The Origins of Dar ElHanoun
The lands of Dar ElHanoun were purchased by the Abu Hillal family at the beginning of the twentieth century, and Dar ElHanoun's residents legally own their lands to this day. The first houses in Dar ElHanoun date from the 1920s. [note 1] In order to get an appreciation of the development that took place in Palestine since that time, it is worth noting that the city of Tel-Aviv was founded in 1909 as a small neighborhood.
During the 1948 war the majority of Palestinians in what came to be the State of Israel were driven out of their lands. The residents of Dar ElHanoun stayed in their village. [note 2] However, after the State of Israel had been founded and Wadi Ara had been annexed to it, the existence of Dar ElHanoun was ignored. The lands owned by Dar ElHanoun residents were defined “agricultural lands”, without much attention to the fact that stone houses had existed on these lands for thirty years. In effect, the State of Israel denied the legality of the houses and infrastructure in the village. This situation has persisted to this day. Similar statutory definitions of “agricultural lands” or “scenic areas” are systematically applied to deny recognition from many Arab villages and neighborhoods.

Implications of the “unrecognized” status
The lack of state recognition affects every aspect of life in Dar ElHanoun. The construction of new houses and renovation of existing ones are prohibited by the State of Israel. Demolition orders and other legal procedures are pending against most houses in the village. Most sinisterly, possible demolition of their houses is a threat that prosecutes all the residents of Dar ElHanoun. Some houses in Dar ElHanoun have already been demolished. Fines and legal expenses pose heavy economical burdens on the residents.
The people of Dar ElHanoun are considered to be living there illegally, and as illegal dwellers they have no right of receiving state services at their village. In this way, the construction laws and the planning authorities turn innocent people, living on their land, into criminals. This situation distorts public opinion and prevents any legal possibility to improve the physical situation in Dar ElHanoun. The village has no paved road leading to it, no electricity, no sanitation facilities or telephone connection, no health, education or post services. Water in the village comes from a private well. Dar ElHanoun does not appear on the official maps of the State of Israel and receives no services from the local municipality to which the village's lands are annexed – the Menashe municipality. This situation creates daily hardships to the residents. Elderly people, pregnant women and ill people need to get all treatments outside the village, traveling on private vehicles on the bumpy 1km dirt road that leads to it. Dar ElHanoun has no education or recreation facilities for the children and teenagers in the village. Many of the young people in the village have chosen to build their houses elsewhere – not an easy decision considering the great housing shortage in other Arab communities in Israel.

The struggle of Dar ElHanoun for recognition
It is remarkable that despite all these hardships, ten families of around eighty people have remained in their village and continue their struggle for recognition and equality. In the sixty years since the foundation of the State of Israel, the residents of Dar ElHanoun have tried many ways to reach a solution for the problem.
At the statutory level, the residents have appealed to the planning authorities in continuing requests to recognize Dar ElHanoun. Despite the fact that as citizens they are entitled to receive a statutory state plan, the residents prepared, on their own expense, a plan for developing the village. This plan was rejected by the Israeli Ministry of the Interior (see below). Another proposal was made by the local municipality Menashe and the nearby Arab municipality of Arara. [note 3] These municipalities agreed to a solution in which Dar ElHanoun would be annexed as a neighborhood to the village of Arara. This plan as well was flatly rejected by the Israeli Ministry of the Interior and its planning authorities.
At the legal level, in 2004 the residents together with the Legal Clinic at Tel-Aviv University appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court, in a request that the Israel Electric Corporation would be required to connect Dar ElHanoun to the electricity network. The court rejected this appeal on the grounds that the Ministry of the Interior had refused to approve any statutory plan for the village. Thus, the position of the Ministry of the Interior prevents any services from the village. Various fines and demolition orders have been issued by the Ministry of the Interior against private houses in Dar ElHanoun and against the short asphalt area that was paved in the Arab-Jewish work camp in 2001. The residents duly reacted in court to these legal suits, and they continue their legal struggle against them.
At the public and political arena, Dar ElHanoun residents have cooperated intensively with various civil organizations in Israel, including The Association of Forty, Taayush, Bimkom, Mossawa, Karame and others. The residents of Dar ElHanoun appeared numerous times before the committee of Internal Affairs of the Israeli Knesset. Consequently, the Knesset committee called the planning authorities to recognize Dar ElHanoun and create a statutory plan for the village. The committee also called the government to supply Dar ElHanoun with all necessary facilities, including electricity. [note 4] So far, the Israeli Ministry of the Interior has refused to act according to these calls. In their public and political campaign, the residents have received support from members of Knesset of a wide range of political parties, including Balad, Hadash, Meretz and the Labor party. Many of those MKs visited Dar ElHanoun and expressed their support in its cause. The residents initiated numerous demonstrations and protest vigils calling the Israeli government to recognize the village. Press reports and articles appeared about the village in major Israeli newspapers. A large ad in the Haaretz newspaper was published in November 2005, calling the ministry to recognize Dar ElHanoun. Many of these activities were initiated by the Arab-Jewish work camp that was organized in Dar ElHanoun together with Taayush in 2001. [note 5] The work camp was a heartwarming experience for the 1000 participants, and its physical results included a small playground for children and a short asphalt area at the entrance to the village, needed to overcome dust and mud problems. But now also this short asphalt area is being threatened by a demolition order.

The position of the Israeli Ministry of the Interior
As mentioned above, the planning authorities in Israel have constantly rejected all plans submitted by the residents of Dar ElHanoun. The official reason given for this rejection is quoted below:
“There is no justification for establishing a new settlement or a new neighborhood in this place. The mere existence of a few houses that were constructed illegally and not according to a general plan cannot form a justification for approving the construction of a whole neighborhood in this place”. [note 6]
Two facts should be mentioned in relation to this position:
1. Dar ElHanoun dates back to the 1920s, when the State of Israel did not exist. Thus, the references to “a new settlement” and “illegal constructions” are misleading in connection to this village. A detailed analysis of the planning situation in Dar ElHanoun, with alternative plans for recognition, appears in a report of Bimkom - Planners for Planning Rights association. [note 7]
2. The Israeli planning authorities have time and again approved state plans for Jewish settlements in the same area. More than 5,000 people now live in these new settlements, which only date back to the late 1970s and the early 1980s. [note 8] This suggests a policy of preferring new Jewish settlements to old Arab ones, a policy endorsed by most Israeli governments until now. [note 9]
Officials in the Israeli Ministry of the Interior declared that the “preferred solution” for Dar ElHanoun is “negotiation for eviction”. [note 10] Obviously, the residents refuse to accept any proposal for so-called “negotiation” that is based on the premise that their village would be destructed and they would be evicted from their land and the land of their elders.

Conclusions
The refusal of the State of Israel to recognize Dar ElHanoun is a blatant case of discrimination. It is one expression of a general policy that discriminates between Jews and Arabs in Israel/Palestine. We believe that the case of Dar ElHanoun and of the other unrecognized villages in Israel should receive more attention by the international community. For the future of Israel and the Middle East, the international community should not allow the current Israeli government to continue the policies of its formers against its Arab citizens. Dar ElHanoun is a small but significant example for the present state of affairs in Israel, but it also symbolizes the prospects of Jewish-Arab efforts to create a better life in this region.

The International Committee for Dar ElHanoun
To foster this hope and to help Dar ElHanoun in its struggle, we have launched the International Committee for Dar ElHanoun (ICDH). The ICDH will allow people in Israel and abroad to help Dar ElHanoun and take part in its campaign. You can contribute to these efforts by subscribing to our mailing list at the webpage in the link.
Subscribers to this mailing list will receive messages about further activities and updates about the situation in Dar ElHanoun.

For donations please send a check for “Taayush-North” to: POB 45896, Haifa, Israel. Please mention “Dar ElHanoun” in a cover note. Please notify our moderator about your donation, or contact him for further questions about tax-free donations etc.

For further information on Dar ElHanoun and other ways to support our campaign, see our webpage or contact our moderator.

Appendix I

Map 1 – Dar ElHanoun area

Map 2 – Wadi Ara

Map 3 – Wadi Ara in Israel