Adalah, the legal center for Arab minority rights in Israel, has reported that the Supreme Court has rejected the organization’s extraordinary motion for a second hearing on the ordered eviction of the residents of the Arab-Bedouin village of Atir-Umm al-Hiran.
Adalah had requested that the court reconsider its decision to approve Israel’s plan to evict the 1,000 Palestinian Arab-Bedouin residents from the site of their village in the Negev, in order to build the Jewish town of Hiran and expand the Yatir Forest over its ruins.
Hadash MK Dov Khenin (Joint List) during a demonstration against eviction of the Arab-Bedouin village of Atir-Umm al-Hiran. The sign held by MK Khenin reads (in print): “I oppose the destruction of Umm al-Hiran because:” and continues in handwriting: “every child deserves a home and the Negev will only have a real future if there will be true equality here.” (Photo: Activestills)
The Court’s refusal to reconsider its ruling of May 5, 2015 effectively means that the eviction and demolition of the village can proceed. In response to the decision, Adalah emphasized, that “Today, the Court has written yet another chapter – the fourth, to be precise – in the history of expulsion and displacement of Bedouin families since 1948, despite the fact that they were moved to these very villages by the Israeli military government in 1956.”
Adalah added: “The Court’s decision has legitimized Israel’s longstanding policy against Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel – a colonial policy rooted in an ideology of racial discrimination, segregation, and dispossession. The residents of Atir-Umm al-Hiran are now clinging to their existential, moral, and legitimate right to continue living on their land. They will continue their just struggle. Further discussions will be held in the coming days to plan the next steps of that struggle.”
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