On 15 September 2014, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected Adalah’s request to appeal against the Be’er Sheva District Court’s decision, which permits the demolition of all homes in the unrecognized Arab Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran in the Negev. As a result, the villagers have exhausted all legal possibilities available to them to cancel the demolition orders against their village. The Israeli authorities plan to demolish the village in order to establish a new Jewish town called “Hiran” over its ruins.

A sign leading to the unrecognized Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran (Photo: Adalah)

The residents of Atir-Umm al-Hiran, represented by Adalah, have been involved in a tenacious legal struggle for nearly a decade and have been appearing before Israeli courts in regards to two parallel cases: the case of the demolition orders issued against their homes, and the case of the eviction orders against the residents which is still pending before the Supreme Court and awaiting a decision, expected in the coming months. If the Court accepts the residents’ appeal in the evacuation case, it would reopen the opportunity for the residents to demand the cancellation of the demolition orders.

Related:

Court rejects motion to cancel home demolition in unrecognized Bedouin village

Read – Adalah’s Report on Umm al-Hiran “Nomads Against Their Will”

See – A short film about the village

Supreme Court: Arab Bedouin in the Negev have the right to access to water

Arab-Bedouin call on court to block destruction of their Negev village