The ʿArab al-Jahalin tribe were originally based around Tel Arad in the northern Negev, but were entirely evicted from the area in the early 1950s by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Prior to Israel's victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, they negotiated with Palestinian landowners to set up semi-permanent camps in, and pasture their flocks around, an area between Ramallah, Wadi Qelt and Jerusalem, maintaining the traditional Bedouin lifestyle.

[8] In the same year, an appeal resulted in a deal between the Israeli Civil Administration and representatives of 35 al-Jahalin families (about 200 individuals) who were permitted to "lease" what Israel considers to be state lands but which, according to the Jahalin themselves, belong to the local Palestinians of Abu Dis.

The area is also affected by a strong stench, caused by high quantities of methane gas, a process that will continue for at least two decades even after the proposed closure of the dump.

[3] In 2012, plans to relocate the tribe adjacent to the Abu Dis garbage dump were dropped, with the military-run Civil Administration stating it would select a different site.