Lack of Protective Structures Against Missile Attacks in Arab Localities

As Israeli citizens are facing severe threats to their safety during following an escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran, it is, once again, clear that Arab localities lack proper protective infrastructure against missile attacks.

Photo by REUTERS

This is an updated version of an article first published on November 12, 2024.

Thanks to Dr. Adam Asad, who collaborated with the author on writing the first stage of this review.Thanks to Dr. Adam Asad, who collaborated with the author on writing the first stage of this review.

On Saturday, June 14, two days into the escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran, a deadly missile strike hit the town of Tamra, located in the Lower Galilee: four women were killed when a missile launched from Iran struck their home. This tragedy has once again underscored the longstanding issue of inadequate protective infrastructure in Arab Israeli localities —a well-documented problem that has yet to be meaningfully addressed. Since this analysis was published in October 2024, Israel has remained in a multi-front war, most recently marked by direct hostilities with Iran. Hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones have been launched at Israel from Iran and Yemen, targeting civilian centers and causing casualties and widespread destruction. These serious incidents once again highlight the critical importance of having standard, lifesaving protective measures in place, accessible across all population groups.

Even now, nearly two years after the ongoing war that began on October 7, 2023, the lack of safe rooms and communal shelters in Arab communities remains unaddressed. The escalation with Iran has demonstrated that the missile threat to Israel is not confined to communities along the northern or southern borders; it applies to the entire country, including areas not previously considered to be on the front lines. In light of this broad threat, it is increasingly clear that steps are required for Israel to properly protect hundreds of thousands of its citizens, who are disproportionately vulnerable. In many of these communities, standard protective infrastructure is virtually nonexistent, which effectively leaves residents defenseless in times of emergency.

Our analysis indicates that Bedouin communities in the Negev are particularly vulnerable. Residents of these communities continue to live under constant threat, and during missile alerts, they are forced to seek shelter under bridges, in drainage ditches, and in abandoned buildings. This is a strong indication of the absence of institutional protection for the entirety of this civilian population. In January of this year, the Supreme Court even rejected a petition demanding that the state be obligated to provide protective infrastructure to these communities. Although the justices acknowledged that the state is obligated to protect the lives of its citizens, they ruled that such an obligation is “dependent on circumstances” and based on security, public, and budgetary considerations that lie at the core of the authorities’ discretion.

As will be shown below, Arab localities in Israel are in a state of inadequate protection and suffer from gaps in protective infrastructure compared to Jewish localities (some of which also lack adequate protection). This is also supported by data collected since the start of the current war. This reality –  of insufficient protection for Arab communities –  is not new; it has been raised in numerous discussions, reports, and court rulings. Yet, despite the fact that this constitutes a major threat to the citizens of the State of Israel, and despite various decisions, programs, and actions taken on the issue, the government has not yet completed the fortification of Arab localities against the threat, and the protection gaps between populations persist. Even now, during an unprecedented series of deadly Iranian missile attacks, many Arab citizens remain without protection and with no means to safeguard themselves or their families. The absence of protective infrastructure in these communities also makes it impossible to maintain an emergency routine—something that becomes increasingly necessary as the fighting continues. 

Our conclusion from this analysis is that the absence of such protective infrastructure condemns the residents of these communities to live in constant danger and undermines their fundamental rights to life, bodily integrity, and equality.

A special report issued in 2018 by the State Comptroller’s Office, which examined protective spaces and shelters in Arab local authorities, presented a chastening state of affairs: 46% of residents in the Arab sector (some 550,000 people) live in buildings without protective spaces as per regulations, compared with 26% of Israel’s overall population. The picture is even worse in localities situated close to Israel’s borders: Among the Jewish population, close to 100% of residents in localities within 9km of the border have protective structures, while more than 50% of Arab residents within the same distance of the border do not have protective structures. In areas situated 9–20 km from the border, around 65% of the Arab population, versus around 30% of the Jewish population, lack protective structures.State Comptroller, Protective spaces and shelters within the boundaries of local authorities in the non-Jewish sector in the north and south, 2018 (henceforth referred to as the 2018 State Comptroller’s report). Of the 71 Arab local authorities mapped in the 2018 State Comptroller’s report, only 11 were found to have state-provided communal shelters (29 such shelters in total), and in three of these authorities there was only one shelter for the entire population of residents. There were no public shelters in the remaining 60 local authorities.Ibid., p. 30. In addition to the overall lack of public shelters, the report noted that the few shelters available were inaccessible to people with disabilities, and that the large majority of them were unsuitable for extended stays due to the absence of adequate ventilation, air conditioning, running water, and bathrooms.Ibid., pp. 31–38.

The disparity in protective structures is also evident with regard to educational institutions in Arab local authorities. According to data published by the Ministry of Education in November 2023, around 29% of schools in the Arab state education system have either highly inadequate protective spaces or none at all. By way of comparison, the equivalent proportions in the (Jewish) state secular and state religious education systems are 13% and 12% respectively.Assaf Wininger, Disparities in protective spaces in educational institutions against the backdrop of the Iron Swords War, Knesset Research and Information Center, November 30, 2023 (henceforth referred to as the 2023 Knesset Research and Information Center report).

Among residents of southern Israel, the population group that suffers from a lack of protective structures to a particularly severe extent is that of the Negev Bedouin. The Bedouin population, numbering some 300,000 people, is all in range of rockets from the Gaza Strip, and some settlements are located close to sensitive military installations that are strategic targets for attack. Yet despite these circumstances, many Bedouin residents of the Negev do not have any access to proper protective spaces. Thus, for example, in Rahat (the largest Arab local authority in Israel), located some 30km from the Gaza Strip and home to around 80,000 residents, there is not a single public shelter.2023 Knesset Research and Information Center report, p. 29. By way of comparison, in the town of Ofakim, which is also around 30km from Gaza and has around 40,000 residents, there are several dozens of public shelters.2018 State Comptroller’s report. See also remarks made by the mayor of Rahat at the Knesset Interior and Environmental Protection Committee on October 16, 2023. Data regarding the number of public shelters in Ofakim are taken from the municipality website. In addition, many of the homes in Rahat lack safe rooms as they were built before 1992 (when the requirement for homes to be constructed with safe rooms was introduced). According to the municipality’s estimates, around 25,000 residents do not have access to protective spaces.Tali Heruti-Sover, “Mayor tells Gallant: 25,000 residents are not protected. Give us 50 protective structures,” The Marker, May 18, 2023.

This lack is also evident in the educational institutions in Arab local authorities in the Negev. In the schools in which studies are held in mobile structures, there are no protective measures at all, and though other schools may have shelters, these are small and do not have room for all the school’s students. Similarly, most of the schools lack the required emergency equipment as per regulations.2018 State Comptroller’s report, pp. 48, 73. According to data published in November 2023, around 21% of schools in the Bedouin sector in the Negev have no protective spaces at all.2023 Knesset Research and Information Center report. See also Shira Kadari-Ovadia, “Proportion of educational institutions with protective spaces in the Bedouin sector is significantly lower than in the rest of the country,” Ha’aretz, November 13, 2023.

The lack of protective structures is particularly severe in the non-recognized Bedouin villages in the Negev, where according to various estimates, the approximately 120,000 residents of 35 non-recognized settlements have no protection at all against rocket and missile fire. Because of their non-recognized status, the construction in these villages is very lightweight (with no safe rooms), and thus even sheltering in inner rooms of their homes does not offer any real protection to these residents. Since these non-recognized villages do not lie within the boundaries of any local authority, there are also no protective spaces in public areas. For example, in the village of Al-Zarnoug, which has some 6,200 residents, there is not a single protective space—not in schools, nor in clinics, nor in private homes (which have roofs of tin or plasterboard). The only building in the village with a concrete roof is the mosque.Eden Solomon, “’We turned the siren off, in any case we don’t have anywhere to run to’: The Negev Bedouin are again left without shelters,” Ha’aretz, October 10, 2023.

In addition to protective structures, many of the non-recognized villages also lack sirens, and over the years it has been claimed that the Iron Dome defense system does not shoot down rockets aimed at these areas, because the non-recognized villages are defined by the system as “uninhabited areas.” Thus, projectiles fired toward these areas are not intercepted, meaning that there is absolutely no defense in non-recognized villages against rocket attacks. In such circumstances, and given their inability to protect themselves in any case, residents of some of these villages have decided to turn off the sirens installed in local schools.Ibid.

Indeed, since the beginning of the conflict in October 2023, many homes and residents in the non-recognized villages have been hit by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip. On the very first day of fighting (October 7), 20 Bedouin civilians were killed by rocket fire—17 of them residents of non-recognized villages, and six of these children. The three other civilians were residents of the Bedouin city of Rahat. In addition to those killed, there have also been dozens injured in attacks. Another example of the vulnerable status of the non-recognized villages is evident in the story of the severe injuries suffered by seven-year-old Amina al-Hassouni, the only casualty of the Iranian combined missile and drone attack on Israel in April 2024. Amina was hit in the head by falling shrapnel that struck her home in the non-recognized village of Al-Fur’a, close to Arad.

Like the Arab localities in the south, the Arab localities along Israel’s northern border also suffer from a lack of protective structures. The 2018 State Comptroller’s report noted that the main disparities in the provision of protective structures in the northern district were evident in Arab localities, in which not only was there a low proportion of homes with protective spaces, but there was also a lack of public shelters and of protective spaces in educational institutions. Even in local authorities that do have public shelters, these lack the necessary facilities to enable extended stays during emergencies, such as ventilation, air conditioning, running water, and bathrooms.2018 State Comptroller’s report. The data show that in localities that lie within 9km of the border with Syria and Lebanon, around 15% of all residents (numbering some 50,000 Jews and Arabs in total) are not properly protected. Of these, around a third are within 4km of the border, with the rest between 4km and 9km from the border. Of those 50,000, 60% are Arabs.State Comptroller’s Office, Preparations to protect the civilian population from the threat of missiles and rockets (physical protection, warning, and evacuation): Follow-up report, 2020. Looking at the provision of protective structures in settlements up to 40km from the northern border, around a third of residents do not have proper protection, with 70% of these being Arab citizens. The lack of protective structures for Arab citizens of Israel in the north is well known to the IDF, and it stems (among other factors) from the state’s outdated assumption that Arab localities would not be hit if and when rocket attacks occur. This assumption changed following the Second Lebanon War, during which 18 Arab citizens were killed, some by direct hits from rocket attacks.Yaniv Kubovich, “Not a single decent shelter in Sakhnin: Around a third of localities in the north have a severe protective problem; 70% of them are Arab,” Ha’aretz, November 27, 2017. Indeed, since the recent intensification of the conflict on the northern border, a large number of casualties have been reported among Arab residents living in Arab localities. This included the tragedy in Majdal Shams, in which 12 children were killed by a direct hit of a rocket on a soccer field. There have also been fatalities in other localities, including Majd al-Krum.

Since the outbreak of the war, the government of Israel has adopted a series of decisions regarding protective structures in localities on both fronts (northern and southern), as well as the evacuation of residents from certain areas. Some of these decisions also apply to Arab localities. It should be noted that most of these discussions and decisions referred to Arab localities in the Negev. The IDF Home Front Command, in partnership with the Ministry for Social Equality, placed 80 protective structures at bus stops, and at least another 50 protective structures close to community centers. However, no such structures were installed close to educational institutions, with the only protection provided being 32 “Hasko” structures that were set up, consisting of large sandbags surrounding an area sufficient for 100 people, but without a roof or any overhead protection. Regarding Arab localities in the north, with the exception of the evacuation of several villages close to the border, no action has been taken. 

Despite the fact that rocket and missile fire pose a major threat to the State of Israel, and despite the various decisions made and plans and activities agreed upon, the state has yet to complete the protection of Arab localities against this threat, and there remain significant disparities in the provision of protective structures in these localities (in both the north and south of the country). Consequently, most Arab residents of these localities do not have access to any form of shelter and lack the ability to protect themselves and their families during missile and rocket attacks. The provision of physical protection to a degree that meets the needs of the population in Israel is an essential condition for dealing with the threat posed. Beyond keeping people safe during attacks, the provision of sufficient protective spaces is necessary in order to allow life to continue under a fairly normal routine, and vital services to be provided to Israel’s citizens, during periods of conflict and emergency. The lack of protective structures forces residents of Arab localities to live in constant danger, severely harming their basic rights to life, physical welfare, and equality.

It is the state’s duty to act to reduce the inequalities in provision of protective structures, and to safeguard the security and welfare of all its residents, including Arab residents and citizens, both in normal times and during wartime. As long as the disparities between Jewish and Arab localities in terms of protective structures remain, then this duty is not being fulfilled.

In order to meet its responsibilities toward the residents of Arab localities, the state must provide protective structures—immediately, and without delay—to all those localities that lack them, and must act to create protective spaces in their educational institutions and health clinics. Speakers must be installed within the non-recognized Bedouin villages in the Negev so that warning sirens can be sounded, and the Iron Dome system must also shoot down rockets and missiles that would otherwise land in and around these non-recognized villages. In addition, in localities in which there are public shelters or protective spaces, it should be ensured that these have the necessary physical conditions to allow for extended stays. Ultimately, the state must urgently act to change the reality that leaves Arab citizens and residents (and local authorities) exposed and unprotected, and take concrete steps to reduce the inequalities between Arab and Jewish localities.