The Regavim Movement has filed an administrative petition with the Jerusalem District Court demanding immediate enforcement action against two permanent illegal structures built on declared state land in Area C, adjacent to the newly established community of Bar Kochva in the Gush Etzion Regional Council. The petition was filed against Defense Minister Israel Katz, Minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich, the Commander of the IDF Central Command and the Deputy Head of the civil administration. According to Regavim, the structures constitute a blatant illegal encroachment in the heart of land designated for the community’s development. They effectively block the route of Bar Kochva’s planned access road and create a significant security threat for motorists and for the surrounding area.

At the center of the petition is a glaring contradiction in Israeli government policy. In 2024, the government of Israel approved the establishment of Bar Kochva as a community of national, security and strategic importance. The community is intended to strengthen territorial continuity between Gush Etzion and Jerusalem and prevent Palestinian encroachment on strategically important ridgelines. Yet while the government advances the community on the planning level, enforcement authorities have failed to act against illegal Palestinian construction developing directly in its path. According to data presented by Regavim, the construction is part of a broader, systematic Palestinian Authority strategy of expanding development from Areas A and B into Area C, creating facts on the ground and restricting Israel’s future ability to develop and maintain control of strategically important territory.

Regavim turned to the courts only after a full year of efforts to resolve the issue through the relevant authorities. During that period, the organization submitted three warnings and urgent requests to Israel’s defense establishment and civil administration seeking enforcement action, but received no effective response. The petition argues that this failure to enforce the law constitutes a serious breakdown in the implementation of priorities established by the state itself, particularly regarding illegal construction and encroachment on state land.

Bar Kochva was established in the Nahal Heletz area, which has also become a focal point in the Palestinian Authority’s campaign over control and recognition of the territory. The PA has sought recognition of the area as a “Palestinian heritage site” through UNESCO and has promoted international campaigns, with the assistance of foreign organizations, supporting Palestinians who have encroached on land in the area, including land owned by the Jewish National Fund.

Roey Drucker, Regavim’s Judea and Samaria Coordinator, said: “The reality in which Palestinian building offenders can freely construct on state land, block a vital access route and obstruct a nationally approved development plan represents a leadership and security failure. The State of Israel cannot designate Bar Kochva as a strategic anchor while allowing the Palestinian Authority to determine the boundaries on the ground and choke off the community’s development. We cannot continue hiding behind excuses about ‘enforcement priorities’ while control of the land slips away. We are demanding decisive enforcement, the immediate demolition of the illegal structures and the restoration of Israeli governance and sovereignty throughout the Gush Etzion area.”