PALESTINIAN ARAB LOCALITIES IN ISRAEL AND THEIR LOCAL AUTHORITIES
This survey is the second of two surveys about the Palestinian localities in Israel, and the local authorities to which they belong. The first survey was conducted in 2006, and its findings were reported separately.
This current survey continues to focus on the characteristics of the local Arab authorities, and the extent of their capacities to provide basic services, public facilities and required infrastructure for the Palestinian communities within their areas of jurisdiction. The survey provides a detailed information database about the social, geographic, environmental and service reality of the population centers, with a focus on the latest demographic, social, economic and educational developments during the last decade (2004-2014).
The importance of this particular survey is that it was done almost 15 years after the Or Commission, headed by Justice Theodor Or, to investigate the October 2000 events, in which 13 Palestinians were killed by the Israeli police, 12 of them citizens of Israel. The commission accused the successive governments of Israel of structural and historical discrimination, and recommended following a policy of equality towards the Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel. The irony is that the Israeli government at the time accepted the commission’s findings, but never acted upon them. The Arab society remains in the lower rungs of the social-economic ladder, having the highest unemployment rates, and a rapid increase in violence and crimes.
Methodology
The survey population contains all the local authorities and municipalities in Arab villages and cities and Arab villages, in addition to local committees in unrecognized villages in the Naqab, located within the Green Line.
The beneficiaries from the study include the public sector (local authorities, government bodies etc.), and the private for-profit sector (educational institutions, research centers, private companies etc.), as well as the private not-for-profit sector (civil society organizations, trade associations etc.)
The data was collected using a questionnaire that was developed Rikaz, with consultation from various professional, academic and representative frameworks, and finally feedback from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. The questionnaire was completed by a member of the survey team during face-to-face interviews with officials from the professional departments in the local authorities.
The survey was comprehensive, a census in fact, and aimed to include all Arab local authorities in Israel within the 1949 armistice lines, with the exception of towns in the Jerusalem area.
The survey comprised 17 main sections, including: the local authority, geographical area, structural and strategic planning, buildings and residential units, government and public centers, social and cultural sector, educational sector, health sector, environmental sector, water and electricity network, sanitation and water drainage, agricultural sector, industrial sector, commercial services, transportation and roads, historical monuments and places.
In addition to these sections, there was an Interview with the head of the local authority, which included: preferences of the local authority from the head’s perspective, cooperation with other local authorities, satisfaction with the authority’s professional staff, recovery plans, and issues facing the locality.
Main Findings
Demographics: The Palestinian population in Israel reached 1,335,000 (not including Jerusalem and the occupied Golan Heights), constituting about 17% of the total population. There were 1,111,200 Muslims (83.2%), 114,500 Christians (8.6%) and 109,900 Druze (8.2%).
Distribution: More than half the Palestinians (52%) live in the Galilee district, about 20% in the Triangle area, and 17% in the Naqab in the south. About 8% of those live in mixed cities on the coast, such as Acre, Haifa, Jaffa, Lod and Ramlah.
Local Authority: 52.2 % of Arabs live in what are defined as “Arabic villages”, 39.6% in “Arabic cities”, with 55.9% in “large” population centers (over 15,000 people), 28.6% in “medium” size centers (5,000 – 15,000) and 15.6 % in “small” centers (less than 5,000).
Views of Palestinians towards Local Authorities: Residents noted that their satisfaction with the performance of the head of the local authority rested on: providing needed services (97%), expanding the structural map (94%), employing competent and capable people (92.6%), and availability of budgets (89%). When asked about the involvement of local authorities in political issues Arabs face, 66% of respondents answered that the local authority must take an active role, while 22% said it depended on the situation and circumstances.
When asked about the most important issues that the local authority should prioritize, the respondents listed formal education (36.6%), followed by allocating land for construction for young couples (21.5%). These were followed by education, sports and infrastructure.
Education: The low level of educational attainment in Israel, compared with OECD countries, places it at the lowest levels of the educational attainment scale for developed countries in the world. The Taub Center (2014) conducted comprehensive research about the current situation in the country from economic and societal aspects, and concluded that that Israel occupied the penultimate place. In addition, there is a wide gap between the Arab community and the Jewish community in terms of investment in the education system, on the part of the relevant ministries, government institutions, and the local authorities.
Socio-Economic Situation: The average monthly income of a Palestinian family in 2014 was 9,658 ILS, rising from 6,737 ILS in 2004. Within the labor force, Palestinians 15 years of age and older, constituted 43.6% in 2004, rising to 50.8% in 2014.
Palestinian Arab Localities in Israel and their Local Authorities