RAMALLAH, West Bank — For five years now, Israeli authorities have prevented Umm al-Fahm, one of the largest Palestinian cities in Israel, from naming some of its streets as the municipality sees fit. While the Ministry of Interior recently approved some street names, it rejected others for their symbolism.

The Umm al-Fahm City Council is scheduled to hold a meeting with the Israeli Ministry of Interior at the end of February to push for approval on the rejected street names.

Umm al-Fahm, home to about 60,000 residents, extends over an area of ​​some 10 square miles. The vast majority of its Palestinian Muslim population belongs to four large clans: Agbariya, Jabarin, Mahajneh and Mahamid.

The lack of street names means that many people do not have home postal addresses. There is also a shortage of mailboxes at distribution centers. According to Bilal Agbariya, the deputy head of the Umm al-Fahm municipality, a third of the mail arriving in the city does not reach the correct recipient. Thousands of people share the same first and last names, and homes are sometimes identified by landmarks.