After years of intensive fieldwork, documentation, mapping and reporting on the Palestinian Authority’s systematic program to seize control of Area C through illegal construction and agricultural projects, The Regavim Movement applauded the recent announcement by Minister Tzachi Hanegbi and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: At long last, the State of Israel will take an active role in identifying and combatting illegal PA activity that has been changing the reality on the ground in Judea and Samaria for over a decade with the help of European financial and political support.
A spokesman said: "Regavim began reporting on this illegal activity years ago, documenting the creation of hundreds of illegal PA-orchestrated outposts with tens of thousands of illegal structures, agricultural land seizure projects and massive illegal infrastructure projects - all funded by the European Union and its member states.
"We’ve spent years battling exemplar cases in the Israeli courts in order to force our government to take action, and even traveled to the European Parliament to speak to MEPs about the true nature of the 'humanitarian aid' they’ve been pouring in to illegal projects that violate international law, entrench Palestinian rejections, and undermine the jurisdiction and security of the only democratic ally they have in the Middle East.
"We presented facts and documentation of the PA takeover in numerous Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee hearings, and led dozens of field tours for ministers and MKs, diplomats and foreign journalists.
"The government’s commitment to allocate funds for land protection in Area C is the first step in stemming the tide of the Palestinian Authority’s takeover. The State of Israel must win the #battle for Area C - and this is the first line of defense."
