Funds for Wadi Ara Diverted to Benefit Jewish Communities
- ACRI
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
On June 21, 2026, ACRI filed a petition against the Ministries of Transport and Finance on behalf of six residents of Wadi Ara and the National Committee of Heads of Arab Local Authorities. The petition seeks an order directing the ministries and Netivei Israel – National Transport Infrastructure Company to cease using funds allocated for the establishment of a mass transit system along Highway 65 through Wadi Ara for other purposes, and to restore the funds so that they can be used for their original purpose.
The five-year plan for reducing disparities in Arab society, which was intended to address the longstanding discrimination experienced by the Arab public, provided for an investment of 557 million NIS from the Ministry of Transport’s budget for a project to establish a mass transit system along Highway 65 through Wadi Ara. However, a response to a Freedom of Information Request submitted by the organization Sikkuy-Aufoq—For a Shared and Equal Society revealed that only 6.5% of the allocated funds had been used for their original purpose. Meanwhile, more than 90% of the budget that had been used was directed to other projects benefiting local Jewish communities.
The petition argues that the State's conduct infringes on the rights to equality, life, and dignity. This is particularly true in light of the longstanding discrimination against the Arab public in general, when it comes to transportation infrastructure in particular, and most especially in taking into account the current lack of adequate safety conditions on Highway 65 in the Wadi Ara area. The use of the funds for purposes other than those for which they had been allocated was unauthorized, constitutes a breach of a governmental commitment, and undermines the purpose of the five-year plan.
This is not a case of an unequal allocation of resources made in good faith, but rather a conscious decision to deprive an already-disadvantaged community of essential resources and to deepen discrimination instead of advancing equality. The petitioners are also demanding an interim order prohibiting the State from continuing to use the funds allocated to the project until a decision is rendered on the petition, in order to prevent a situation in which the budget is exhausted and the project can no longer be implemented in the future.
HCJ 62121-06-26 Mahamid v. Ministry of Transport and Road Safety
Attorney: Hagar Shechter
The petition, June 21, 2026 (Heb)
The petition was written with the assistance of ACRI legal intern Saly May
