Photo Credit: Courtesy: Regavim
An illegal UN office building constructed in Armon Hatziv, Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (April 30, 2017) On the eve of Israel’s 69th Independence Day celebrations and several weeks before the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, the Regavim organization is baffled that the State of Israel is ‘seeking permission,’ from the UN to tour the compound it currently occupies in Jerusalem’s Armon Hanatziv neighborhood.

Last month Regavim filed a petition in a Jerusalem District Court against the UN, the Jerusalem Municipality, and the Israel Lands Authority following the revelation of extensive illegal construction and a land grab being carried out by the UN inside the Armon Hanatziv UNTSO compound. The area was presented to the UN rent-free to oversee the cease-fire with Jordan following the 1967 Six-Day War.

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The State responded to Regavim’s petition asking the court to postpone their decision on the accusations, so that the Foreign Ministry could garner UN approval to allow their representatives to tour the compound and investigate the matter.

In response Meir Deutsch Regavim’s Director of Policy and Knesset Affairs asked, “How can we complain about the upcoming UNESCO resolution which doesn’t recognize the sovereignty of the State of Israel or a Jewish connection to its capital, when we don’t exercise our own sovereignty over the area?”

He added, “The United Nations is a guest of the State of Israel. The position of the Foreign Ministry headed by Prime Minister Netanyahu ‘asking’ for access to a Jerusalem site is humiliating and reeks of defeatism.”

The red-lines indicate areas where the UN was allotted usage. The yellow lines indicate the areas currently illegally in use. The map also indicates two illegal buildings and an illegal gas station on the site.
Proof of illegal structural changes to a historic building from the 1930’s
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Joshua Hasten is the International Spokesperson for Gush Etzion. He hosts the weekly “Israel Uncensored” radio broadcast on The Land of Israel Network, and is an international Middle East Correspondent in print and on television. Joshua is also a sought-after speaker around the world. His workshops and lectures on pro-Israel advocacy have impacted thousands. Joshua was the CAMERA organization’s 2009 Letter Writer of the Year, and is a member of the Judea and Samaria Speaker’s Bureau. Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, he resides in Elazar, Israel.