Israel: Short-term and protracted displacements following various conflicts

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^{31 December 2009}

Since the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, various waves of people have been displaced within the country. Arab villagers were displaced during and after the conflict which accompanied its creation, and their descendants have remained dispersed across the country; meanwhile Bedouin communities were displaced within the southern Negev region. In addition, residents of towns near the borders with Lebanon and Gaza have in recent years experienced shorter-term displacement due to rocket attacks during periods of conflict with Hezbollah and Hamas.

The main concern of people displaced in the context of the creation of the state of Israel, both in the north and in the south, has been to assert their right to the property they lost. In 2003 the Israeli Supreme Court accepted the government’s argument that the current security situation and the persistent assertion by Palestinian refugees of their right of return could not justify allowing the claims of the internally displaced petitioners. The majority of the land from which they were displaced has been put under state ownership.

In addition, Bedouin communities in the Negev, whether displaced or not, face numerous protection concerns, including very limited access to livelihoods, education and other services. The government’s programme to demolish villages it views as illegal means that communities face a continuous risk of displacement. NGOs such as the Regional Council of Unrecognized Arab Bedouin Villages have helped to persuade relevant ministries to halt planned demolitions of villages.

There is no notable effort on the part of the state or international actors to help people recover the property they lost during displacement. Neither the UN nor the government consider that there are any IDPs in Israel.

Israel: CESCR echoes NGO concerns over displacement (25 November 2011).

Displacement featured prominently in NGO’s contributions to the 47^th session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) on Israel. The NGOs consistently raised concerns over Israel’s forced evictions and displacement of Palestinians and Bedouins in Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). The main concern is Israel’s “Jerusalem 2020” plan which foresees further settlements in occupied East Jerusalem and its eastern periphery, including through the forcible transfer of nearly 27,000 Bedouins from around the Maale Adumim settlement. About 20 Bedouin communities along the road linking Jerusalem to the Jordan River have received demolition orders for January 2012. The NGOs also raised the threat of displacement of the Bedouins in unrecognised villages near Beersheva in the Negev.

In Gaza, the easing of the blockade heralded by the government had failed to deliver measurable results particularly for reconstruction. Out of more than 6,000 houses destroyed during Israel’s bombardments during Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009 just over 1,000 had reportedly been repaired. While Hamas has gained popularity as it has managed to smuggle building materials into Gaza, international humanitarian organisations have been unable to get permission to deliver materials to those most in need of them.

The Committee underlined that Israel had not delivered on the findings of its previous session, and questioned it on the displacement issues raised by the NGOs. Its members unequivocally refuted Israel’s established position that it had no responsibility in the OPT under human rights treaties and held no effective control over Gaza, and held it to account for its actions in both Israel and the OPT.

Since the establishment of the State of Israel, various waves of people have been displaced. Arab villagers were displaced during and after the conflict which accompanied the creation of Israel in 1948, and their descendants are dispersed across the country, while Bedouin communities were displaced in the southern Negev region. In addition, residents of towns near the borders with Lebanon and Gaza have in recent years experienced shorter-term displacement due to rocket attacks during periods of conflict with Hezbollah and Hamas.

The main concern of those displaced in the context of the creation of the state of Israel, both in the north and in the south, has been to assert their right to the property they lost when they were displaced. In 2003 the Israeli Supreme Court accepted the government’s argument that the current security situation and the persistent assertion by Palestinian refugees of their right of return could not justify allowing the claims of the internally displaced petitioners. Meanwhile, the majority of the land from which they were displaced has been nationalised.

In addition, Bedouin communities in the Negev face numerous protection concerns, including very limited access to livelihoods, education and other services. The government’s programme to demolish villages it views as illegal means that communities have very precarious existence, and are at risk of displacement. NGOs like the Regional Council of Unrecognized Arab Bedouin Villages have helped to persuade relevant ministries to halt planned demolitions of villages.

The UN does not consider that there are any IDPs in Israel, nor does the Israeli government. Some academics, Palestinian and Arab Israeli NGOs claim that some 150,000 to 300,000 people should be called IDPs today in Israel. These estimates are based on multiplying the original number of IDPs by the natural growth rate of the Arab population in Israel. As displacement occurred over 60 years ago, most of those included in these estimates are in fact the children and grandchildren of people who were displaced.

Note: The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre is no longer actively following the situation in Israel. For information on the remaining challenging for those displaced in the context of the establishment of the state of Israel and its aftermath, and for their descendants, please see the November 2009 profile.