Lack of Protective Structures Against Missile Attacks in Arab Localities
After more than a year of fighting on various fronts, it can now be clearly stated that Arab localities in Israel are suffering from a lack of protective structures. In order to meet its responsibilities toward the residents of Arab localities, the state must provide protective structures—immediately, and without delay.
The site where a missile fired from Lebanon hit a building in the arab city of Tira, photo by: Tal Gal/Flash90
Since October 7, thousands of rockets, missiles, anti-tank missiles, drones, and more have been fired on Israel, initially from the Gaza Strip, but subsequently also from Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Iran. Dozens of both Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel have been killed by these strikes, though the percentage of Arab civilians killed and wounded has been particularly high. After more than a year of fighting on various fronts, it can now be clearly stated that Arab localities in Israel are suffering from a lack of protective structures, especially in comparison to Jewish localities.
Israel has various types of protective structures, including safe rooms in individual homes, schools and workplaces, communal shelters that serve the residents or occupants of a full building, and public shelters that serve full neighborhoods and communities.
When missile and rocket strikes occur, many Arab citizens find themselves without safe spaces in which to take cover, and thus are unable to protect themselves and their families. Without access to the necessary protection in these localities, it is impossible to maintain a normal routine, something which is especially important as the war drags on. The lack of protective structures, and the disparity between Arab and Jewish localities in this regard, forces Arab residents to live in a state of constant peril, thus harming their basic rights to life, physical welfare, and equality. The sense of discrimination, in light of the differences in protection, is indeed strongly felt among Arab citizens, as revealed by a survey of the Arab public in Israel conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute during the early months of the war. The survey findings reveal that the majority of the Arab public (59.5%) believe that the State of Israel does not ensure the same level of provision of protective structures in Arab localities as it does in Jewish localities. In addition, the survey found increased levels of worry among respondents regarding their physical safety and that of their family members, relative to previous surveys.[1]
The issue of disparities in the provision of protective structures is not a new one, and it is raised anew with each round of conflict. A special report issued in 2018 by the State Comptroller’s Office, which focused on 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.[2] Of the 71 Arab local authorities mapped in the 2018 State Comptroller’s report, only 11 were found to have public shelters (29 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.[3] 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.[4]
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.[5]
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. 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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]
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.[9] According to data published in November 2023, around 21% of schools in the Bedouin sector in the Negev have no protective spaces at all.[10]
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.[11]
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.[12]
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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15] 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 passed 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 “Hesco” makeshift 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 should make immediate changes a reality that leaves Arab citizens and residents (and local authorities) vulnerable and insecure, and should act quickly to reduce the inequalities between Arab and Jewish localities.
[1] Adam Asad and Yaron Kaplan, Opinion poll of Arab society regarding the Iron Swords War: Around two-thirds of Arab citizens feel part of the State of Israel and its problems, Israel Democracy Institute, December 25, 2023.
[2] 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).
[3] Ibid., p. 30.
[4] Ibid., pp
. 31–38.
[5] 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).
[6] 2023 Knesset Research and Information Center report, p. 29.
[7] 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.
[8] Tali Heruti-Sover, “Mayor tells Gallant: 25,000 residents are not protected. Give us 50 protective structures,” The Marker, May 18, 2023.
[9] 2018 State Comptroller’s report, pp. 48, 73.
[10] 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.
[11] 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.
[12] Ibid.
[13] 2018 State Comptroller’s report.
[14] 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.
[15] 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.