Court: Palestinians must stop building near Sussiya

The High Court of Justice on Thursday issued an interim order stopping approximately 30 Palestinians from building in the area of the Sussiya settlement, in the South Hebron Hills.

The order came in response to a petition filed by the Regavim organization asking that the court order the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria to demolish what it characterized as illegally built Palestinian structures.

Palestinians with completed structures and those seeking to continue to build in the area asked the court to order the civil administration not to issue any demolition orders.

In the ruling, Supreme Court President Asher Grunis separated the various parties into categories.

One group of Palestinians has 45 days to consult with Regavim, the civil administration and other parties to clarify which of its buildings are in dispute, which are not and which are already under order for demolition.

If no agreement is reached between the sides identifying which buildings and plots of land are in dispute, they are to notify the court, which will hold another hearing on the issue.

A smaller group of Palestinians is to update the court within 90 days with respect to permits its members are seeking regarding building in the area.

The court issued an interim order preventing any construction because the Palestinians involved had continued work even after Regavim filed the petition on February 21.

The Regavim movement says that it aims, among other things, to highlight the issues surrounding Arab land expansion and to prevent it by educating the public.

More broadly, it views itself as “setting a Jewish, Zionist agenda for the State of Israel, toward official Zionistic policies by all the authorities, with an emphasis on the land and its preservation,” according to its website.