Provision of Basic Utilities

Planning:

The following table provides information concerning several prior decisions to give a legal municipal status to several “unrecognised villages”.
These villages are currently in different stages of the process for approving the plans.
Settlements with approved plans may go forward with infrastructure plans (electricity, water, sewage and communication).
These settlements are:

North District - Haifa District

As can be seen in the above table, the village of Arab El-Naim will be recognised after its plans are completed and approved. Ein Hod’s building plans are completed and await approval (both these settlements were of special concern to the Committee).

Planning - the Bedouin Sector in the South:
There are now, according to estimates, more than 120,000 Bedouins living in the Negev desert area, in the south of Israel, with a yearly population growth rate of about 5.8 percent.

In 1999, the government decided on the establishment of up to 5 new Bedouin towns. Under a special new arrangement made for the compensation of Bedouins moving into towns or recognized villages, Bedouins shall not be charged for the land in the new village. Moreover, they shall receive significant compensation for any property they had to abandon at the illegal settlement.

A new proposal seeks to establish four additional Bedouin settlements: two villages, a suburban town and an agricultural village. In addition, two new neighborhoods are to be built in existing towns.

The aforementioned decisions gained the support of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and the General Health Fund. Each of these will be responsible for the establishment of its institutions in the new settlements, in order to provide for the establishment of an infrastructure of schools and health services.

On 21.08.2000, the government decided to embark upon a new policy regarding the Bedouin population in the South. The purpose of this new program is to close the social and economic gaps, which exist between this population group and the rest of the population.

The government’s new program includes the building of new settlements for the Bedouin sector. An attempt will be made to meet the requirements of the Bedouin population for additional land. However, ownership of land will no longer be a precondition for supplying services. New settlements have already been decided upon and will include Mareit (Darajat), Beit-Pelet, and Beit-Hil. Regarding these new settlements, plans were already presented to the planing institutions for approval. The new settlements of Hawashla, UmBetin, Tarabin AlSana, and Molada are still in in the planning stage.