20 December 2012

Bulldozers destroy a Bedouin home in an unrecognized village in the Negev

NIF flagship grantee Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) has issued its annual "State of Human Rights" report to mark International Human Rights Day. The 2012 report for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories demonstrates the need for improvement of human rights in all areas of activity, especially housing.

The report highlights restrictive planning policies in Arab towns and villages that limit residential building and prevent development, leaving many Arab citizens of Israel without viable housing options. The situation is particularly dire for the Negev Bedouin, where 35 villages, home to 70,000 people, remain unrecognized by the Israeli government and lack basic services such as paved roads, running water, and electricity. The villages are subject to continuing police harassment and demolition orders - in some cases, carried out violently.

In the Jewish sector, the report notes that public housing, the issue that was at the heart of the social protest of summer 2011, has seen no improvement. On the contrary, the government opposed the promotion of affordable housing legislation, while continuing to systematically drain the current pool of available public housing units.

The report also detailed rising persecution of refugees, threats to democracy and freedom of expression by Knesset legislation and by policies enacted by local government, and ongoing human rights violations in the Occupied Territories. However, also noted are some positive developments with steps taken by the government to improve the rights of disabled people, as well as Ministry of Health initiatives to promote access to healthcare and to decrease the discrepancies in healthcare between different populations.