Inequality report: The palestinian arab minority in Israel December 2010

Arab World Geographer

Volumn 13, Issue 3-4, 2010, Pages 234-284

  Hesketh, Katie ^a   Bishara, Suhad ^a   Zaher, Sawsan ^a   Rosenberg, Rina ^a  

^a Adalah The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel   (Israel)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARAB WORLD; ETHNIC MINORITY;

ISRAEL;

EID: 79954563103     PISSN: 14806800     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (253)

1. The report will not discuss gaps between the various religious sub-groups that exist within the Palestinian minority (Muslim, Christian, and Druze) except where the Israeli official data are broken down according to these groups. Where the relevant data are available, however, they do include a gender breakdown.
2. Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Statistical Abstract of Israel 2009, No. 60, Tables 2.2, 2.8, 2.10. This figure does not include the Arab population of occupied East Jerusalem or the occupied Golan Heights.
3. Ibid..
4. Although not specifically defined as "enemy states" in legislation, they are treated as such by a number of laws that restrict relations and contacts between Israel and a number of countries, all of which are Arab and/or Muslim states. For example, the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law (2003) prohibits family unification in Israel between Israeli citizens and non-Jewish spouses from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran. The law imposes a similar ban on spouses from the Gaza Strip, in addition to harsh restrictions on family unification between Israeli citizens and Palestinian West Bank residents. A 2008 amendment to The Citizenship Law (1952) allows the revocation of the citizenship of Israeli citizens who acquire citizenship or permanent residency in Iran, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, or Gaza. The Prevention of Infiltration (Offences and Jurisdiction) Law(1954) makes it a criminal offence to leave Israel and knowingly and illegally enter Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Yemen, Iran, or the OPT, and for nationals of Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as a resident or visitor to these countries or to the OPT, to enter Israel knowingly and illegally.
5. Israel Democracy Institute, Auditing Israeli Democracy - 2010 (English), v, available at http://www.idi.org.il/PublicationsCatalog/Documents/Book-7114/ madad-2010-eng-abstract.pdf
6. Women's Equal Rights Law (1951);
7. Equal Rights for People with Disabilities Law (1998).
8. Israel Democracy Institute, Auditing Israeli Democracy - 2010 (English), viii.
9. Poll commissioned by the Maagar Mochot research institute, reported in Or Kashti, "Poll: Half of Israeli High Schoolers Oppose Equal Rights for Arabs," Haaretz (English edition), 11 March 2010.
10. Documentary filmmaker Rachel Leah Jones directed the three videos for Adalah. To view the videos, please visit http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/video. php.
11. In addition, the flag and official state emblem are Zionist-Jewish symbols. Therefore, they exclude Palestinian citizens, as non-Jews, who lack recognized national symbols with which they can identify.
12. There are four key equality statutes: the Women's Equal Rights Law (1951), the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law (1998), the Equal Rights for People with Disabilities Law (1998), and the Anti-discrimination Act in Products, Services and in the Entrance to Places of Entertainment and Public Places (2000).
13. Section 1 (a) of the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty states, "The purpose of this Basic Law is to protect human dignity and liberty, in order to establish in a Basic Law the values of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state" (emphasis added). Even the Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation, which provides "every Israeli national or resident" constitutional protection "to engage in any occupation, profession or trade," includes the term "Jewish and democratic" in its statement of purpose.
14. Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee - Israel, CCPR/C/ISR/CO/3, 29 July 2010, para. 2, available at http://www2.ohchr.org/ english/bodies/hrc/docs/CCPR.C.ISR.C0.3.doc
15. See, e.g., Chief Justice Aharon Barak's ruling in HCJ [High Court of Justice] 7052/03, Adalah v. Minister of the Interior (decided 14 May 2006):
16. "The right to equality is an integral part of the right to human dignity. Recognition of the constitutional aspect of equality derives from the constitutional interpretation of the right to human dignity. This right to human dignity is expressly recognized in the Basic Law. Notwithstanding, not all aspects of equality that would have been included, had it been recognized as an independent right that stands on its own, are included within the framework of human dignity. Only those aspects of equality that are closely and objectively connected to human dignity are included within the framework of the right to human dignity." The first time the Supreme Court issued a ruling in which it declared that the right to equality was part of the constitutional right to dignity was in HCJ 6427/02, The Movement for Quality Government in Israel et al. v. The Knesset (decided 11 May 2006).
17. For more information see Adalah, Briefing Paper: New Discriminatory Laws and Bills in Israel (29 November 2010), available at http://www.old-adalah.org/ newsletter/eng/nov10/docs/ndl.doc.
18. See also Adalah and the Arab Association for Human Rights, New Legal Developments: The New Israeli Government Launches a Flood of Legislation in Violation of the Rights of Palestinian Arab Citizens of Israel (4 June 2009), available at http://www.adalah.org/newsletter/eng/jun09/Adalah-HRA-Briefing- note-FINAL-4.6.09.pdf.
19. See also Adalah, Legal Violations of Arab Minority Rights in Israel (March 1998).
20. See Adalah, Legal Violations of Arab Minority Rights in Israel (March 1998);
21. Adalah, 10 New Discriminatory Laws (June 2010);
22. and Adalah, Briefing Paper: New Discriminatory Laws and Bills in Israel (29 November 2010), noted above.
23. Article 1 of the Law of Return states that "[ejvery Jew has the right to immigrate to Israel." Article 4A(a): "The rights of a Jew under this law ... shall apply to the child and grandchild of a Jew, to the spouse of a Jew, the spouse of the child and grandchild of a Jew, except for a person who has been a Jew and converted his religion voluntarily." Under section 2 of the Citizenship Law, "Every person who immigrated according to the Law of Return will be a citizen of Israel." 18 In accordance with UN General Assembly Resolution 194 (III), article 11 (December 1948), which stipulates that "[the General Assembly] Resolves that the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or in equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible."
24. The numbers of status-seekers involved in "terror activities," according to the state, has fluctuated over the years. On 13 April 2010, the state submitted data to the Supreme Court alleging that between 2001 and April 2010, 54 persons who had received status in Israel through family-unification procedures were either "directly involved in terrorist attacks" or prevented from carrying out such attacks at the last minute. However, the state did not provide any details about the nature of the involvement of these 54 persons in the reported attacks or attempted attacks. Nor did it provide any information on how many of them had been arrested, detained, released, indicted, convicted, or sentenced for these activities or detail the gravity of their alleged actions. Although the information was demanded by Adalah, the state did not provide the court with any data about applications or involvement of persons from "enemy states," which strongly suggests that there is no factual basis for the sweeping ban on family unification with non-Jewish nationals from these states. Furthermore, previous information supplied by the state casts serious doubts on these general claims. Following a request for detailed information submitted by Adalah in December 2008, the state responded that just seven persons who had received status in Israel through familyunification procedures had been indicted for security-related offenses, that only two of these had then been convicted, and that these two persons had already completed their sentences, which suggests that the offences were relatively minor. Even if reliable, these data represent a minute number of people, and thus the law is completely disproportionate. 20 Amendments to the law from 2005 allow Palestinian men over 35 years of age and Palestinian women over 25 to apply for temporary residency permits at most. These permits do not qualify them for work permits, social benefits, driving licences, etc. The amendments deny status to Palestinians from the OPT who are related to individuals whom security officials suggest might constitute a security threat to Israel. Such presumptuous conclusions cannot be challenged, and would hold even where an applicant has no personal contact with such a relative.
25. HCJ 7052/03, Adalah et al. v. Minister of Interior et al. (decided 14 May 2006). The petition was filed by Adalah against the law on 3 August 2003.
26. For more information see Adalah, Special Web-Report: Ban on Family Unification, available at http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/famunif.php.
27. Petitions filed to the Supreme Court of Israel challenging the constitutionality of the law, including a petition submitted by Adalah, remain pending. HCJ 830/07, Adalah v. Minister of the Interior et al.
28. Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee - Israel, CCPR/C/ISR /CO/3 (29 July 2010), para. 15.
29. See also Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD): Israel , CERD/C/ISR/CO/13) 14 June 2007), para. 20, and CERD's special decisions of 2003 (Decision 2/63) and 2004 (Decision 2/65);
30. Concluding Comments of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW): Israel, CEDAW/C/ISR/CO/3 (22 July 2005), para. 33.
31. HCJ 830/07, Adalah v. Minister of the Interior et al. (casepending).
32. Legislative bill no. 2366/18, introduced on 3 May 2010. The bill appeared following the arrest and indictment of Arab civil society leader Ameer Makhoul on charges of espionage.
33. The coalition is composed of the Likud, Labor, Yisrael Beiteinu, Shas, United Torah Judaism, and Jewish Home parties. The main campaign slogan used by Yisrael Beiteinu was "No loyalty, no citizenship," and with this clearly racist message the party won 15 Knesset seats, making it the third largest party in the Knesset.
34. See, e.g., legislative bill no. 102/18, introduced on 1 April 2009. A further proposed amendment to the Population Registration Law (1965) seeks to impose an oath of loyalty to the state, the flag, and the national anthem on anyone seeking to obtain his or her first national identity card. Administrative bill no. 811/18, introduced on 4 May 2009.
35. In the run-up to the Cabinet's debate on the bill, on 7 October 2010, Adalah sent an urgent letter to the prime minister, the attorney general, and the justice minister demanding that they rescind the amendment on the grounds that mandating an oath of loyalty unfairly infringes the right of freedom of expression.
36. The bill received government approval on 10 October 2010. Two weeks later, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu reportedly ordered Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman to redraft the bill so as to also apply it to persons who naturalize in Israel under the Law of Return (i.e., to new Jewish immigrants), an amendment that does not remove the discriminatory effect of the bill for non-Jews. For more information see Adalah, "The New Loyalty Oath Bill Aims to Force Arab Citizens of Israel to Accept Their Inferiority, Inequality and Exclusion" (News update, 11 October 2010), available at http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php?fiIe=11-10-10;
37. Association for Civil Rights in Israel, ACRI in Urgent Appeal: Cancel Undemocratic Loyalty Oath (7 October 2010), available at http://www.acri.org.il/ eng/story.aspx?id=780.
38. CBS, Income of Individuals (Income Survey) (2008), Table 25.
39. Ibid. Income of Individuals (Income Survey) (2008).
40. OECD, Labour Market and Socio-economic Outcomes of the Arab-Israeli Population (March 2010), 33, available at http://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/ displaydocumentpdf?cote=DELSA/ELSA/WD/SEM%282010%292&doclanguage=en
41. Ibid., Labour Market and Socio-economic Outcomes of the Arab-Israeli Population, http://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/displaydocumentpdf?cote=DELSA/ ELSA/WD/SEM%282010%292&doclanguage=en 34.
42. National Insurance Institute, Poverty and Social Gaps: Annual Report 2009 (2009), 5, 11 (in Hebrew).
43. OECD, Labour Market and Socio-economic Outcomes of the Arab-Israeli Population (March 2010), 31.
44. National Insurance Institute, Annual Survey 2009 (2009), 83 (in Hebrew).
45. National Insurance Institute, Annual Survey 2008 (2008), 80.
46. Theodore Or, Report of the State Commission of Inquiry into the Events of October 2000, vol. 1(2003), 33, para. 19.
47. CBS, Local Councils and Municipalities by Socio-economic Index, Ranking and Cluster Membership (2006), available at http://www.cbs.gov.il/hodaot2009n/ 24-09-244t3.pdf. These figures do not include Arab citizens living in mixed cities. Many Jewish localities that are ranked within the low socio-economic clusters are settlements located in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, rather than in Israel proper. These include Modi'in Illit and Beitar Illit (cluster 1), EFAd and Immanu'el (cluster 2), and Qiryat Arba (cluster 3).
48. Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages in the Naqab, telephone conversation with the authors, 8 March 2009. Because regular data on the unrecognized villages are not gathered by the state authorities, it is not possible to state their precise population, but only an approximate range.
49. CBS, Local Councils and Municipalities by Socio-economic Index, Ranking and Cluster Membership. The eighth locality, Beitar Illit, is an illegal Israeli settlement located close to Jerusalem.
50. Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee - Israel, CCPR/C/ISR/CO/3 (29 July 2010), para. 24.
51. Ministry of Social Welfare, Expenditure on Social Welfare 2006, Freedom of Information department.
52. Ibid. Expenditure on Social Welfare 2006.
53. As a result of a petition filed by Adalah in 2008, Ma'atz (the Public Works Agency) announced before the Tel Aviv District Court in May 2009 that it would plan a road to connect Jisr al-Zarqa to the Tel Aviv-Haifa coastal highway within three years. Administrative Petition (A.P.) 1998/08, Local Council of Jisr al-Zarqa v. Ma'atz.
54. National Insurance Institute, Poverty and Social Gaps: Annual Report (2007).
55. The NIS4-billion "Multi-Year Plan for the Development of the Arab-Sector Communities," for example, was launched in 2000 to great fanfare, with the stated aim of closing the economic gaps between Palestinian and Jewish citizens in Israel. However, the plan has never been fully implemented. Despite its nonimplementation, the state has used the fact that the plan was granted approval to justify the exclusion of Arab towns and villages from other development programs, including the former Ofeq program to assist areas of high unemployment, on the basis that it is not obliged to implement any additional development plans for the Arab minority besides the Multi-Year Plan. On 2 June 2004, the Supreme Court accepted a petition submitted by Adalah and the Tel Aviv University Law Clinic against a government decision to exclude Arab towns from the Ofeq program, ruling that the state could not use the Multi-Year Plan as a reason for excluding Arab towns from other government socio-economic plans and programs. See HCJ 6488/02, National Committee of Arab Mayors et al. v. Directors' Committee for Fighting Unemployment in Settlements with High Unemployment Rates et al.
56. Israel Democracy Institute, Auditing Israeli Democracy - 2010 (English), viii.
57. The ruling was delivered on a petition filed by Adalah against the government's decision to grant NPA status to towns and villages, in particular in the field of education. See HCJ 2773/98 and HCJ 11163/03, High Follow-Up Committee for the Arab Citizens in Israel et al. v. Prime Minister of Israel (decided 27 February 2006).
58. In June 2009, the Knesset passed the Economic Efficiency Law (2009), to which an additional article entitled "National Priority Areas" was inserted. Contrary to the Supreme Court's decision, the law is vaguely worded and affords the government sweeping discretion to classify towns, villages, or larger areas as NPAs and, accordingly, to award a range of unspecified benefits to them.
59. For more information see "Adalah Position Paper on the Israeli Government's New Decision Classifying Communities as National Priority Areas" (February 2010), available in English at http://www.old-adalah.org/ newsletter/eng/feb10/docs/english%201ayout.pdf.
60. A court hearing has been scheduled for February 2011. See Adalah, "After Four Years of Non-compliance, Adalah Submits Motion for Contempt to Israeli Supreme Court against the Prime Minister for Failure to Implement National Priority Areas Decision" (News update, 21 June 2010), available at http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php?file=21-06-10.
61. See, e.g., Ron Friedman, "Equal Opportunity for All Israelis," Jerusalem Post (21 March 2010), available at http://www.jpost.com/Israel/ Article.aspx?id=171464.
62. See Adalah, "Widening Use of Military Service as a Condition for University and Employment Benefits Discriminates against Arab Citizens of Israel" (News update, 19 September 2010), available at http://www.old- adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php?file=20-09-10-1.
63. In December 2005, Adalah filed a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court challenging the legality of this policy. See HCJ 11956/05, Suhad Bishara et al. v. Ministry of Construction and Housing. In December 2006, the Supreme Court rejected the petition, deciding that there is no impediment in principle to granting benefits to those who have completed full military and national service above that which is afforded in the Absorption of Former Soldiers Law.
64. HCJ 6223/01, National Committee of Arab Mayors v. Ministry of the Interior et al. (case pending).
65. For more information see Adalah, "Supreme Court Orders State to Appoint Members to New Committee Formed to Decide on Criteria for Allocating Budget Balancing Grants to Local Authorities" (News update, 13 April 2008), available at http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php?file=08-04-13-1
66. HCJ 6880/05, Association for Civil Rights in Israel v. Minister of Finance et al.;
67. HCJ 6901/05, Mayor of Rahat Municipality et al. v. Minister of Finance et al.
68. See the Supreme Court's decision at http://www.adalah.org/newsletter/ara/ sep10/sc%20deciciosn%20in%20tax.pdf (in Hebrew).
69. National Insurance Institute, Poverty and Social Gaps: Annual Report 2008 (2008), 15.
70. Adva Center, Total Government Expenditure as Percentage of GDP (2003).
71. OECD, Israel: A Divided Society - Results of a Review of Labour-Market and Social Policy (20 January 2010), available at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/ 0/40/44394444.pdf.
72. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2008, No. 59, Table 12.23.
73. Ibid., Table 12.10.
74. Shimon Shamir, The Arabs in Israel - Two Years after the Or Commission Report (19 September 2005), available at http://www.dayan.org/kapjac/files/ shamirEng.pdf.
75. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2009, No. 60, Table 12.1.
76. OECD, Overview of Gender Differences in OECD Countries (March 2010), available at http://www.oecd.org/document/51/0,3343,e n-2649-37457-44720243-1-1- 1-37457,00.html.
77. Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, The Status of Employment of Arab Women between the Ages of 18 and 65 in 2006 (29 January 2008) (in Hebrew).
78. With the exception of men from the Palestinian Druze community, according to an agreement signed between Druze religious leaders and the state in 1956.
79. Labor Lawsuit 4962/09, Abdullah Tayeh v. Israel Railway Company.
80. For more information, see Adalah, "Following Lawsuit by Adalah, Sawt elAmel and the Tel Aviv University Human Rights Clinic, Labor Court Issues Temporary Injunction Preventing Dismissal of Arab Railway Workers" (News update, 17 September 2009), available at http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/ pressreleases/pr.php?file=09-09-17.
81. Civil Service Commission, "Suitable Representation for the Arab Minority, including the Druze and Circassians, in the Civil Service" (2006) (in Hebrew).
82. Ali Hedar, "The Arab Citizens in the Civil Service," Sikkuy Report, Equality and the Integration of the Arab Citizens of Israel, 2000-2001, citing an April 2001 report of the Governmental Companies Authority.
83. Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, The International Day against Racism, 21 March 2010: The Situation of the Arab Villages in the Negev (March 2010), available at http://www.dukium.org/user-uploads/pdfs/doh.pdf (in Hebrew).
84. These decisions include Government Decision 1832 of 29 April 2004; Government Decision 414 of 15 August 2006; Government Decision 2579 of 11 November 2007; and Government Decision 4437 of 25 January 2009.
85. See the Third Periodic Report of the State of Israel to the UN Human Rights Committee, CCPR/C/ISR/3 (21 November 2008).
86. Data sent by the Authority for Governmental Corporations to Sikkuy-The Association for the Advancement of Civil Equality in Israel, dated 6 July 2009. According to this data, as of 6 July 2009, Jewish men accounted for 54.3 % of the sitting board members of government corporations, Jewish women 37.6 %, Arab men 5.2 %, and Arab women 2.7 %.
87. Ibid..
88. Mossawa Center, Arab Citizens 'Share of the State Budget for 2008 (Haifa: Mossawa Center, 2008) (in Hebrew).
89. Yosef Jabareen, "The Employment of Arabs in Israel" (paper presented at the 18th Caesarea Forum, June 2010), available at http://www.idi.org.il/sites/english/events/TheAnnualEconomicForum/Pages/ EconomicConference2010.aspx.
90. The first-ever government-funded initiative for private investment in Arab business in Israel was launched in March 2010. Part of the funding for the initiative, which is worth NIS180 million (US$49 million), is provided by the government and part by private investors, the Al-Bawader Group. See, e.g., Meirav Arlosoroff, "The Arab You Don't Know May Be About to Change the Market," Haaretz, 4 March 2010. The results of the project remain to be seen.
91. Orly Almagor-Lotan, Day Care and Family Home Care Centres in the Arab Sector (Center for Research and Information, The Knesset, 7 July 2008) (in Hebrew).
92. Israel's Fifth Periodic Report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW/C/ISR/5 (21 October 2009), 210, para. 466.
93. Ibid, 208, para. 462.
94. E.g., in 2005, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor rescinded its decision to close down an employment office in the Arab town of Kufr Kana in northern Israel only after Adalah and the Laborer's Voice (Sawt el-Amel) petitioned the Supreme Court to demand that the office, which serves approximately 71 000 Palestinian citizens of Israel in the area, including more than 4 000 job-seekers, be kept open. HCJ 8249/04, Ziad Matar et al. v. Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor.
95. Yoram Asidon, "A Gap of Accessibility and Mobility in Israeli Society, and the Social Implications of Change" (research report, Department of Nature and Environmental Resource Management, University of Haifa, September 2004) (in Hebrew).
96. See, e.g. Tgreed Alahmad and Maha El Taji, Women Demand Mobility: Documenting Local Women's Experience in the Village of Maghar (Kayan, 2009), available at http://www.kayan.org.il/Public/mobility-doc-report-eng03 .pdf
97. OECD, Labour Market and Socio-Economic Outcomes of the Arab-Israeli Population (18 March 2010), p, available at http://www.oecd.org/ officialdocuments/displaydocumentpdf?cote=delsa/elsa/wd/sem%282010%292& doclanguage=en
98. Jabareen, "The Employment of Arabs in Israel."
99. Oren Yiftachel, "Lands, Planning, and Inequality: The Division of Space between Jews and Arabs in Israel" (Position Paper, The Adva Center, 2000) (in Hebrew).
100. Israel Land Administration (ILA) Law (2009). The new law is extremely prejudicial to the rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel, as well as to those of Palestinian refugees. For more information see Suhad Bishara and Hana Hamdan, "Adalah Position Paper: Critique of the Draft Bill - Israel Land Administration Law (Amendment No. 7) 2009" (Adalah, 21 July 2009), available at http://www.adalah.org/newsletter/eng/jul09/Position-Paper-on-Land- Reform-Bill-july-2009.pdf
101. See Adalah, Interactive Map and Database on the History of the State of Israel's Expropriation of Land from the Palestinian People, available at http://www.adalah.org/features/land/flash/.
102. Article 1(b) of the Absentees' Property Law defines persons who were expelled or fled the country, or who left their homes to seek temporary refuge elsewhere in Palestine from, 29 November 1947 on as "absentees." Israel then placed their property under the control of the "Custodian for Absentees' Property." The full definition of an "absentee" under the law and the full text of the law in English are available from the UN Information System on the Question of Palestine (UNISPAL) at http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/E0B719E95E3B494885256F9A005AB90A.
103. For more information see Adalah, Interactive Map and Database on the History of the State of Israel's Expropriation of Land from the Palestinian People, available at http://www.adalah.org/features/land/flash/.
104. The new law is silent regarding land confiscated under other laws, including laws enacted during the early years of the state, and in particular the Land Acquisition Law (1953).
105. The amendment also expands the finance minister's authority to confiscate land for "public purposes," allows the minister to alter the purpose of the confiscation and declare a new purpose if the initial purpose of the confiscation has not been fulfilled, and provides that the state has the right not to use the confiscated land for the specific purpose for which it was confiscated for a period of 17 years. 96 A total of 53 regional councils in Israel (this number excludes regional councils located in the occupied Golan Heights and West Bank) govern approximately 850 rural towns and villages in Israel, covering 81 % of state land in Israel, although they contain only about 8 % of the state's population. There are only three Arab regional councils, Al-Batouf, Bustan Al-Marj, and Abu Basma. The majority of the towns and villages located within the jurisdiction of the regional councils are agricultural and community towns, from which Palestinian citizens are excluded. According to state figures, 99.6 % of the population living in rural localities are Jewish citizens. Israel's Fifth Periodic Report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW/C/ISR/5 (21 October 2009), 253, para. 565.
106. For more information, see Adalah's letter of 21 July 2009 to the Knesset concerning the transfer of property rights in rural and agricultural villages (English version) at http://www.adalah.org/features/land/admission-committees- Eng-FINAL%5Bl%5D.pdf.
107. Israel Land Administration (ILA) Decision No. 1015(1 August 2004) provides for the operation of admissions committees and was made in cooperation with the Jewish Agency for Israel. The decision directs admissions committees of small community and agricultural towns to apply a number of criteria in deciding whether or not to recommend that the ILA accept a candidate's request to live in one of these towns.
108. These towns fall within the jurisdiction of 53 regional councils, which are distributed throughout the country and exercise control over approximately 81% of the total land-area in the state.
109. As stipulated in ILA Decision No. 1015.
110. HCJ 6698/95, Adel Qa'dan v. Israel Land Administration. An English translation of the ruling is available at http://elyon1.court.gov.il/files-eng/ 95/980/066/a14/95066980.a14.pdf.
111. HCJ 8036/07, Fatina Ebriq Zubeidat et al. v. Israel Land Administration et al. Adalah filed the petition on behalf of the Zubeidat family and a broad coalition of human-rights and social-change organizations: Another Voice in the Galilee (Kol Aher BaGalil), the Mizrahi Democratic Rainbow (HaKeshet), Bimkom: Planners for Planning Rights, the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance, and the Arab Center for Alternative Planning. The case is pending.
112. See Adalah, "Adalah Submits Amended Supreme Court Petition Demanding Cancellation of 'Admission Committees' for Illegally Excluding Arab Citizens of Israel from Communities Built on State-Controlled Land" (News update, 27 July 2010), available at http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php? file=27-07-10-1.
113. Legislative bill no. 18/1740, which proposes to amend the Communal Associations Ordinance (1933) from the Mandate period.
114. According to amendments made to the bylaws of the community town of Mitzpeh Aviv in 2009. Ibid.
115. According to amendments made to the bylaws of the community towns of Manof and Yuvalim in 2009. Adalah submitted a letter to the attorney general on 13 December 2009 demanding the cancellation of these conditions in the bylaws of the towns. See also Jack Khoury and Jonathan Lis, "Israeli Towns Continue to Rewrite Bylaws to Keep Arabs Out," Haaretz, 16 December 2010.
116. Established in accordance with the government decision of 12 May 2009 on reforming the ILA and with the new landreform law, enacted in August 2009.
117. See Arnon Golan, "The Acquisition of Arab Land by Jewish Settlements in the War of Independence," Catedra 63 (1992): 122-54 (in Hebrew);
118. Yifa'at Holtzman-Gazit, "The Use of Law as a Status Symbol: The Jewish National Fund Law - 1953 and the Struggle of the JNF to Establish Its Position in the State," Iyoni Mishpat 26 (2002): 601-44 (in Hebrew). The JNF claims that it bought 1.25 million dunams of land from the state immediately after the establishment of Israel, using donations from Jews from around the world.
119. See the JNF's December 2004 response to HCJ 9205/04, Adalah et al. v. Israel Land Administration et al. (case pending).
120. For more information see Statement Submitted by Habitat International Coalition and Adalah to the UN Commission on Human Rights, 62nd Session, April 2006, available at http://www.adalah.org/eng/intl06/un-i6-jnf.pdf
121. Prime Minister's Office, Government Decision 902: Appointment of Members of the Israel Lands Council (15 November 2009) (in Hebrew).
122. JNF response to HCJ 9205/04, Adalah et al. v. Israel Land Administration et al. (case pending). The JNF also stated that its "loyalty is to the Jewish people and its responsibility is to it alone."
123. HCJ 9205/04, Adalah v. Israel Land Administration et al. (case pending). This arrangement was formalized in the Principles of the Agreement between the State and the JNF, signed on 26 May 2009. The agreement also states that the JNF will transfer land assets it has allocated to third parties for housing and employment to state ownership; in exchange, the state will transfer land of the same area in the Naqab and the Galilee to the JNF. The agreement stipulates that the JNF agrees to the administration of its land by the newly established Land Authority Council, to replace the ILA, "in a way that will preserve the principles of the JNF in regard to its lands." The location of this land intensifies the anticipated harm to the Arab population, because this population lives primarily in the Naqab and Galilee and is in dire need of additional land resources.
124. Information obtained from the Nazareth Municipality.
125. Ibid. In the 1960s, the state appropriated land from Nazareth in order to build Nazerat Illit.
126. The state built seven townships in the Naqab in order to concentrate the Arab Bedouin on as little land as possible after removing them from their original land. These townships - Laqiya, Hura, Kseifa, 'Arara, Tel el-Sabe (Tel Sheva), Shegheb al-Salam (Segev Shalom), and Rahat - are the poorest communities in Israel, with the worst infrastructure and services. The state has also recognized 10 previously unrecognized Bedouin villages - Kassar Alser, Moladah, Makhoul, Darijat, Abu Qrenat, Um Batin, Bir Hadaj, Tarabin alSana, al-Sayyid, and Kuhli - which are also intended to be sites of further relocations from the unrecognized villages. They fall under the authority of the Abu Basma Regional Council, established in 2004.
127. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2009, No. 60, Table 5.23.
128. Ibid..
129. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2008, No. 59, Table 5.20.
130. Ibid, Table 5.23.
131. Israel's Fifth Periodic Report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW/C/ISR/5 (21 October 2009), 254, para. 566.
132. M. Mustafa and M. Subhi, Unlicensed: The Policy of Demolishing Arab Homes in Israel (Center for Contemporary Studies, 2005), 48 (in Arabic).
133. Laqiya, Hura, Kseifa, 'Arara, Tel el-Sabe (Tel Sheva), Shegheb al-Salam (Segev Shalom), and Rahat.
134. Kassar Alser, Moladah, Makhoul, Darijat, Abu Qrenat, Um Batin, Bir Hadaj, Tarabin al-Sana, al-Sayyid, and Kuhli. 123 GIS data obtained from the Arab Center for Regional Planning (ACAP), 20 December 2010.
135. Regional Council for the Unrecognized Villages in the Naqab, telephone conversation with the authors, 8 March 2009. Because regular data on the unrecognized villages are not gathered by the state authorities, it is not possible to state their precise population but only an approximate range.
136. The Israel Land Administration, "The Bedouin in the Negev" (21 November 2010), available at http://mmi.gov.il/TashtiotCom/MMIMismachim/ GetMismach.asp?SubName=GetMismachByMezahe&Sivug=211&Mezahe= 10082&TziburiPrati=9&machoz=0 (in Hebrew).
137. For more information see Adalah, "JNF Attempt to Takeover Arab Bedouin Land: Beer el-Sabe Court Rejects Police Demand to Expel Civil Society Leader Mr. Nouri AlUqbi, Represented by Adalah, from His Land" (News update, 10 September 2008), available at http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/ pressreleases/pr.php?file=08-09-10-1.
138. See, e.g., Arabs48, The Destruction of the Village of Al-Araqib in the Naqab for the Fifth Time (13 September 2010) (in Arabic).
139. Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), telephone interview with the authors, 21 July 2009.
140. See Adalah, "Adalah Demands Immediate Criminal Investigation into Police Officers Brutal Destruction of Arab Bedouin Unrecognized Village al-Araqib in the Naqab" (News update, 3 August 2010), available at http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php?file=03-08-10-2;
141. Adalah, "For the Second Time in Eight Days Police Use Brutal Force to Violently Evacuate Arab Bedouin Residents of Unrecognized Village of al-Araqib in the Naqab" (News update, 4 August 2010), available at http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php?file=04-08-10.
142. Israel's Third Periodic Report to the UN Economic and Social Council, E/C.12/ISR/3 (12 July 2010), paras. 447-82, available at http://www2.ohchr.org/ english/bodies/cescr/docs/AdvanceVersions/E.C.12.ISR.3.doc.
143. Report of the Goldberg Commission (December 2008), para. 108.
144. On 20 July 2010, the National Council for Planning and Building (NCPB) decided to recognize the two villages, following a recommendation made by a special investigator appointed by the NCPB to help consider objections submitted against the Metropolitan Plan for Beer el-Sabe (Be'er Sheva) by Adalah, the Regional Council for Unrecognized Villages in the Naqab (RCUV), and Bimkom. On 16 November 2010, Adalah sent an urgent letter in its own name and on behalf of the RCUV and Bimkom to the NCPB asking that it reject the request to change its decision.
145. Israel Land Administration and Ministry of National Infrastructure, New and Renewed Settlements in Israel (Jerusalem, 2001) (in Hebrew).
146. Civil Appeal 11165/09, Ibrahim Abu Al-Qia 'an et al. v. State of Israel (Beer el-Sabe [Be'er Sheva] District Court).
147. For more information see Adalah, "Adalah Appeals against Court Decision Evicting Residents from Arab Bedouin Unrecognized Village of Umm al-Hieran in the Naqab" (News update, 25 October 2009), available at http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php?file=09-10-25-1. The appeal remains pending.
148. Hana Hamdan, "The Policy of Settlement and 'Spatial Judaization' in the Naqab," Adalah's Newsletter 11 (March 2005), available at http://www.adalah.org/newsletter/eng/mar05/ar2.pdf.
149. Formally known as Regional Master Plan TAMAM 4/14/42: Partial District Master Plan for the Southern District - Amendment No. 42.
150. HCJ 2817/06, Adalah et al. v. National Council for Planning and Building et al. (case pending for decision).
151. The law amends the Negev Development Authority Law (1991).
152. Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee - Israel, CCPR/C/ISR/CO/3 (29 July 2010), para. 24.
153. In the 2007/2008 school year, their number stood at 480 517 pupils. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2008, No. 59, Table 8.13.
154. Civil Service Commission, "Suitable Representation for the Arab Minority, including the Druze and Circassians in the Civil Service" (2006).
155. Gideon Saar, "The Government of Israel Believes in Education" (August 2009), available at http://meyda.education.gov.il/files/owl/hebrew/ alsederhayom/education-presentation-final-opt.pdf (in Hebrew). The report has been adopted by the Ministry of Education and is now being implemented.
156. Article 3B(a)(1) of the State Budget Law, Amendment: Prohibited Expenses (2009), legislative bill no. 18/1403. The bill was tabled by MKs from the Yisrael Beiteinu party and has been endorsed by the Ministry of Justice. The Knesset passed the bill on first reading in March 2010.
157. The state budget for education is structured in such a way as to prevent analysis of exactly how much funding Arab education receives. The budget is broken down into 20 general articles, of which only one includes a breakdown of spending on Arab and Jewish education, namely the Pedagogy Admin istration, the executive arm of the MOE. The Pedagogy Administration allocated 4 % of its budget to Arab education in 2006 and 3 % in 2007. In addition, in line with the State Budget for 2006, drawn up by the MOE, just 1.5% of the state funds allocated to NGOs working in the field of education were allocated to NGOs providing educational services to Arab children and students. See State Budget, 2006 and 2007 (in Hebrew).
158. CBS, "New Survey - Investment in Education 2000/1," 3 August 2004 (in Hebrew).
159. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2008, No. 59, Table 8.9.
160. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2008, No. 59, Table 8.44.
161. Saar, "The Government of Israel Believes in Education."
162. On 27 August 2009, Adalah sent a letter to Minister Saar demanding that the discriminatory provisions contained in the plan be removed.
163. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2009, No. 60, Table 8.4.
164. Ibid..
165. Ministry of Education, "Good Results in Examinations in Mathematics, English, and Science in Haifa" (press release, 6 February 2008) (in Hebrew).
166. According to the press release, Jewish children in the Haifa District scored an average of 79 % in Hebrew language examinations, a score quoted as being similar to the national average, while Arab children in the Haifa District scored an average of 62 % in Arabic language examinations, quoted as slightly higher than the national score for Arab children of 61 %. Part of the reason for the lower educational achievement of Arab students is the low standard of the Arabic textbooks used in Arab schools, which must be approved by the state. A recent study conducted by the Arab Cultural Association into all Arabic textbooks used in teaching first-and second-grade pupils found many to be of poor quality; the survey found a total of approximately 4 000 mistakes and inaccuracies in the textbooks, including 892 linguistic and grammatical errors. The findings of the research were presented at a conference held by the Arab Cultural Association on 6 November 2009 in Nazareth. For more information see http://www.arabcultural-a.org/shownews.php?ID= 199 (in Arabic).
167. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2008, No. 59, Table 8.3.
168. Ibid, Table 8.24.
169. Hannan el-Sana and Ajaj Asif, "The Arab Bedouin Population in the Naqab: Economics and Employment" (Naqab Institute for Peace and Development Strategies, 2007).
170. HCJ 2848/05, Fatmeh Abu Sbeli et al. v. Ministry of Education et al. (decided 23 January 2007).
171. HCJ 7562/09, Fatmeh Abu Sbeli et al. v. Ministry of Education et al. The state responded in December 2009, claiming that the process of obtaining planning permission for the school building was ongoing. The case remains pending.
172. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2008, No. 59, Table 8.47.
173. Israel's Fifth Periodic Report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW/C/ISR/5 (21 October 2009), 157, para. 366.
174. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2008, No. 59, Table 8.52.
175. Adel Manna, ed, "Education and Higher Education," Yearbook of Arab Society in Israel 2 (2008), eh. 4 (in Hebrew). The Yearbook is published by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute.
176. Israel's Fifth Periodic Report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of
177. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2004, No. 55, Table 8.3.
178. UNDP, Human Development Report 2007/2008, Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided World, available at http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/ global/hdr2007-2008/.
179. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2008, No. 59, Table 8.3. Illiteracy among Arabs is concentrated in the 45+ age range. The definition of an illiterate person employed in these calculations is a person who has completed 0-4 years of schooling
180. Galilee Society: The Arab National Society for Health Research and Services, The Palestinians in Israel-Socio - Economic Survey 2007, 211-12.
181. See HCJ 2814/07, Follow-Up Committee on Arab Education et al. v. Ministry of Education et al., submitted to the Supreme Court by Adalah in May 1997.
182. See, e.g., Adalah, "Adalah Petitions Supreme Court to Compel Connection of Two Arab Bedouin Schools in the Naqab (Negev) to the National Electricity Network" (News update, 9 July 2009), available at http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php?file=09-07-10.
183. See HCJ 4177/04, Yusef Abu-Abied et al. v. Ministry of Education et al. The state also informed the Court that the MOE had committed to increase the number of positions from the beginning of the 2005 school year from 30 % to 50 % of the positions it is required to provide, to rise to 80 % within two years. The state also committed itself to pursue a policy of affirmative action in education over the long term for the Arab Bedouin towns in the Naqab. 171 Adalah demanded the appointment of psychological counsellors in five Arab Bedouin schools in the unrecognized villages in the Naqab serving 3 650 students, none of which has such a position.
184. On 1 July 2009, the Supreme Court affirmed the urgent need for such counsellors and the need to resolve the problem. However, it was satisfied with the state's commitment to establish special educational courses to prepare counsellors in order to overcome the shortage. See HCJ 3926/06, Al-Sayed Abed El-Dayem et al. v. Ministry of Education and Abu Basma Regional Council (decided 1 July 2009).
185. This article was amended through section 15B of the Law and Government Ordinance (1948) to eliminate English as an official language, as stipulated by article 82 of the Palestine Order-in-Council (1922), leaving Arabic and Hebrew as Israel's two official languages.
186. See also the Supreme Court's decision in HCJ 4112/99, Adalah et al. v. Municipality of Tel Aviv-Jaffa et al. (25 July 2002, Justice Dalia Dorner). This case, brought by Adalah together with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, concerned the lack of Arabic text on traffic, warning, and other informational signs in the mixed Arab-Jewish cities of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Ramie, Lod, Akka (Acre), and Nazerat Illit, and demanded that the responsible municipalities amend such signs accordingly.
187. On 15 July 2009, Adalah sent an urgent letter to the attorney general demanding the cancellation of the transport minister's decision.
188. HC 4112/99, Adalah et al. v. Municipality of Tel Aviv-Jaffa et al (decided 25 July 2002). The petition was filed in 1999 by Adalah and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI).
189. On 3 September 2009, Adalah received a letter from the Attorney General's Office (AG) stating that the decision of the minister of transport to Hebraize all road signs in Israel was not final, and that the issue remains under consideration by a subcommittee (on file with Adalah). No further update has since been received.
190. On 19 November 2009, Adalah wrote to the Municipality of Nazerat Illit and the AG demanding the implementation of the Supreme Court's 2002 decision in Nazerat Illit. The AG replied on 29 November 2009, stating that they would check the answer and reply to Adalah. No further response has been received. The letters are on file with Adalah.
191. According to a survey conducted by the group Women Promote Health group and PHR-Israel, 50 % of women from unrecognized villages surveyed reported that they go to health clinics on foot and that they do not have another way to get there. See Heijer Abu Sharb, Israel's Step Children: About the Lack of Pediatrics in the Unrecognized Villages in the Negev and Its Ramifications (Women Promote Health and Physicians for Human Rights - Israel, November 2008), available at http://www.phr.org.il/uploaded/articlefile-1237372920593.pdf
192. CBS, Israel in Figures 2009 (English version), 11, available at http://www.cbs.gov.il/publications/isr-in-n09e.pdf.
193. CBS, The Arab Population in Israel 2008, 3.
194. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2008, No. 59, Table 3.27.
195. CBS, Israel in Figures 2009 (English version), 11.
196. Israel's Third Periodic Report to the UN Human Rights Committee, CCPR/C/ISR/3 (21 November 2008), para. 571.
197. I. Shoham Vardi. 2003. The Death of Bedouin Babies in the Negev, 1990-2002 (unpublished conference paper, Ben-Gurion University, Be'er Sheva) (in Hebrew).
198. See also Orly Almi, "No Man's Land: Health in the Unrecognized Villages of the Negev" (Physicians for Human Rights - Israel, July).
199. Abu Sharb, Israel's Step Children.
200. Ibid. Abu Sharb, Israel's Step Children.
201. Letter on file with Adalah.
202. HCJ 7115/97, Adalah et al. v. Ministry of Health et al. The Ministry of Health evaded its commitment to establish the clinics and the Court's decision for several years, eventually setting the clinics up in 2000 and 2001 following further pressure from Adalah and others.
203. HCJ 10054/09, Wadad El-Hawashly et al. v. Ministry of Health.
204. See Adalah, "Adalah Petitions Supreme Court against Health Ministry Demanding Re-opening of Mother and Child Clinics in Three Arab Bedouin Unrecognized Villages in the Naqab" (News update, 16 December 2009), available at http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php?file=09-12-16.
205. Israel Democracy Institute, Auditing Israeli Democracy - 2010 (English version), v.
206. Sikkuy, "Representation of Arab Citizens in the Justice System in Israel, 2008," available at http://www.sikkuy.org.il/docs/courts2008.doc (in Hebrew). Perhaps as a result of the lack of representation, as many as 40% of Arab citizens of Israel stated in 2009 that they had no trust in the judiciary.
207. Sammy Smooha, "Index of Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel - 2009: The Lost Decade of Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel" (University of Haifa, 25 May 2010), 9 (in Hebrew).
208. These parties are Ra'am-Ta'al (United Arab List and Arab Movement for Change), Tajammoa/Balad (National Democratic Assembly), and Al-Jabha/Hadash (Democratic Front for Peace and Equality). While al-Jabha is defined as a joint Arab-Jewish party, it is the largest parliamentary political party in the Arab community in Israel, and the vast majority of its members are Arab.
209. See Knesset Members by Parliamentary Group, http://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/ eng/mkindex-current-eng.asp?view=1.
210. These were Ms Hussniya Jabara, who served as an elected representative of the Meretz Party from 1999 to 2003, and Ms Nadia Hilou, who served as an elected representative of the Labor Party between 2006 and 2009.
211. Sections 7(A)(1) and (2) of the Basic Law: The Knesset. Section 7(A)(3) further stipulates incitement to racism as a basis for banning a political party list from Knesset elections.
212. Election Appeal 131/03, Balad - National Democratic Assembly v. Central Elections Committee;
213. Election Confirmation 50/03, Central Elections Committee v. Azmi Bishara;
214. Election Confirmation 11280/02, Central Elections Committee v. Ahmed Tibi.
215. See Adalah, "Central Elections Committee Votes against Attempt to Disqualify Leader of United Arab List from Upcoming Israeli Parliamentary Elections" (News update, 8 March 2006), available at http://www.old-adalah. org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php?file=06-03-08-1.
216. Election Appeal HCJ 561/09, National Democratic Assembly and United Arab List and Arab Movement for Change v. Central Elections Committee and Attorney General.
217. Law of Political Parties (1992) (Amendment 12) (2002), article 5.
218. The law does not apply retroactively.
219. Legislative bill no. 5/18, introduced on 1 April 2009.
220. Legislative bill no. 7/18, introduced on 1 April 2009.
221. Legislative bill no. 226/18, introduced on 1 April 2009.
222. Law of Election (1969) (Amendment 46) (2002), section 57.
223. Israel Democracy Institute, 2009 Israeli Democracy Index (English version), 53.
224. Israel Democracy Institute, Participation, Abstention and Boycott: Trends in Arab Voter Turnout in Israeli Elections (22 April 2009), available at http://www.idi.org.il/sites/english/ResearchAndPrograms/elections09/Pages/ ArabVoterTurnout.aspx.
225. University of Haifa Division of Communication and Media Relations, "2008 Index of Arab-Jewish Relations in Israel" (Press Release, 19 May 2009).
226. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2008, No. 59, Table 10.1.
227. CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2009, No. 60, Table 10.1.
228. Israel Democracy Institute, Participation, Abstention and Boycott.
229. Israel Democracy Institute, 2009 Israeli Democracy Index, 65.
230. Poll commissioned by the Maagar Mochot research institute, reported in Or Kashti, "Poll: Half of Israeli High Schoolers Oppose Equal Rights for Arabs," Haaretz (English edition), 11 March 2010.
231. Israel Democracy Institute, Participation, Abstention and Boycott, 66, 87.
232. Adalah represents the victims' families and continues to demand indictments in the October 2000 killings. See Adalah, Special Report on the October 2000 Killings, available at http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/october2000. php.
233. According to a poll conducted during the war by the newspaper Haaretz, despite images from Gaza depicting massive destruction and a large number of wounded and killed Palestinians, 82 % of the public believed that Israel has not egone too farg in the war. Yossi Verter, Poll Shows Most Israelis Back IDF Action in Gaza," Haaretz, 15 January 2009, available at http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/poll-shows-most-israelis-back-idf- action-in-gaza-1.268162.
234. Abeer Baker and Rana Asali, Prohibited Protest: Law Enforcement Authorities Restrict the Freedom of Expression of Protestors against the Military Offensive in Gaza (Adalah, November 2009) (in Hebrew). The English executive summary of the report is available at http://www.adalah.org/features/ prisoners/GAZA-REPORT-ENGLISH-FOR-THE-NEWSLETTER.pdf.
235. Ibid. Abeer Baker and Rana Asali, Prohibited Protest: Law Enforcement Authorities Restrict the Freedom of Expression of Protestors against the Military Offensive in Gaza, (2009) http://www.adalah.org/features/prisoners/ GAZA-REPORT-ENGLISH-FOR-THE-NEWSLETTER.pdf. Contrary to domestic and international law, and with the backing of the Supreme Court, the treatment of minors was identical to that of adults.
236. Adalah, Prohibited Protest.
237. Ibid. Prohibited Protest.
238. Ibid. Prohibited Protest.
239. Ibid. Prohibited Protest.
240. As was the case, for example, with the protests held on New Year's Day 2009 at Haifa University, on Ben-Gurion Boulevard in Haifa, at Tel Aviv University, and at BenGurion University in Be'er Sheva (Beer elSabe).
241. Third Periodic Report of Israel to the Human Rights Committee, CCPR/C/ISR/3 (21 November 2008), para. 200.
242. The Ministry of Justice Police Investigation Unit (Mahash) reviews the majority of complaints brought against police for the unlawful use of force by police officers. It is not an independent body. The majority of investigators within Mahash are police employees working on a temporary basis within the unit. The UN Human Rights Committee noted its concern at the lack of independence of police investigators in its recent Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee - Israel, CCPR/C/ISR/CO/3 (29 July 2010), para. 12. 225 Adalah sent an urgent letter to the attorney general demanding that he prohibit the GSS from making these threats, arguing that they infringed the right of Arab citizens to organize, demonstrate, and express their opinion and that they constitute an attempt by the GSS to interfere in Arab political activities in Israel.
243. For more information see Adalah, "Adalah to AG: Summoning Political Activists to GSS Investigation Is an Attempt to Frighten Them from Participating in Demonstrations of Solidarity with Gaza" (News update, 2 January 2009), available at http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php?file=09-1-2-1.
244. Adalah, Prohibited Protest.
245. Adalah, "Briefing Paper: Restrictions on Human Rights Organizations and the Legitimate Activities of Arab Political Leaders in Israel" (23 June 2010), available at http://www.old-adalah.org/newsletter/eng/jun10/docs/bp.pdf.
246. Adalah is representing MK Barakeh. The first hearing on the indictment was held on 10 March 2010, but the trial proceedings remain on hold following a Supreme Court petition submitted by Adalah in August 2010 against the joinder of the four offences. Adalah argued that the joinder stood to substantially harm the legal defence of MK Barakeh and undermine his rights to parliamentary immunity and a fair trial. For more information see Adalah, "The Political Trial of MK Mohammed Barakeh Opens before Tel Aviv Magistrates' Court" (News update, 11 March 2010), available at http://www.oldadalah.org/eng/ pressreleases/pr.php?file=11-03-10.
247. Adalah represented MK Naffaa at a hearing held before the AG and senior officials from the State Prosecutor's Office in March 2009. The state prosecutor recently informed Adalah that MK Naffaa has been indicted. See Adalah, "Knesset Committee Strips Arab MK Sa'id Naffaa of His Parliamentary Immunity; Attorney General to Criminally Indict Him for Political Offenses Surrounding His Visit to Syria; Adalah to Represent MK Naffaa" (News update, 28 January 2010), http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php? file=28-01-10.
248. Ibid. "Knesset Committee Strips Arab MK Sa'id Naffaa of His Parliamentary Immunity; Attorney General to Criminally Indict Him for Political Offenses Surrounding His Visit to Syria; Adalah to Represent MK Naffaa" (2010), http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/pressreleases/pr.php?file=28-01-10.
249. HCJ 11225/03, MKAzmi Bishara v. Attorney General et al., petition accepted 1 February 2006.
250. See, e.g., "Israel Silencing Internal Critics," Riz Khan (Alazeera, 14 June 2010), available at http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/ rizkhan/2010/06/20106136375951921.html.
251. See other MKs' attack on MK Zoabi at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= KBUxZnHb2ig.
252. See, e.g., "Dangerous Incitement" [Editorial], Haaretz, 7 June 2010.
253. On 7 October 2010, Adalah, on behalf of MK Zoabi and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, submitted a petition to the Supreme Court against the Knesset's decision to revoke MK Zoabi's parliamentary privileges. See Adalah, "Petition to Israeli Supreme Court: The Knesset's Revocation of MK Haneen Zoabi's Parliamentary Privileges Is Illegal and Must Be Cancelled" (News update, 7 November 2010), available at http://www.old-adalah.org/eng/ pressreleases/pr.php?file=07-11-10.