‘A place where there is no permanent Jewish presence falls victim to invasion and land robbery, even though the IDF apparently holds the territory,’ said a representative from Zionist NGO Regavim.

By World Israel News Staff

Illegal Palestinian building is ramping up in Judea and Samaria, and some of the construction is taking place atop the ruins of Jewish communities that were evacuated as part of the 2005 disengagement, a Zionist NGO warned the Knesset on Sunday.

During a meeting regarding a potential repeal of the disengagement law which saw numerous Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria dismantled and their residents displaced, Avraham Binyamin, a representative from the Regavim NGO presented evidence of wide scale Palestinian in Area C.

Presenting aerial photographs of the region, Regavim said thousands of illegal structures have been built since the disengagement, with hundreds of them being constructed in the last year alone.

Regavim estimated that there are some 81,000 illegal structures in Area C, with some 5,500 going up between April 2021 and May 2022.

Area C is officially under the full control of Israel, whereas Areas A and B are under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority or jointly administered by the PA and Israel.

Binyamin noted that there is open land for building in Areas A and B, and said that illegal building in Area C is part of an intentional effort to weaken Israeli sovereignty in the territory.

“A place where there is no permanent Jewish presence falls victim to invasion and land robbery, even though the IDF apparently holds the territory,” Binaymin said.

He said the widespread illegal Palestinian building in Area C, some of which occurred on the ruins of the Jewish towns of Sa-Nur, Ganim and and Kadim, are evidence of the failure of the “architects of disengagement who claimed that ‘disengagement will bring security.’”

Binyamin added that the concept of giving back land would create peace has been “shattered in the face of the reality in Gaza and in northern Samaria. Where there is no [Jewish] settlement, there is lawlessness and certainly, there is no security.”

“Nearly a century ago, Joseph Trumpeldor summarized an essential truth of the Zionist ethos that is no less relevant today than it was in the pre-State era: The place where the last row is plowed will be the border of our country,” Regavim told World Israel News in a statement. “Land on which there is no Jewish presence will be lost. Settlement and security are not only related, they are inseparable.”

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A group of Jews entered a Palestinian village to pray and were attacked. 

A group of Israeli Jews was arrested overnight between Wednesday and Thursday in the Palestinian village Kiffel-Hares after they tried holding midnight prayers at the grave of the Biblical prophet Joshua, located in the village. Police said the group entered the town, near the city of Ariel, but was quickly attacked by a barrage of rocks.

IDF forces rescued the Israelis; police detained them for questioning. The group is suspected of violating a military order by entering a Palestinian village, considered a closed military zone  – actions that could endanger the public and disturb the work of a public servant. The men were detained overnight.

The Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court accepted arguments Thursday by the group. The court said there was no reasonable expectation that the men entered the village with intent to commit a crime, adding that ‘anything not expressly prohibited by law must be permitted.”

Police also said that no rioters were arrested.

‘Once Again, Police Rewarded Terrorism’

The Honenu legal-aid organization criticized security forces for having “given another reward to terrorism,” saying the area in question is not located in a closed military zone.

“Once again the police has rewarded terrorism and arrested Jews who came to pray but were attacked by Arabs,” said Honenu in a statement. “Kiffel-Hares is in Area B (unless the village’s status has changed in the last few weeks), meaning Israelis are allowed to enter.

“I guess the police have decided that it is easier to act against Jews at prayer instead of against Arab rioters,” Honenu said.

By: Andrew Friedman/TPS

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Israelis are being warned not to visit Area B in Judea and Samaria, which is under Palestinian Authority control, and where they face a growing threat of being mugged by Palestinians.

Israel’s police warned Sunday that Israelis who travel to Judea and Samaria’s Area B, which is under Palestinian administrative control, with the hope of saving money while shopping, expose themselves to the risk of being mugged by Palestinians.

“We urge Israelis to exercise discretion and refrain from traveling to the area unnecessarily,” a police source stated.

Area B has been under Palestinian civil control and shared Israeli-Palestinian security responsibility since the signing of the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords.

Israelis, especially Israeli-Arabs, frequent Palestinian villages for their cheaper auto repair shops, car wash facilities, nurseries and shops that are considerably lower-priced than their Israeli counterparts.

While Israelis are barred from entering Area A, which is under full Palestinian control, due to the imminent threat posed by such travel, there are no travel restrictions regarding Area B.

Nevertheless, both the IDF and Israel’s police have repeatedly warned that Israelis traveling to Palestinian villages in Area B run the risk of being victimized in criminal or terrorist attacks.

By: JNS.org and World Israel News Staff

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