A/HRC/31/43 there”.38 The implementation of these plans would hence entail the transfer of approximately 7,500 Palestinian Bedouin to the planned urban townships adjacent to Jericho, near the Jerusalem municipal landfill and in the Jordan valley. 57. The Bedouin, many of whom manage livestock as a traditional means of earning a livelihood, expressly oppose transfer to the proposed townships, as this would destroy their traditional pastoral economy, social fabric and rural way of life. 39 As an occupying Power, Israel has the duty to provide for the welfare of the protected population, and must take into account the Bedouins’ rights, interests and needs. 58. The construction of one of the sites, Al-Jabal West, started in February 2015 as an expansion of the existing Al-Jabal township, and groundwork was completed in September 2015. On 6 September 2015, the Israeli Subcommittee for Planning and Licensing granted the Israeli Civil Administration approval, in principle, to issue building permits for 17 of 35 plots of land.40 The Israeli Civil Administration has also advanced plans for the development of the Nweima township. In April 2015, Bedouin communities brought a legal challenge against the steps taken in the planning process.41 At the time of writing this report, legal proceedings were still under way, and plans for a third township in Fasayil have not yet advanced. 59. Since April 2015, the Israeli Civil Administration has specifically targeted the Abu Nwar Bedouin community for transfer to Al-Jabal West. The land of Abu Nwar is located on the southern part of the E1 settlement construction project.42 On 28 April, 2015, a government-appointed liaison officer informed the Abu Nwar community that they would be slated for full relocation and that 34 families should sign up to the Jabal site within one month. The mediator stressed that the Israeli Civil Administration would not permit the Abu Nwar community to remain in its current location. Overall, some 200 demolition orders have been issued for Abu Nwar since 1998, many of which remain allegedly enforceable at the discretion of the authorities. Only the orders issued in 2015 are currently protected by a temporary injunction order.43 60. In the context of the restrictive and discriminatory zoning and planning system, demolitions and eviction, or threats thereof, contribute to a coercive environment expected to leave little genuine choice to the affected communities but to leave, potentially, to at least one of three Israeli designated sites (see A/69/348, paras. 12-15). As previously stated by the Secretary-General (A/69/348, para. 16), Israeli “relocation” plans for Bedouin 38 45 40 41 42 43 14 implementation tender soon. Afforested Jahalin – in process towards an environmental impact survey”. The “population” referred to is the Bedouin communities. Minutes of the meeting of the Judea and Samaria Region Subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, the Nineteenth Knesset, 27 April, 2014. Benjamin Weil, Meeting Minutes, p. 52. In April 2014, several Bedouin families of the Jahalin tribe, who have been designated for relocation by the Israeli authorities, issued a “letter to the international community” in which they expressed their absolute rejection to the relocation plans of the Israeli Civil Administration. Information from Bimkom – Planners for Human Rights. The final objections hearing cannot be heard until there is a decision from the High Court of Justice on the petition, now pending a response from the Israeli Civil Administration, as this decision will impact the whole of the Nweima township plan. The outline plan for the E1 settlement construction project was approved by the Israeli Higher Planning Council in 1999. According to Bimkom – Planners for Human Rights, a detailed plan for the development of 1,500 settlement housing units on the 389 dunams of land where Abu Nwar currently sits is being developed. A court order prohibiting an action by a party to a lawsuit until there has been a trial or other court action.