‘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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Likud MKs Yuli Edelstein and Danny Danon visited the Khan al-Ahmar outpost, which has been the subject of Israeli court battles, as Prime Minister Netanyahu is under competing pressures to act after the demolition of an illegal Jewish outpost.

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“The real enemy in Judea and Samaria is the illegal building and massive takeover of lands by the Arabs in area C,” Gush Etzion Regional Council head Shlomo Ne’eman stated.

By Atara Beck, World Israel News

On Tuesday morning, soldiers, volunteers and nearby residents witnessed the removal of a Pina Chama – Hebrew for a ‘warm corner’ – one of several spots in Gush Etzion where IDF soldiers can drop by for a cold or hot drink with a snack.

These refreshment stations are manned by volunteers who welcome the soldiers, offering them a respite from their stressful duties. Cakes, cookies and other goodies are mostly baked by local residents. Often, on special occasions, like Israel’s Independence Day, these stations host barbecues and other celebratory events, strengthening the morale of the soldiers.

The station that was removed Tuesday was situated outside the community of Nokdim. The order for its removal came from the Civil Administration, which is under the Ministry of Defense, headed by Benny Gantz.

Residents who had set up the Pina Chama said they had permission. But even if they were wrong, a community spokesperson said, “instead of coordinating with the community [of Nokdim] and allowing us to move the corner to another location, the administration decided to come and evacuate the station by force – immediately.”

“We are trying to act to stop its removal. The chairman of the Council and the secretary of the settlement are negotiating.

“We will continue to build and strengthen our soldiers,” the spokesperson said.

“The real reason” for the takedown “is that when there’s a question mark, the building comes down. But when it comes to Arab building that is completely illegal and without a permit in Area C [under full Israeli control], it stays up, Josh Hasten, International spokesperson for Gush Etzion, told World Israel News.

“That’s the bottom line,” he said. “When it comes to Jewish structures, Defense Ministry Benny Gantz, who heads the Defense Ministry, which oversees the Civil Administration, has no problem coming in without asking questions and taking down buildings, even if it means that the soldiers serving the area will not get their hot cup of coffee or cold drink. They’re taking down a warm corner for IDF soldiers adjacent to a community in Gush Etzion instead of taking down the thousand and thousands of illegal Arab buildings. This is the reality we’re living in.”

“The real enemy in Judea and Samaria is the illegal building and massive takeover of lands by the Arabs in area C,” Gush Etzion Regional Council head Shlomo Ne’eman said in a statement. “It’s a shame that the IDF and security forces are being prevented from waging a real battle against our true enemy.  Instead, we woke up this morning to another unnecessary evacuation.

“The Gush Etzion Regional Council is working to establish another pina chama for our soldiers in an alternate location, so we can show our troops our appreciation and love, and say ‘thank you’ for their dedication.”

World Israel News asked the Ministry of Defense for comment but received no response to date.

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Allthough the Europeans have been funneling millions into illegal Palestinian construction for years, the envoys complained about Israeli settlements. 

By World Israel News Staff

Frustrated by the continued European protests over Israeli policy and settler activity, a senior Foreign Ministry official told 15 diplomats, “You’re pissing me off,” Walla News reported.

On December 8, 15 European envoys, led by UK Charge d’Affaires Mark Power, met with Aliza Bin-Noun, deputy director-general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry and former ambassador to France, ostensibly to discuss the alleged settler violence against Palestinians.

They reportedly also raised issues such as settlement building and Israel’s designation of six Palestinian NGOs as terrorist organizations affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Bin-Noun, irked by the list of complaints against the Jewish state, blurted out, “You’re pissing me off,” the report said.

“After everything the new Israeli government has been doing for the Palestinians, you come to complain?” Bin-Noun asked rhetorically.

Israel recently announced the approval of thousands of work permits for Palestinians in Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip as well as hundreds of building permits for Palestinians in Area C, which is under Israeli administration.

While the EU has repeatedly slammed Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria as “illegal,” for years it has been funneling millions into the region to illegally build Palestinian settlements.

In fact, the Knesset’s Land of Israel Lobby convened last month for a second emergency session in a month on the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) strategic illegal takeover of Area C.

As documented by the NGO Regavim, between the years 2019-2021, the Palestinians built 5,097 new illegal structures in areas under the full control of the State of Israel – with the help of the Europeans.

“This means that every day, about seven new illegal buildings are added to the area,” the report said.

“At the same time, a PA-guided agricultural takeover of 7,125 dunams of land under Israeli control was recorded during this two-year period, reaching a total of 93,071 dunams.”

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Illegal Palestinian buildings, agricultural projects and infrastructure encroach on Israeli control of Area C of Judea and Samaria.

By Aryeh Savir, TPS

The Knesset’s Land of Israel Lobby convened on Monday for another emergency session on the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) strategic illegal takeover of Area C in Judea and Samaria, which is under full Israel control.

The Regavim Movement, which combats illegal takeover of state lands, revealed to the Knesset new mapping data on the frightening scope of the phenomenon, including the extent of illegal Arab construction in the area.

Between the years 2019-2021, the Arabs built 5,097 new illegal structures, in areas under the full control of the State of Israel. This means that every day, about seven new illegal buildings are added to the area. The total number of illegal Arab buildings in Area C is 72,274.

At the same time, a PA-guided agricultural takeover of 7,125 dunams of land under Israeli control was recorded during this two-year period, reaching a total of 93,071 dunams.

Agricultural activities include cultivating huge areas, planting hundreds of thousands of trees each year, paving agricultural roads at an annual volume of tens of kilometers, and digging water cisterns for irrigation. When continuous agricultural cultivation is carried out, the land actually passes into the hands of the Arab farmers.

However, the data show a certain decrease in the volume of illegal Arab construction from the corresponding period between 2017 and 2019, when 7,957 new illegal structures were erected, 11 structures per day, on average. The agricultural takeover of the land remains almost the same.

One of the explanations given by Regavim for the decrease in the volume of construction versus the steady volume of agricultural takeover is the decision of the European Union (EU) to transfer the weight of its financial aid, and instead of its funds being used for new construction, they are being used to fund the battle against Israeli law enforcement actions taken against illegal construction. The funds are also being routed by the EU for the benefit of the agricultural takeover, which occupies the maximum area with minimum investment.

The EU donates tens of millions a year to the PA’s illegal action in Area C.

“The Palestinian Authority is shaping the borders of the Palestinian state with its own hands and setting facts for Israel on the ground. This is a first-class strategic event, which the recent Israeli governments have responded to with inaction. It is a failure on the scale of the Yom Kippur War,” said Meir Deutsch, CEO of Regavim.

Head of the Lobby Member of Knesset (MK) Yoav Kish accused Minister of Defense Benny Gantz of “harming the protection of the Land of Israel” and demanded that the government change its policy.

He warned that if the government does not act now, “we will have nothing to do in the years to come. We must stop the loss of territory, the only way to change the trend is a central focus of the government, the appointment of a project manager, and a change in the conduct of the defense minister approving takeover plans through the Civil Administration.”

Israel has rapidly been losing lands in area C to European Union-funded illegal construction projected executed by the PA.

In 2009, then-prime minister of the PA Salaam Fayyad laid out the Plan for the Creation of the State of Palestine, a methodical program for seizing control of territory in Area C, under full Israeli control as prescribed by the Oslo Accords, to form a broad and viable basis for a Palestinian state, specifically in the areas under Israeli control.

Fayyad’s plan essentially bypasses all negotiations or compromises with Israel and creates facts on the ground.

While serving as Defense Minister in 2019, Naftali Bennett threatened to demolish any illegal Arab construction in Area C, even if it was funded by the EU.

In response to an inquiry on the issue by TPS, a senior official in the Defense Ministry stated that the “phenomenon of illegal Palestinian construction in Area C is one of the main issues that Defense Minister Bennett is dealing with, and he has already begun to work to eradicate the phenomenon.”

At his meeting with EU ambassadors in December 2019, Bennet told the ambassadors that “illegal construction in their financing would be destroyed by Israel” and made it clear that “his position on the issue was unequivocal.”

However, he has failed to act on his pledges.

MK Orit Strook pointed out that “Israel is in retreat all the time, through inaction, and in the last year since Benny Gantz became defense minister – also by helping the enemy in the war: in whitewashing Palestinian illegal outposts, including in strategic areas.”

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The Al-Aqsa Fund is affiliated with the Islamic Movement, whose southern branch is represented by the Ra’am party, a member of the current Israeli government.

By World Israel News staff

Public Security Minister Omer Bar-Lev ordered an investigation into the Islamic Movement-affiliated Al-Aqsa Fund, Kol Yehudi reported earlier this week.

A police complaint made against the Al-Aqsa Fund by the Im Tirtzu and Lach Yerushalayim NGOs found that the Al-Aqsa Fund was encouraging illegal building in Jerusalem by raising money to pay the fines of Arabs who erected illegal buildings, an Im Tirtzu press release read.

Bar-Lev acknowledged that an investigation was opened in response to an official inquiry submitted by MK Orit Strook (Religious Zionist Party).

The Al-Aqsa Fund is affiliated with the Islamic Movement, whose southern branch is represented by the Ra’am party, a member of the current Israeli government. Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas is also the deputy chairman of the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement.

“It turns out that the Al-Aqsa Fund of the Islamic Movement is a criminal organization and encourages crime,” said MK Strook. “All ambiguity surrounding this dangerous organization must be removed.”

Lach Yerushalayim and Im Tirtzu thanked MK Strook and added that “it is unacceptable that the Islamic Movement is disregarding the law and using illegal building as a means to raise money. This is further proof that the Islamic Movement, which Prime Minister Bennett relies on for his collation, is unreliable. We expect the Minister of Public Security to complete the investigation and punish all the offenders in accordance with the law.”

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Under fictitious permits, “hundreds of massive industrial structures were built, which are being used illegally as warehouses and logistical centers, and as commercial, industrial and leisure facilities,” NGO Regavim reports.

The post WATCH: Massive illegal commercial center operates in the heart of Israel appeared first on World Israel News.

The sign at the entrance announces that the school is run by the Ministry of Education of the State of Palestine. 

By World Israel News Staff

Last week, the Palestinian Authority put up a new school building in the Jordan Valley, in the heart of the sprawling Bedouin hinterland near Al Auja. The area was carefully chosen as it connects two Bedouin outposts, forming an all new illegal settlement bloc in Israeli territory.

The Palestinian Authority employs its proven method: Dozens of workers arrived at the site in the evening and worked through the night – and by morning, dozens of children were already sitting at their desks.

The sign at the entrance announces that the school is run by the Ministry of Education of the State of Palestine.

Illegal school sign (Regavim/Eitan Melet)

“The newest illegal school in the Jordan Valley was built at lightning speed, and it was already up and running by the time we spotted it,” says Meir Deutsch, Director General of Regavim.

“It joins a network of similar structures, among them the new schools in Kisan and Kochav HaShachar that were built in the past month, and more than 50 other illegal schools that have been built this way over the past decade,” he said.

“The method is the same each time: Build quickly, and at the same time as the building welcomes its first pupils, petition the High Court of Justice to block law enforcement action at the site. In every case, the courts have issued temporary orders that freeze the situation on the ground and bar the authorities from either shuttering or demolishing the structure.

“The problem isn’t that the Civil Administration is unable to enforce the law; the problem is that the Civil Administration has adopted a policy of enabling the construction of these schools,” he said.

Regavim, a nonprofit focused on land issues, has brought numerous examples of illegal building on Israeli land. Most recently, it brought to the government’s attention illegal building by the UN in a compound it rents from the government in Jerusalem. The government responded weakly, choosing to legalize the building after the fact rather than reprimand the world body for ignoring Israeli zoning laws.

The post This illegal school in ‘State of Palestine’ is latest incursion into Israeli territory appeared first on World Israel News.

Here is a recap of the top Israel news stories on July 22, 2019.

And in case you missed our last recap…

The post WATCH: Daily Israel News Recap – July 22, 2019 appeared first on World Israel News.

Arabs are paving an illegal parking lot over a major archaeological site for financial gain. 

By World Israel News Staff

Arabs have seized control of an archaeological site and have begun to illegally pave a parking lot, according to Regavim, an Israeli nonprofit that specializes in land rights issues.

The Tomb of the Prophet Samuel is considered a holy site by all three major faiths. Hundreds of thousands visit the site each year, which offers a panoramic vista of Jerusalem.

The area was declared a national heritage site and the rich archaeological remains, dating back to the Second Temple era, as well as the ancient oak trees that cover the hilltop, are all protected by National Park status.

The archaeological finds at the site bear witness to Jewish settlement, from the First Temple period through the Hasmonean Era, up to modern times.

Recently, Arab residents of the nearby village Nabi Samwil broke into the archaeological garden and used heavy machinery to pave a large plot, apparently as the first stage in creating a parking lot, as a means of collecting parking fees from visitors to the site.

The area is under full Israeli jurisdiction, only a short walk from a northern Jerusalem neighborhood and the Har Shmuel and Givat Ze’ev communities.

“The Civil Administration and the Israeli government must do everything in their power to block the construction of the parking lot,” wrote Attorney Avi Segal in his letter to the Civil Administration. “The authorities’ negligence has caused a major blow to the archaeological finds as well as to the rule of law.”

“It is difficult to assess the extent of the damage to the archaeological site, or the potential damage to the still-unexplored, ancient sub-strata,” adds Yishai Hemo, Regavim’s Field Director for Judea and Samaria.

“We have seen damage to important sites throughout Judea and Samaria, caused by construction in areas of tremendous historic significance and destruction of antiquities, in complete disregard of the law. We have said it before: People who care about the Land of Israel don’t cause it harm. The government must stop the destruction.”

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The High Court reiterated its position that the illegally built outpost on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho can be torn down. 

By: World Israel News Staff

The High Court of Justice on Wednesday ordered the demolition of a Bedouin hamlet that existed illegally for decades near the Jewish city of Ma’ale Adumim, east of Jerusalem, saying there was no avoiding its removal. However, the court beseeched both sides to seek an alternative location.

In May, the court ordered the destruction of Khan al-Ahmar when it agreed with the Civil Administration that no permission had been granted for building the structures housing 180 residents.

The location of the illegal structures is hazardous due to its proximity to a major highway. Khan al Ahmar is adjacent and overlooking the highway that connects Jerusalem to the south of Israel in a strategic area that bisects the country.

The state has offered alternative sites for the residents to relocate with an emphasis on keeping the community intact, but they have rejected all of them and any other compromises on the issue.

The panel of judges ordered the state to submit within five days its new alternative proposal for rehousing the residents near Mitzpe Jericho, at a nearby location.

The Jahalin Bedouin will have five days to respond to the proposal, though they are expected to reject it.

Diplomats from Sweden, France, Great Britain and Australia attended the court hearing. Several countries have voiced support for the Bedouins, against the State of Israel.

The Jahalin Bedouin is an offshoot of a larger tribe based in southern Israel, in the Arad region. After a blood feud broke out within the tribe, some of the families were forced out and migrated north through the Judean desert, arriving and settling in their present location after the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

Their battle for the land is part of a Palestinian Authority and European Union-orchestrated program of creating strategically located outposts that undermine the basis of the Oslo Accords.

By creating “placeholder” encampments in strategic points throughout Area C, the PA has circumvented the process of negotiation.

JNS contributed to this report. 

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Palestinians threw rocks at police as preparations were made to remove an illegal Bedouin village along the Jerusalem-Jericho road. 

By: World Israel News Staff

Police said Wednesday that Palestinians threw rocks during a demonstration against the slated demolition of an illegal Bedouin village located between Jerusalem and Jericho.

The IDF and Israel Police began preparing for the dismantling of Khan al-Ahmar this week.

Palestinians said they attempted to prevent the evacuation, forming a human chain to prevent bulldozers from carrying out a Supreme Court ruling, Palestinian news agency Wafa said.

According to Israel Police, two were arrested and no injuries were reported.

A spokesman for B’tselem, a leftwing non-profit organization representing the Bedouin, told WIN that the IDF Civil Administration had commenced building an access road to enable large machinery such as bulldozers to begin the demolition.

The IDF has also blocked all access to the village by non-residents.

Here is a video of preparations for the evacuation:

On May 24, the Supreme Court ruled that the village was illegal and must be removed.

The State of Israel arranged for the residents to be resettled adjacent to Azaria, a town controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

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An Israeli advocacy group says a UN agency is building illegally in Jerusalem in a project that allegedly entails demolishing a historic structure.

By: World Israel News

The United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), which is headquartered in Jerusalem and has offices in Beirut and Damascus, has been accused of illegally approving a construction project in a residential neighborhood in Israel’s capital.

An organization called Regavim has filed for an injunction to stop the project from moving forward, which would also involve the UN demolishing a building from the British Mandate era in Armon Hanetziv, the site of a deadly Palestinian truck-ramming terror attack at the beginning of the year that claimed four young Israeli lives.

Regavim alleges that the UN construction plan runs contrary to an agreement between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and UN Chief Antonio Guterres, reported Israel Hayom.

The Jerusalem District Court was scheduled to hear arguments on Wednesday in a session during which Regavim planned to seek a stop-work order based on illegality of the construction and failure to obtain a municipal building permit.

While the State claimed that the stop-work order was unnecessary because of the purported agreement between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Guterres regarding the use of “practical dialogue” to resolve construction conflicts, TPS reported that Regavim spokespeople say that it appears that the agreement is not being respected.

“In complete contradiction to the government’s statement that it would be working in cooperation with the UN to regulate any ongoing and future construction projects at the Armon HaNatziv compound,” commented attorneys Avi Segal and Yael Cinamon, “the UN or those acting on its behalf are apparently continuing to do whatever they please on a site that has historical significance of the first order, and to build illegally, secure in the knowledge that the authorities will take no steps of any kind to stop their illegal activity.”

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A group of Arab citizens is planning to rebuild illegal homes demolished by the Israeli authorities, with the help of a number of Muslim countries.

The HFUC (High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel) has announced it will raise the funds required to rebuild the homes recently demolished by Israeli authorities in the Negev.

The committee also decided to hold a major protest rally in Wadi Ara, located in the Haifa district, on Saturday. The valley and hilltops overlooking it are among the most densely populated Arab-majority areas in Israel. The biggest city in the area is Umm al-Fahm, one of Israel’s biggest Arab cities.

Highway 65, one of the country’s major arteries, which connects the coastal plain to the Jezreel Valley, goes through the valley. In the past, protests in the area have resulted in violent clashes when police attempted to prevent demonstrators from closing the road, which can cause major traffic jams over a large part of the country.

The committee also said protests will continue to take place in Arab cities, towns and villages throughout the country, and that on Monday a protest convoy will drive slowly from various Arab towns to the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, where a protest rally will be held.

The committee should have no problem raising the necessary funds, as it has a large network of support in Qatar, Turkey, and other Arab and Muslim countries, and in the past has raised funds to rebuild homes demolished by Israeli authorities. In addition, it also gets EU funding.

By: TPS

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The Obama administration is pressuring the Israeli government not to carry out the demolition of several buildings in Sussiya, an illegal Arab outpost, threatening a severe response from Washington.

US officials visited Sussiya, an illegal Arab outpost near Hebron, on Wednesday in a bid to prevent Israel from destroying illegal Arab buildings there.

“If the Israeli government proceeds with demolitions it would be very troubling,” State Department Press Office director Elizabeth Trudeau told reporters in Washington.

The UK and European Union (EU) have also been urging Israel not to destroy the Arab buildings.

Rabbis for Human Rights, a left-wing Israeli NGO, has appealed orders by the Israeli authorities to destroy the buildings.

Notwithstanding the American threat, the Civil Administration on Tuesday destroyed five illegal structures in the town of Umm el-Kheir, also near Hebron, a number of which had been built with the help of the EU.

The EU consistently violates international law by trying to establish facts on the ground through illegal construction on disputed territories which are under Israeli control.

Regavim, an Israeli NGO that monitors illegal Arab construction not only in Judea and Samaria, but throughout the country, called on Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, who will submit a formal response to the issue in the Supreme Court, not to ignore “improper foreign intervention in internal Israeli matters.”

“These are idle threats brought on by radical left-wing organizations, which ignore the laws over and over again and abuse the Supreme Court’s legal process.”

On a number of occasions, Israeli authorities have ordered the demolition of illegal construction.

During the last week of July, 20 illegal Arab structures in the Jerusalem region were destroyed. “The national unit will continue to enforce the law and exercise its responsibilities regarding any violation of planning and building laws,” the Israeli national planning and construction enforcement unit said in a statement.

By: World Israel News Staff

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