaded by a number of organizations is centered on the claim that it is the people of Jahalin who are encroaching upon the lands of Kfar Adumim.
Map: Map of land ownership in the Alkhan al-Ahmar area - indicated in a red circle (source - the administrator
the civil). The territories south of the black line were expropriated in 1975 and became state land.
Some of the plots north of the black line painted in yellow are privately owned by Palestinians from the Anata settlement area.
Demolition of Structures
The discriminatory nature of the planning policy is evident not only in the limited designated planning areas and the near impossibility of obtaining building permits, but also in the huge gaps in enforcement. The number of demolition orders issued for buildings belonging to the Jahalin is 10 times greater than the number of demolition orders issued against buildings in Israeli settlements. In fact, nearly 100% of all 750 Jahalin residential buildings are under threat of demolition, while only 1% of the buildings housing Israeli families in the area, including the city of Ma'ale Adumim, face similar orders. This vast discrepancy in demolition orders is particularly intriguing, considering that the number of Bedouins in the area is twenty times smaller than the Israeli population.
In recent years, the construction ban has been so stringent that is has resulted in an almost complete freeze on building activities. As a result, young married couples from the Jahalin communities are forced to crowd into shared tents, reside with their parents, or risk investing resources in erecting a temporary shelter that will likely be demolished within a short period of time. In addition to the demolition orders issued under the Planning and Construction Law, in recent years Israel has been using Order 1797 for the removal of new buildings, and has resorted to confiscation orders for mobile structures.
A response from the Minister of Defense reveals that between the years 2017-2021 in Area C, 285 orders for the removal of structures were issued to Palestinians, of which 200 were implemented, compared to only 25 orders issued to Israelis during the same period. The same is true regarding the confiscation of mobile buildings - during these years 3,201 Palestinian structures were confiscated, whereas only 736 Israeli structures faced the same fate.
Conclusion
The Yesha Council and the organizations advocating for the "PA Takeover of Area C" campaign assert that the Palestinians are constructing thousands of structures illegally, without any restrictions, in order to unlawfully "take over state lands." However, this claim fails to acknowledge the reality faced by hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who lack the opportunity to obtain building permits, even if they want to build on their privately owned lands.
The probability of a Palestinian building, erected without a permit, being demolished is 10 times greater than that of an Israeli building. This also holds true in the norther region of the Judean Desert, specifically among the Jahalin. The growth of Bedouin residents and their dwellings is lower than natural growth rates. Gradually, the Israeli settlements are encroaching upon and claiming a significant portion of most of the areas that were previously inhabited by Palestinian communities.
This is the story of about 30 Jahalin communities in the north of the Judean Desert that have been stifled to the extent of paralysis.
The situation is characterized by a range of concerning factors that contribute to the challenges faced by Bedouin communities in the northern Judean desert. They include the inability to obtain building permits, selective demolitions of buildings, the establishment of agricultural farms with "Hebrew herding," illegal Israeli outposts in the areas surrounding the Bedouin communities, the displacement of shepherds from their traditional grazing areas, repeated petitions to the High Court of Justice for selective enforcement of demolition orders, influential political lobbying, and above all – a demonization and disinformation campaign aimed at justifying these actions as part of a larger policy to impede Bedouin development in the region, despite the fact that they have been part of the ecosystem and desert culture since time immemorial.
**This document was written by Dr. Yaron Ovadia, Prof. Dan Turner, and architect Alon Lifshitz for the Friends of Jahalin, and underwent an internal peer review.