The Arab Center for Alternative Planning (ACAP) in 1948 occupied Palestine has found that 130000 Palestinian citizens living in Israel’s Arab areas live under the threat of having their homes destroyed by Israeli authorities.
This came in the results of a survey conducted recently by ACAP in cooperation with Sikkuy-Aufoq organization on the exact number of buildings that do not have construction permits in all Palestinian areas in Israel.
According to their survey there are about 29000 unlicensed buildings in Arab towns due to different Israeli restrictions and delays. 15000 of those buildings are small buildings agricultural sheds car repair shops and other structures.
Despite the fact that 87 percent of the unlicensed buildings in the central and northern regions are located within the approved structural plans and within areas designated for housing the state has not yet completed the necessary planning procedures in those areas that allow the issuance of permits.
72 percent of these buildings — about 10000 buildings that were included in the master plans — lack a detailed plan and permits cannot be obtained without such a plan.
In Arab areas where it is possible to receive a building permit ACAP and Sikkuy-Aufoq found that it takes an average of eight years for a permit to be granted compared with just 2.5 years in Jewish-majority areas.
