Regavim calls on IDF to halt construction of illegal Palestinian road
The road, that Regavim said links Area B of the West Bank and Area C, is located near the Palestinian city of Tubas and the village of Tayasir.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFA general view picture shows a section of Itamar, a Jewish settlement, in the foreground as Nablus is seen in the background, in the West Bank June 15, 2020.(photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS)
The Civil Administration should halt the construction of an illegal Palestinian West Bank road, the right-wing organization Regavim said on Wednesday.It provided photographs of a road that it said links Area B of the West Bank, which is under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority, and Area C, which is under IDF military and civilian control.The road is located near the Palestinian city of Tubas and the village of Tayasir. Regavim showed a photograph of the road when it was still in its infancy in November 2020.It explained that it had given the IDF’s Civil Administration information about the road, but that work had progressed. Regavim provided a second photo of the dirt road that had since been built, adding that it believed that it would soon be paved.The Civil Administration only has purview over the section of the road in Area C, where it stretches into the Jordan Valley. It confirmed for The Jerusalem Post that an illegal road had been constructed in that area, including a stretch in an IDF firing zone.“A number of enforcement actions have been taken” against the road, the Civil Administration said, adding that additional steps against it would be taken in the future in a manner consistent with IDF priorities in the area as well as operational considerations.The Palestinians contend that since the Civil Administration issues few permits for Palestinian development in Area C, there is no option but to build illegally.Regavim and right-wing politicians have claimed that such activity is part of the PA’s plan to seize control of Area C and ensure that it is placed within the final borders of a future Palestinian state.Regavim’s Judea and Samaria coordinator Eitan Melt said that the PA is constantly working to create Palestinian territorial contiguity and is not waiting for any Civil Administration inspector to try and stop it.“Consciously or not, the inaction of the enforcement authorities and the State of Israel allows the Palestinian Authority to promote territorial continuity in the Jordan Valley,” Melt said.
