After demolishing the Jewish outpost Or Haim in Samaria last Friday morning, on Sunday, IDF, police, and civil administration forces demolished illegal Arab structures in Wadi Rahal and Artas in Gush Etzion. According to the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the demolition was carried out according to the IDF’s authority in Judea and Samaria.
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir responded to the evacuation of Or Haim before going into the cabinet meeting, saying that he would not agree to discrimination between Jews and Arabs when it comes to taking down illegal structures.
Minister Ben Gvir said: “I was very impressed by Minister Gallant’s words on enforcing the rule of law, and, indeed, as the national security minister, I uphold the rule of law. But there won’t be one law for the Arabs and one law for the Jews. And when the law needs to be enforced, it needs to be enforced on Khan al-Ahmar and the dozens of illegal Palestinian outposts that are being established. The law is the law, there will be no discrimination here.”
The defense ministry issued a statement on Friday saying Gallant spoke with Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi “and gave full backing to the IDF and the security forces” regarding the dismantling of Or Haim. “Every action on the ground must be done according to the law, in full coordination with and subject to the security apparatus’ assessment.”
Last year, Regavim warned that in the three years that Benny Gantz served as defense minister, thousands of new illegal Arab buildings were built, occupying a huge area of about 25 thousand acres in area C in Judea and Samaria.
“There’s no such thing today as equal enforcement of the law in the face of the Palestinians’ insane construction scopes that have no equal – strategic and targeted construction for the establishment of a de facto Palestinian state in areas C. The State of Israel has never before had a Minister of Defense who failed to understand what it means to protect territory. This is sad, scary, and dangerous,” Regavim stated.
Whether under Adjunct Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich, or under Defense Minister Gallant, the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria must reverse course immediately and instead of promoting illegal Arab settlement, start uprooting it – before every Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria is surrounded by a choke-chain of hostile Arab villages.
