The activist NGO Regavim filed a petition late Tuesday requesting that the High Court of Justice order the West Bank Civil Administration and the IDF to halt the building of and demolish Palestinian structures near Pnei Haver in the West Bank.
The NGO said that in a routine tour of the West Bank area near the Palestinian village of Bnai Na'eem, it discovered 15 new structures that it alleges were built without a filed master plan or the required permits.
Regavim also said that the structures are in Area C, where Israel currently maintains full jurisdiction, unlike areas A and B of the West Bank, where Israel shares aspects of jurisdiction with the Palestinian Authority under the Oslo Accords.
The structures were discovered by Regavim activist Oved Arad.
Regavim stated that the structures were unusual because there were permanent structures built of cement and stone, whereas it said that typically new and illegal building starts with temporary structures and only later leads to permanent structures if the authorities do not interfere.
The NGO alleged that the structures represent a security threat to the nearby Jewish settlements and the nearby IDF checkpoints due to their proximity and the potential to serve as a hiding place and staging point for terror attacks.
The petition said that Regavim was merely seeking that the High Court apply what it called the same standard to alleged illegal Palestinian-built structures that it has applied to alleged illegally built Jewish settlements in terms of enjoining continued building and demolitions.
Regavim attorney Boaz Arazi said that the structures present a security threat. As a result, he said that addressing the situation should be at the forefront of authorities' enforcement efforts.
Regavim is an activist organization that, among other things, files briefs with the High Court to restrict alleged illegal Palestinian building in the West Bank.
It has also sought court orders to compel Israeli authorities to move forward with demolitions where various procedural reasons have slowed the process of demolishing an illegal Palestinian structure.
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