NGO: Demolish Palestinian structures in W. Bank

Actvist NGO Regavim files petition to High Court demanding the IDF halt building and demolish structures near Pnei Haver.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
Construction 521 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Construction 521
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Regavim NGO filed a petition late Tuesday asking the High Court of Justice to order the IDF and its civil administration to halt construction and ultimately raze new Palestinian structures near the Pnei Hever settlement.
The NGO said that in a routine tour of the Hebron area near the Palestinian village of Bani Naim, it discovered 15 new structures that were built without a filed master plan or the required permits.
Regavim also said the structures are in Area C of the West Bank, where under the Oslo Accords Israel has full civil and security jurisdiction.
Regavim activist Ovad Arad discovered the structures.
Regavim said the structures were unusual because there were permanent and built of cement and stone, whereas typically new and illegal building starts with temporary structures and only later leads to permanent structures, if the authorities do not interfere.
The NGO alleged that the structures represent a security threat to the nearby Jewish settlements and IDF checkpoints, due to their proximity and potential to serve as a hiding place and staging point for terrorist attacks.
The petition said that Regavim was merely asking that the High Court apply the same standard to alleged illegal Palestinian-built structures that it has applied to alleged illegally built Jewish settlements – in terms of enjoining continued building and demolitions.
Regavim attorney Boaz Arazi said that since the structures present a security threat, addressing the situation should be at the forefront of authorities’ enforcement efforts.
Regavim is an activist organization that, among other things, files briefs with the High Court to restrict alleged illegal Palestinian building in the West Bank.
It has also sought court orders to compel Israeli authorities to move forward with demolitions where various procedural delays have slowed the process of demolishing an illegal Palestinian structure.