update desk

‘National Catastrophic’: PA paves over Judean Desert ecosystem

Regavim, an Israeli NGO focused on land issues, recently exposed damage in the Judean Desert by Palestinian Authority construction.

Palestinian Authority construction vehicles in the Judean Desert. Credit: Regavim.
Palestinian Authority construction vehicles in the Judean Desert. Credit: Regavim.

The Palestinian Authority has engaged in “years of destruction” through illegal construction in a nature reserve in the northern Judean Desert, said Israel-based NGO Regavim on Tuesday.

The watchdog group, which focuses on land issues, released a video, “National Catastrophic presents: The Desert Block,” detailing some of the damage.

The roughly three-minute video, made in collaboration with the Gush Etzion and Har Hebron Regional Councils, takes a satirical approach, imitating National Geographic films while referring to the “Desert block” —its term for the rampant P.A. construction in the area—as a “unique predator that is endangering the unique ecosystem.”

“What’s this? A block has reproduced. A real structure has born,” says the British-accented narrator in the film, referring to a new P.A. building that has sprouted up. “This natural phenomenon has never been observed in any other desert.”

The P.A. is building in the area because of its strategic position on a hill overlooking the region. It’s in the Wye-designated nature reserve, which had been entrusted to the authority. (The nature reserve was placed under the jurisdiction of the P.A. in the context of the 1998 Wye River Memorandum—Part 3 of the Oslo Accords).

“The Judean Desert has more concrete than mountain goats—a dubious achievement, courtesy of the Palestinian Authority,” Regavim said in a press release. “Tractors instead of gazelles, cement bags instead of rock hyraxes: This is what the Wye-designated nature reserve in the Judean Desert looks like.”

The State of Israel has reclaimed enforcement in the reserve and promised to protect it, according to the group, adding that it expected “substantial action” to restore the area damaged by the P.A.’s “rampant illegal construction.”

Israel has already taken action against elements of illegal construction elements erected.

However, Regavim’s field coordinators noted new development and construction work in the northern part of the reserve, near Nahal Kidron, as well as massive construction in the southern part, near the village of A-Zwadin, including road paving, electrical infrastructure and the construction of multi-story buildings.

New construction in the Wye-designated Nature Reserve. Credits: Regavim.

‘We must correct this immediately’

“Wherever Israeli authorities are absent, hostile elements fill the void,” said Moshe Shmueli, field coordinator for Regavim. “After too many years of systematic destruction of the Judean Desert’s natural resources, there’s no time to lose. We must correct this immediately.”

Yaron Rosenthal, head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, said that “the Judean Desert is being systematically destroyed by the Palestinian Authority, with little response from environmental groups.”

Eliram Azoulai, head of the Har Hebron Regional Council, added: “I urge the Defense Minister to take swift action to stop the illegal activity in the nature reserve and IDF firing zones. We are committed to preserving this beautiful landscape and ensuring the safety of our communities.”

Topics