• Subject to Regional Master Plan: In 2011, in a purported attempt to resolve the issue of a lack of plans, the Israeli Ministry of Interior adopted a Regional Master Plan for Wadi ‘Ara, which does not meet Umm al-Fahm’s needs and demands.331 In fact, it allows Israel to plan for broader IsraeliJewish priorities in the area, as can be seen in the development of the Israeli-Jewish town Harish and the erasure of Palestinian communities like Dar el-Hanoun, an unrecognized Palestinian village,332 and does nothing to address the increasingly urgent economic and development needs of Umm al-Fahm as a highly populous city and regional center. In such an environment, the impact is two-fold. Most notably, Palestinians in Umm al-Fahm are forced to build without adequate planning or consideration of the broader public needs for a city of its size. This results in paralyzing congestion and overcrowding over a sustained period of time, which has significant social, cultural and economic impacts. Less obvious is the significant legal and administrative impact. The ambiguity and the vacuum left behind by the absence of plans leaves Israel with full control to pursue planning decisions that meet Israeli-Jewish expansionist goals while colliding directly with Palestinian planning needs and disempowering local Palestinian authorities.333 This is seen in the way Israel has rezoned areas around Umm al-Fahm to be recognized forest areas,334 and providing a basis for the denial of repeated requests for an industrial zone near Wadi ‘Ara Street (Route 65) for the benefit of the habitants of Wadi ’Ara, including Umm al Fahm.335 It is also seen in the denial of permits for commercial, agricultural and industrial purposes. This is due to the absence of an approved industrial zone,336 but also to the inability of Palestinian businesses and landowners to meet equity regulations, as a result of tight access routes and overcrowding.337 Additionally, public facilities are situated at the periphery without considerations to road accessibility issues.338 331 Engineer, supra 321. 332 Adalah, “2,300 New Homes for Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Arab Wadi’Ara,” press release, 27 May 2013, available at: https://www.adalah.org/en/content/view/8123 [accessed 28 February 2020]. 333 Planners for Planning Rights and The Arab Center for Alternative Planning, supra 329, 9-10. 334 Jabbarin, supra 281. 335 Engineer, supra 321. 336 In 2015, the district committee approved a surface of 200 dunams [0.2 km2] although the Umm alFahm municipality demanded an expansion up to 1000 dunam [1 km2]. It sharply contrasts with the approval of a 10,000-dunam industrial zone in the Israeli-Jewish colony of Kiryat Jat, 4,000 dunams [4 km2] of whom being actually earmarked for housing. Engineer, supra 321. License Inspector, interview conducted by BADIL, Umm al-Fahm, 7 November 2019. 337 License Inspector, supra 337. 338 OECD, supra 282, 123-124. 84