LOD, ISRAEL // The two-acre lot in the city of Lod is unpaved and barren save for mounds of cardboard boxes, empty water bottles, plastic bags and other rubbish.
But the long-neglected land is the coveted prize in a months-long battle between Israeli planning authorities, who want it for a police station, and residents of the overcrowded adjacent Arab-Israeli neighbourhood of Kerem Al Tufaah, who say they desperately need the space for new homes.
Late last week, the neighbourhood achieved a significant victory in a legal challenge to the police-station plan that lawyers said could help to fight widespread discrimination against Arabs on construction issues.
In a ruling described by an attorney for the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (Acri) as a "significant achievement" for Israeli-Arabs, a district court judge in Lod ruled in favour of a petition filed by two rights groups and three Kerem Al Tufaah activists.
The petitioners had asked the court to allow them to present their claims to Israel's national planning and building council. That demand came after a regional planning body rejected their objections and denied their request for an appeal.
The ruling is a rare instance of an Israeli court allowing Arabs to advance their challenge to construction plans after being overruled by local authorities, said Auni Banna, a lawyer for Acri.
The victory, though far from ensuring that the national council will cancel the plan, could still spur officials to take more heed of Arab citizens' interests when approving building plans, Mr Banna said.
The ruling could also advance other petitions against plans that discriminate against Arabs, he said. As an example, he cited the anticipated approval for construction of Jewish towns in the Negev desert while in parallel refusing to recognise - and therefore connect to electricity, water or sewerage systems - the area's Bedouin villages.
"This is only the start, but we need a mass of such rulings to show Israeli planning authorities that they have to take Arab interests into consideration," Mr Banna said.
Israel's Arab citizens, who account for a fifth of the population, have long faced discrimination in areas such as construction. Planning authorities have for years neglected to update building plans for many Arab communities across Israel, in effect preventing officials from issuing new construction approvals or legalising housing that had already been built for growing families without legal permits.
Kerem Al Tufaah in Lod, a town about 20 kilometres from Tel Aviv, does not exist officially. It is not included in any building plan because the last plan for the area in which it is located was drafted in the 1970s, which is when the community began to grow significantly.
As a result, streets in the 1,000-strong rundown neighbourhood are unpaved, unlit and lack names, houses have no numbers, and rubbish collection is infrequent. Residents say the disputed lot is the only space available for them to build more homes and facilities such as playgrounds and youth centres that would ease their crowded living conditions.
One 56-year-old resident, who gave only his first name, Esa, said that he, his five brothers and their families - altogether 35 people - lived together in a house that they had doubled in size in recent years by constructing more rooms illegally for lack of official permits.
Their home and backyard are surrounded by graffiti-covered tin panels because the city refuses permission to build concrete walls.
Esa said his seven grandchildren slept on mattresses spread out on the floor throughout the house and spent much of their time indoors because the nearest playground was 2km away. "We need playgrounds and soccer fields, not a police station," he said.
Despite the court's favourable ruling, some residents said they doubted the police station plan would be scrapped. Mohammed Abu Shrekey, 58, an activist for Arab rights since the age of 15, said: "We have long lost our confidence in the legal system. Courts typically don't help us out with housing problems."
Nevertheless, he said the neighbourhood's residents might tap other legal or public-relations venues to block the station's construction.
"We won't stop fighting to prevent the police station from being posted here like a thorn in our throat."
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UNpaid bills:
Countries with largest unpaid bill for UN budget in 2019
USA – $1.055 billion
Brazil – $143 million
Argentina – $52 million
Mexico – $36 million
Iran – $27 million
Israel – $18 million
Venezuela – $17 million
Korea – $10 million
Countries with largest unpaid bill for UN peacekeeping operations in 2019
USA – $2.38 billion
Brazil – $287 million
Spain – $110 million
France – $103 million
Ukraine – $100 million
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
WandaVision
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
Directed by: Matt Shakman
Rating: Four stars
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
How England have scored their set-piece goals in Russia
Three Penalties
v Panama, Group Stage (Harry Kane)
v Panama, Group Stage (Kane)
v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)
Four Corners
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via John Stones header, from Ashley Young corner)
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, header, from Trippier corner)
v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)
One Free-Kick
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, via Jordan Henderson, Kane header, and Raheem Sterling, from Tripper free-kick)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
more from Janine di Giovanni
More on animal trafficking
Ways to control drones
Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.
"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.
New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.
It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.
The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.
The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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South Korea
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