Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Watchdog: Illegal Palestinian construction in Judea Samaria skyrockets by 80%

According to NGO Regavim, 5,535 new illegal Palestinian structures have been built in Area C of the West Bank during Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s tenure.

Illegal Palestinian Authority construction. Credit: Regavim.
Illegal Palestinian Authority construction. Credit: Regavim.

Illegal Palestinian construction in the Israeli-controlled regions of Judea and Samaria, known collectively as “Area C,” increased by 80 percent over the past year, according to a new report by Israeli NGO Regavim.

According to the report, titled “The War of Attrition,” 5,535 illegal Palestinian structures have been built in Area C during Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s tenure.

Meanwhile, Regavim pegs the total number of illegal Arab-built structures in Area C at 80,000.

The organization’s members recently protested outside of Gantz’s home by building a “Palestinian outpost” decorated with Palestinian and European Union flags.

The demonstrators were subsequently “evicted.”

Brussels has long been accused of funding illegal Palestinian building in Area C, even as it maintains a policy of discouraging the construction of homes for Israelis in the territory.

“Gantz is not merely abandoning Judea and Samaria, he is actively establishing a de facto Palestinian state. Israeli voters should make no mistake; the upcoming elections are about one thing: will a Palestinian state arise in the heart of the Land of Israel,” the group wrote in a statement posted to Facebook.

Sarah Mittelman, a former chair of the Clark County Democratic Women, told JNS that she was motivated by Jew-hatred in the Democratic Party.
The Arab Israeli party previously expressed support for the killer, who murdered an IDF soldier in 1980.
Organizers face accusations of discrimination against citizens of Israel, where military service is mandatory.
A Jewish advocacy group wants Ottawa to designate Palestine Action Canada as a terrorist entity following a weekend attack on an Ontario factory.
The attacks lasted some 90 minutes, CENTCOM said.
Both terrorists posed an “immediate threat” to soldiers.