Last week, the Jerusalem District Court issued a preliminary decision obligating the Ministry of Health to submit an official response to the petition filed by the Mossawa Center by no later than May 26, 2025. The Ministry must present all data related to the use of budgets allocated for reducing health disparities in the Arab community, particularly under Government Resolutions 550 and 1279.

The court also scheduled a hearing to consider the petition for Wednesday, May 28, 2025, following more than a year of delays by the Ministry of Health and its refusal to disclose the use of a 650 million shekel budget ($160m) that was intended to close health gaps in Arab towns between 2022 and 2026. Of this sum, 350 million shekels ($97m) were supposed to be allocated by the Ministry of Finance, and 300 million shekels ($82m) from the Ministry of Health’s own budget.

According to data gathered by the Mossawa Center, only 45% of the Arab community’s share from the Ministry of Finance was transferred for 2022, while the Ministry of Health did not contribute anything from its allocated 60 million shekels ($16m). Furthermore, only 10.5 million shekels ($3m) out of 114 million ($31m) earmarked under Government Resolution 1279 for developing health services in the Bedouin community in the Negev were actually implemented.

Nibal Ardat, Coordinator of the Parliamentary and Legal Advocacy Unit at the Mossawa Center, stated:

"The failure to transfer budgets intended to close longstanding health gaps in the Arab community causes direct harm to Arab citizens' health, reflected in high mortality rates and the spread of diseases such as diabetes and lung cancer. We are now awaiting the Ministry’s disclosure of the real data to the court, after it refused for months to make this information public. Once the data is revealed, we will continue to press both the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Health to fully transfer these budgets for the establishment of health units in Arab towns and the expansion of health services by HMOs, hospitals, and public health associations."

The Mossawa Center emphasizes that the continued pattern of delaying implementation without transparency constitutes a violation of government decisions and directly undermines the Arab citizens’ right to health and a dignified life. The Mossawa Center calls for the immediate disclosure of all details regarding the budget’s execution and for ensuring civil society's participation in monitoring and planning the fair and transparent distribution of health services.