Background: There are some 200,000 Bedouin living in the Negev. About half of this population lives in seven townships. The other half lives in 46 villages, of which 11 have been recognized by the State. The remaining population lives in 35 unrecognized villages–approximately 60-70,000 people. The indigenous Bedouin population of the Negev is among the … read more
Bimkom staff-member Sari Kronish was quoted in the article about the problematics of some of the new roads being paved in Jerusalem. Read the article here
Bimkom has helped residents of Issawiya object to a plan for a National Park that “will deprive them of the ability to develop the neighborhood, as a large portion of the proposed park is to be located on their land.” Read more about Issawiya and about the use of National Parks to limit Palestinian development.
Haaretz editorial February 17th 2013. The (Jewish) residents of Nofit wish their Bedouin neighbours would disappear. The Hawaled clan just want to improve their lifestyle. Read more here
On Februrary 10th, Bimkom along with residents in the working class neighborhood of Kiryat Yovel in Jerusalem will submit its objection to the Municipality’s plan to raze the existing low-density buildings and replace them with high-density towers on Zionism Street. This plan of raze and rebuild, known as pinui-buinui, is a government initiative which seeks to transfer … read more
Even in recognized villages residents cannot obtain building permits, and construction is considered illegal (including long-standing buildings and necessary services) . Infrastructure and services for basic needs are either altogether absent or substandard. Public services are severely lacking: the number of schools and classrooms is insufficient, there are very few kindergartens, despite the large number … read more
This year, Bimkom completed a successful round of planning workshops for East Jerusalem Palestinian women, which both exposed our planning team to the specific needs of the women in the public space (such as the need for public bathrooms and cross walks in front of schools) and empowered the women with knowledge about planning and … read more
Bimkom social anthropologist Shuli Hartman wrote an expert opinion to the High Court against the destruction of the West Bank Palestinian village Zanuta, which is quoted in this article. Haaretz: July 30 2012 Time is running out for Zanuta, yet another Palestinian village that Israel is threatening to obliterate. Read the article here
The International: Septemeber 19 2012 According to Palestinian and planning activists, Israeli authorities are abusing the pretext of archeological excavation to strengthen the case for park expansion. They say that when completed, the parks will form a kind of green belt around the eastern parts of Jerusalem, further severing it from the West Bank. Although … read more
