The National Land Protection Trust, known as Regavim, is hopeful that a
Palestinian quarry located near Beit Fajar, south of Bethlehem, will soon close,
thereby ending its yearlong court battle against the unauthorized
business.
Last week, the Regavim received the state’s response to the
High Court of Justice, in which it stated that enforcement activities by the
Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria had “led to an almost complete
cessation of quarrying in the non licensed area.”
RELATED:A stone’s throw from the quarryGraffiti sprayed on West Bank mosque, grounds burnedRegavim, a
nongovernmental group that combats illegal Palestinian construction, petitioned
the court last year to halt work at the 1,000-dunam (100-hectare) quarry that it
said was being conducted illegally on state land.
In response, the civil
administration implemented enforcement actions, one in September and two in
November, in which it confiscated items including generators, stone saws,
compressors, air hammers and 300 gallons of diesel fuel.
Regavim said
that it first asked the civil administration to stop the quarry’s unauthorized
activities four years ago, but that no one heeded its request until it turned to
the court last year. It added that it was glad the civil administration had
finally enforced the law.
Regavim said it planned to continue to monitor
the situation to ensure that no unauthorized activity occurred and to prevent
any attempts to license the quarry, located in Gush Etzion near the Tekoa
settlement.
Nearby settlements had suffered from dust and noise as a
result of the work at the quarry, the NGO said.
Separately, the state on
Sunday told the High Court it was drafting a plan to reroute the security fence
around the Adam (Geva Binyamin) settlement, 5 km. northwest of
Jerusalem.
It was responding to a petition filed by Yesh Din – Volunteers
for Human Rights against security fences around settlements in the Binyamin
region, which it said had been placed illegally and prevented Palestinian
farmers from accessing their lands.
The state said that the new route
should allow the farmers to reach their land and that it would file a plan
within 90 days.