Israel’s Regavim movement is petitioning the Jerusalem District Court to order the dismantlement of an illegal Samaria-based factory managed by a top Palestinian Authority official, the NGO announced this week.
The metal plant is allegedly operated by Mohammad Alamour, CEO of the Alamour Group that manufactures steel products, who was appointed as Ramallah’s minister of national economy on March 27.
Regavim, which describes itself as a “public movement dedicated to the protection of Israel’s national lands and resources,” said that the metal factory near the Arab city of Biddya was the area’s largest illegal site.
Regavim’s petition, which was filed with the Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday, asks that the Civil Administration, the Israeli governing body that oversees civilian matters in Judea and Samaria, be ordered to “restore the rule of law” and demolish the illegal site.
The petition notes that the factory, which spans 7.5 acres, was built less than 650 feet from the Samaria security barrier, “in violation of a military construction prohibition” in place to prevent illegal crossings.
According to Regavim, the facility run by the P.A. minister manufactures lightweight structures, containers and other materials that are “used to support widespread illegal construction throughout the region.”
The factory’s location between Biddya and the village of Mas-ha places it near the Israeli communities of Elkana and Etz Efraim, which Regavim said are being affected by the widespread unauthorized construction.
Regavim noted that the factory continues operations despite repeated complaints to the Civil Administration over the past year, which were met with inaction on the grounds of alleged “enforcement priorities.”
“This is a textbook example of Palestinian Authority corruption,” said Regavim. “A construction violator rises to minister while continuing to manage an illegal factory. Capital-power collusion, at its finest.”
Roi Drucker, Regavim’s coordinator for Judea and Samaria, highlighted the factory’s political connections. “Operated by a senior Palestinian Authority official, the facility symbolizes a dangerous convergence of political influence, financial power and security risks. It fuels illegal construction across the region while operating in plain sight.”
Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, in a statement cited by Regavim, called the industrial site “a massive, unauthorized factory that flouts military orders and undermines the rule of law.”
He criticized a “double standard” in enforcement, suggesting that Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria face greater scrutiny while large-scale Palestinian Authority violations are ignored.
The Israeli Cabinet voted on Sunday to back a series of “revolutionary” measures aimed at stopping what it said was the P.A.-led takeover of Judea and Samaria lands, Defense Minister Israel Katz announced.
Sunday night’s vote “nullifies the P.A.'s attempts to seize land in Area C and, under the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, will lead to an arrangement for registering land in Judea and Samaria,” said Katz.
Regavim hailed the move as “a pivotal advancement in addressing a longstanding challenge.
“For years, Israel stood idle while the Palestinian Authority aggressively pursued land registration, deploying hundreds of workers and funneling millions of dollars from international sources,” it charged in a statement.
On April 1, Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vowed to put an end to what they said was the Palestinians’ scheme to seize land across Judea and Samaria.
“The State of Israel will not abandon the security of the residents and will not allow Abu Mazen and the Palestinian Authority to use illegal construction as a tool to create a strategic threat to the communities,” declared Katz, referring to P.A. chief Mahmoud Abbas.
Smotrich, who also serves in the Defense Ministry with authority over the Civil Administration, noted that in the past year, a record number of illegal P.A. structures were demolished.
The minister during his tenure has sought to foil the realization of the P.A.'s Fayyad Plan—named after former P.A. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad—that seeks to establish a de facto Palestinian state.
