Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality
פורום דו-קיום בנגב לשוויון אזרחי
منتدى التعايش السلمي في النقب من أجل المساواة المدنية

Before disaster strikes:an urgent petition to the Israeli Supreme Court demanding immediate access to Coronavirus testing in Bedouin villages

01.04.2020

On the 14th of April the Supreme Court rejected our petition on the grounds that it will not intervene with the Ministry of Health’s work. However, one of the judges made important comments in which he noted that test should be done in unrecognized villages. We will continue to follow the issue.

Adalah’s Attorney, Sawsan Zaher, filed (1 April 2020) a petition on behalf of the Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality, High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel, the Arab Doctors Association in the Naqab, and the Regional Council for Unrecognized Villages in the Naqab.

The urgent petition to the Israeli Supreme Court called on Israeli authorities to immediately address the needs of Arab Bedouin communities the Naqab region now confronting the threat of the Coronavirus by providing testing centers and bolstered emergency ambulance services.

Photo: A medical clinic in the Bedouin village of Umm Batīn. Michal Rotem, 2014