Umm al-Hiran

Umm al-Hiran (Arabic: أم الحيران‎‎, Hebrew: אום אל-חיראן‎) is a Bedouin village located in the Wadi Atir area of the Negev desert in southern Israel. Located near Hura, the village was established in 1956 and is one of 46 unrecognized Bedouin villages in Israel.

In 1956, the villagers of Umm al-Hiran submitted a request to return to their original lands, which was rejected by the Israeli authorities. They were subsequently moved by a military order to Wadi Atir. From this point onwards, they built houses from stone and other materials, paved roads, built wells and farmed the surrounding land. Sheikh Farhoud Abu al Qi'an argued that before their arrival "It was a desert, with no roads, water, houses or services".

In 2001, the Israel Land Authority described its residents as a "special obstacle" in its recommendations. In 2003, there was a state motion to the Magistrates’ Court in Beersheba for the demolition of the village ex parte, without informing the landowners; the state claimed that it was unable to identify or reach the inhabitants. In 2004, the state filed lawsuits in 2004 to evacuate the villagers on the basis that they were trespassers who were squatting illegally. The court ruled that the legal status of the residents was as "permanent residents", but at the same time concluded that because the land was held from the state free of charge, their residency could be revoked at any time. The Prime Minister's Office had also previously blocked a plan to recognise the neighbouring village of Atir, which shares land with Umm al-Hiran, requesting instead that the plan did not clash with the proposal to establish a Jewish town.

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