(TPS) In the heart of Samaria, near the Israeli Karnei Shomron industrial zone, the Palestinian Authority has been conducting in recent months massive illegal development works in Area C, on state lands and privately-owned Jewish lands, which include the development of lots, construction of buildings, paving of roads, and infrastructure connections.

Area C in Judea and Samaria is under full Israeli control, as per the 1995 Oslo Accords.

After the construction began about six months ago, the Regavim organization, which combats illegal land grabs by the Palestinian Authority, contacted the Israeli enforcement authorities, and after not receiving a response and the works were not stopped, submitted a petition to the court.

The petition details the extensive scope of construction that is being carried out without permits every day, and on lands privately owned by the “Har V’gay” company of the Zar family.

In the petition, Ragavim demands to understand why the authorities are not taking the necessary actions to issue and enforce demolition orders against the illegal Arab construction, even though it is on private land, when in similar cases such as the Israeli communities of Amona, Migron, and Derech Avoth, the court knew how to rule that the construction was illegal and on private land, and therefore in a high priority for enforcement.

“The Palestinian Authority is taking advantage of the weakness of the authorities and is actually promoting a strategic plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state in Area C,” warned Moshe Shmueli, Judea and Samaria coordinator at Regavim.

“We see before our eyes how day after day, construction criminals taking over huge areas of state land and private land owned by Jews, and only recently we documented another new building and tree plantings. It is not a single house but the infrastructure of roads, water, electricity, and lots for huge neighborhoods. The reality in which the enforcement authorities do nothing and the Jewish landowners stand helpless is simply outrageous,” he charged.

See: Why Is Israel Protecting Illegal Palestinian Arab Construction?

Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, added that “the government is systematically abandoning Area C, and now also private lands that Jews have purchased. If it were private land belonging to Arabs, everyone would be on their feet. This is a failure that we cannot accept. Selective enforcement is reaching a peak we have not seen before.”

He demanded from the authorities “immediately stop the construction and takeover of Area C, on private land and state lands, which are all assets of the State of Israel and the Jewish people.”

The Regavim movement has revealed data on the frightening scope of the PA’s takeover of Israeli land in Area C, including the extent of illegal Arab construction in the area.

Between the years 2019-2021, the Arabs built 5,097 new illegal structures, in areas under the full control of the State of Israel. This means that every day, about seven new illegal buildings are added to the area. The total number of illegal Arab buildings in Area C is 72,274.

At the same time, a PA-guided agricultural takeover of 7,125 dunams of land under Israeli control was recorded during this two-year period, reaching a total of 93,071 dunams, meaning that Israel is rapidly losing lands in Area C to illegal construction projects executed by the PA.

Creating a de facto Palestinian state

In 2009, then-prime minister of the PA Salaam Fayyad laid out the Plan for the Creation of the State of Palestine, a methodical program for seizing control of territory in Area C, under full Israeli control as prescribed by the Oslo Accords, to form a broad and viable basis for a Palestinian state, specifically in the areas under Israeli control.

Fayyad’s plan essentially bypasses all negotiations or compromises with Israel and creates facts on the ground.

See: The Palestinians’ Stealth Attempt to Take Over Judea and Samaria