Move Forward with the Planning and Expansion of the Service Center in Rahma
- ACRI
- May 22
- 2 min read
On May 22, 2025, ACRI, Bimkom—Planners for Planning Rights, and Yael Agmon from the Future in the Desert Association sent an appeal to the head of the Authority for the Development and Settlement of Bedouins in the Negev. In our appeal, we emphasized the urgent need to advance planning processes and expand the temporary services center in the Bedouin settlement of Rahma. This is particularly important ahead of the upcoming school year, and as an important step in the establishment of a permanent services center and urban planning for the entire settlement.
The temporary services center in Rahma currently includes an elementary school with 18 classrooms, which are also used in collaboration with local groups for informal extracurricular activities for children and youth. The center is expected to expand to include welfare services and a youth center, all of which are critical for the settlement's residents, who for years have had only a mobile unit to provide welfare services.
Despite previous appeals by Bimkom and the Future in the Desert Association, there have continued to be significant delays in establishing a permanent services center, due mainly to a lack of coordination between the relevant authorities: the Israel Land Authority, the Local Planning and Building Committee in Yeruham, and the Yeruham Council.
In the petition, planner Cesar Yeudkin from Bimkom, Yael Agmon from the Future in the Desert Association, and lawyer Abir Joubran from ACRI emphasized that Rahma is a recognized settlement, and therefore immediate action must be taken to approve a detailed plan that will enable adding buildings to the current temporary services center and establishing a permanent services center. They stressed that the current situation is a violation of the right to education and the right to welfare services, and the necessity for restoring residents’ trust in the planning and regulation by implementing a process that is transparent, effective, and incorporates consistent public involvement.
Appeal by the organizations, May 22, 2025
