EU Funds Illegal Recreation Complex in Northern West Bank Area C, Sparking Israeli Outcry

A new illegal recreational complex funded directly by the European Union was recently discovered in the village of Silat al-Zahar in northern Samaria (West Bank), near the renewing settlement of Sha'Nur. The complex, built in 2025 on state lands within Area C, includes an entrance gate, wide access road, benches, a pergola, playground equipment, and a light structure. Official signs at the site indicate EU funding for construction and road preparation.

The discovery was made during a tour assessing state land status amid efforts to reestablish Israeli presence in northern Samaria. The Regavim movement claims the complex was built without permits and violates agreements, framing it as part of a broader phenomenon of unauthorized takeovers of open lands and state property from which Israel withdrew about two decades ago.

Regavim's Yehuda and Samaria regional director, Roy Drucker, sharply criticized the EU's actions, highlighting the contradiction of the EU imposing sanctions on Israeli entities while simultaneously funding illegal construction in Area C, which is under Israeli civil and security control. Drucker called on Israeli enforcement authorities and the Civil Administration to immediately demolish the illegal complex and restore sovereignty and order in northern Samaria.

This incident adds to tensions surrounding European involvement in the West Bank, with Israeli officials like Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir recently laying cornerstone stones in northern Samaria neighborhoods, signaling a push to strengthen Israeli presence in the region.