Following a petition we filed to the High Court of Justice against the Civil Administration (CA), an illegal structure at an archaeological site in Samaria was removed. The CA was also charged with the expenses of the legal process.

A few months ago, we noticed an Arab invasion of Israeli state land at Khirbet Khurkosh, an archaeological site near the city of Ariel.

 

Regavim alerted the authorities six (!) times to enforce the law, but work continued at the site – as part of the battle for area C. We petitioned the High Court to instruct the authorities to implement legislation from 2018 regarding the demolition of new structures.

 

During the court hearing, the CA told the judges that the structure’s owner, Falastin Musa Ahmad Abu Eid, received an interim order from the High Court that froze the enforcement process. However, the CA officials promised that once the interim order would expire, the new legislation would be applied in this case.

 

Despite this, and despite the Court fining the CA (essentially blaming them for the situation), the construction criminals continued to build at the site.

 

So we pressured the CA (again) to enforce the law, and finally, yesterday morning, forces came to tear down the structure.

 

We congratulate the CA for doing its job properly, but we are troubled by the fact that the authorities woke up only after Regavim’s petition and after the Court fined the CA. The whole point of the 2018 legislation is to facilitate and shorten the enforcement process, allowing for the demolition of new structures within days rather than months!

 

The Civil Administration doesn’t like public criticism and scrutiny, but in this case, their failure to act swiftly must be noted. It’s no wonder that the CA has proven incapable in the face of the strategic, systematic takeover of Area C and the open spaces in Judea and Samaria.