Despite Supreme Court decisions to the contrary, the Civil Administration has not demolished illegal structures built by the Palestinian Authority in Area C. Instead, it has protected and even granted post-facto “legalization” to illegal structures built by the Palestinian Authority through the application of a far-reaching, radical interpretation of the Regulation Law. Regavim: “Bureaucracy has bested democracy.”

An illegal school building, constructed by the Palestinian Authority on privately-owned land near the South Hebron-area village of Samua, has been enjoying unprecedented legal protection, thanks to warped interpretation and skewed application of the Regulation Law for Judea and Samaria.

In 2017, Regavim petitioned the High Court of Justice to demolish the structure, which had been built illegally. In response to Regavim’s petition, the Civil Administration informed the court that this structure was high on its list of enforcement priorities. Regavim’s petition was therefore set aside, with the understanding that no judgement would be necessary; the structure would soon be demolished.

Some ten months later, as construction at the site continued unhindered, the High Court issued a temporary injunction that forbade any further work. Nonetheless, the construction work continued apace. Regavim submitted a second petition; once again, the High Court declined to hear the case on technical grounds (not enough time had elapsed between the two petitions).

This past February, when eighteen months had passed since the second petition was set aside and no enforcement procedures of any kind had been carried out, Regavim requested a status report from the Civil Administration. This time around, the answer was completely different: “The Civil Administration has no intention of demolishing the structure, since it falls under the stipulations of the Regulation Law, and the government is required to legalize it.”