On the eve of Israel's 69th Independence Day celebrations and several weeks before the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, the Regavim organization is baffled that the state of Israel is "seeking permission" from the United Nations to tour the UN compound in Jerusalem's Armon Hanatziv neighborhood. The state's request followed Regavim's petition in the Jerusalem District Court against the UN, the Jerusalem Municipality, and the Israel Lands Authority following the revelation of extensive illegal construction and a land grab being carried out by the UN inside the UNTSO compound.
Meir Deutsch, Regavim's Director of Policy and Knesset Affairs, asked, "How can we complain about the upcoming UNESCO resolution which doesn't recognize the sovereignty of the State of Israel or a Jewish connection to its capital, when we don't exercise our own sovereignty over the area?"