Neve Midbar Regional Council Has Stopped Providing Educational Services for Children of Unrecognized Villages
- ACRI
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
For years, the Neve Midbar Regional Council has been providing educational services to thousands of students who are residents of unrecognized villages under a contracting agreement between the council and the Ministry of Education. On December 18, 2025, the Regional Council announced that, due to an ongoing budgetary and operational dispute with the Ministry of Education it would stop running the educational institutions—dozens of schools and kindergartens. Many employees hired by the Regional Council, including kindergarten assistants and maintenance and cleaning workers, received termination notices. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has not responded or presented an alternative plan.
On January 7, 2026, ACRI appealed to the Ministry of Education and to the Neve Midbar Regional Council with a demand to ensure that educational services continue for students from the unrecognized villages. Attorneys Elza Bugnet and Abeer Jubran note in the appeal that the cessation of educational services would affect approximately 11,000 students aged 3-18. The appeal also emphasizes that the responsibility for providing educational services to children of the unrecognized villages rests first and foremost with the Ministry of Education. If the Council, which serves as a contractor, is not fulfilling its obligations, the Ministry of Education must immediately find an appropriate alternative solution.
A few days after the petition was filed, the Neve Midbar Regional Council resumed educational services for schools and kindergartens, including teaching aides, maintenance workers, administration, and security, and the children were able to return to their schools. The Regional Council and the Ministry of Education began negotiations on renewing their contract, and the petition remained pending.
The Neve Midbar Regional Council announced on April 14, 2026 that negotiations with the Ministry of Education had failed, and it would therefore stop providing educational services for the children of the unrecognized villages starting on April 30. ACRI submitted a request to the court for an urgent hearing on the petition.
The Be'er Sheva District Court held a hearing on the petition on August 28, 2026, and issued an interim order requiring the Ministry of Education and the Neve Midbar Regional Council to continue providing educational services until further notice. The interim order also instructed the Ministry and the Council to continue working towards an agreement in order to ensure that educational services continue to be provided until the end of the school year. Another hearing was held on May 3, 2026. The Ministry and the Council were required to continue negotiations, and a follow-up hearing was scheduled for the next week. In the meantime, the interim order is in effect, and classes are taking place as usual.
Administrative Petition 37413-01-26 -----v. Director of the Southern District, Ministry of Education
Attorneys: Elza Bugnet, Abeer Joubran
ACRI's appeal, January 7, 2026 (Heb)
Petitioners' request for an urgent hearing, April 2026 (Heb)
Response from the Neve Midbar Regional Council, April 2026 (Heb)
The decision, April 28, 2026 (Heb)
The appeal was written with the assistance of field researcher Musa Al-Huashla
