Israeli Group Demands Enforcement Against Palestinian Illegal Construction Blocking Access to Gush Etzion Settlement

The Israeli organization Regavim filed an administrative petition on Sunday at the Jerusalem District Court demanding the demolition of two illegal structures built on state land near the new settlement of Bar Kochva in the Gush Etzion Regional Council. The petition targets Defense Minister Israel Katz, Deputy Defense Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the Central Command chief, and the deputy head of the Civil Administration, urging immediate enforcement against the unauthorized buildings obstructing the planned access road and threatening security in the area.

Regavim accuses the Palestinian Authority of a systematic effort to expand construction from Area B into Area C, creating irreversible facts on the ground that hinder Israeli settlement and freedom of movement. The group highlights a contradiction in Israeli government policy: while the state declared Bar Kochva a national strategic priority in 2024 to ensure territorial continuity between Gush Etzion and Jerusalem, enforcement agencies have failed to act against the illegal Palestinian construction.

The petition follows a year of warnings and urgent appeals from Regavim to security and civil authorities, which were ignored. Regavim’s regional director for Judea and Samaria, Roy Drucker, called the situation a "leadership and security failure," condemning the state for allowing the Palestinian Authority to dictate boundaries and strangle the settlement. Bar Kochva is located in the Nahal Halitz area, a focal point of Palestinian efforts to claim it as a "Palestinian heritage site" through UNESCO and foreign-backed campaigns supporting Palestinian encroachment on KKL-owned land.

Regavim demands immediate demolition of the illegal structures and restoration of Israeli sovereignty and governance in Gush Etzion, warning that continued inaction risks losing control over the land and undermines the strategic importance of the settlement.