Demolished house  in Neve Erez
Demolished house in Neve ErezBinyamin Regional Council

The Civil Administration is at it again. On Thursday, Administration tractors knocked down homes in the Neve Eretz neighborhood, next to Michmash, a town in the Binyamin region. Among those evicted from their destroyed homes was a family of seven. Fortunately, the five children were in school when their house was destroyed, but it wasn't clear where they would go when they came home. In addition, forces destroyed two other structures in the area.

After demolishing those buildings, Administration tractors moved on to the nearby Mitzpeh Dani neighborhood in order to destroy a structure for animals that officials said was “unauthorized.” After discussions with the officials, the owners of the structure agreed to dismantle it themselves.

Administration officials said that orders to demolish all the structures were duly issued and that their owners or residents had an opportunity to appeal, but failed to do so, and did not even bother filing paperwork to seek permits to retroactively authorize the structures.

Yisrael Gantz, deputy head of the Binyamin Regional Council, slammed the Civil Administration, saying that the buildings had been constructed legally on land that was not in dispute.

“Once again they come under cover of cloud and fog,” Gantz said, referring to Thursday's wintry weather, “and throw the residents' private property out in the rain and mud, demolishing the building, instead of seeking ways to enable people to live their lives quietly. Now, the world of the victims of this operation – especially the children – has been destroyed,” he said.

Of course, Gantz added, “this is done without any equivalent enforcement against illegal Bedouin and Arab building in this area. Their 'enforcement' is just against Jews. Instead of helping, they destroy.”