On the occasion of the 48th Land Day, the Mossawa Center issued a statement calling on the Arab community to participate in the popular effort to stop the war on Gaza and work towards finding a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict , in addition to working to prevent the confiscation of the remaining lands of the Arabs in the Negev through targeting the land and attempts to evacuate unrecognized villages in the Negev. The Mossawa Center also emphasized the importance of holding the Israeli government responsible for providing proper planning for Arab towns in cooperation with local authorities and providing affordable housing solutions for Arab families and young couples.
The Mossawa Center linked the war, settlement, occupation, and the policies practiced by the current government towards the Arab community inside. It pointed to the efforts of various governmental institutions to reduce budgets allocated to solve the housing crisis and to the increase in land prices that prevent Arab citizens from exercising their right to build their homes and live with dignity and security. The government raises land prices to collect billions through the Israel Land Authority to fund settlement and the parties of the current government.
The Mossawa Center's Socio-Economic Unit indicated that the income of the Israel Land Authority during the year 2024 could reach 22.879 billion shekels, which will go to the state treasury to cover political expenses. The rise in land prices leads to an increase in housing prices. Instead of investing in solving the housing crisis in the Arab community and making state-owned land available for building at least 38,000 housing units at a cost of about 28.5 billion shekels, the Ministry of Housing, Planning Department, and other government offices allocated only 2.117 billion shekels for Arab community housing over five years, even though the housing and construction budget in 2024 reached about 6 billion shekels annually.
Planning:
The Mossawa Center examined the composition of the members of the National Council for Planning and Building, consisting of 32 members, a third of whom are representatives of government ministries, a third are representatives of local authorities, and the remaining third are public representatives and experts, including only 3 Arab members. Notably, the Arab community constitutes 21% of the overall society and should be represented by a larger number of members according to the State Service Law (Proper Representation). The National Council for Planning and Building disregards the law of proper Arab representation and does not actively involve them in national planning processes.
For the year 2024, about 330 million shekels were allocated to the Planning and Building Department, of which only 6.68 million shekels were allocated for structural planning for Arab towns and for implementing government decision 550 (support and purchase clause).
The Mossawa Center also pointed to plans by the Ministries of Finance and Internal Security to carry out widespread demolition and evacuation operations in the Negev area after the holiday break. The Planning Authority continues to issue demolition and evacuation orders for dozens of homes in unrecognized villages in the Negev.
The Mossawa Center affirmed that the struggle led by political parties, local authorities, and civil institutions since Land Day in 1976 has prevented the confiscation of more than 21,000 dunams in the Land Day Triangle area (Sakhnin, Arabeh, and Deir Hanna). Our struggles have also gained recognition for dozens of villages from 1993-1996, including Ein Hod, Arab al-Naim, Husseiniya, and others.
On the occasion of Land Day, the Mossawa Center organizes:
- A Jewish-Arab solidarity visit to the village of Al-Araqib.
- Youth workshops.
- An exhibition for the Land Day memorial.
- Production of a video explaining Land Day to the youth.
- A link to the book "The Story of the Land Day Memorial," which includes historical documents, photos, and articles, and narrates the story of building the memorial for the martyrs of Land Day by artists Abed Abdi and Gershon Knispel in the city of Sakhnin.
Link to the book "The Story of the Land Day Memorial," which includes historical documents, photos, and articles, and narrates the story of constructing the memorial for Land Day martyrs by artists Abed Abdi and Gershon Knispel in the city of Sakhnin in Arabic Hebrew, and English
The film "Land Day" within the "Owners of the Land" series by director Rowan Al-Damouni
