Illegal Arab construction
Illegal Arab constructionRegavim

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has held two discussions in the last two weeks concerning the enforcement of the law when it comes to illegal construction in the Arab sector, it was reported on Thursday.

The meetings attended by Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh, and other officials.

During the discussions, Netanyahu instructed the relevant officials to work to issue demolition orders for the illegal structures, located in Arab towns in northern and southern Israel, as well as in eastern Jerusalem.

“There will be no double standards regarding construction,” clarified Netanyahu. “There will be equal enforcement of the law in Israel for both Jews and are Arabs.”

Earlier on Thursday, the Regavim movement, which is dedicated to monitoring and taking legal action against construction without permits conducted by Arabs and Bedouins on state land, submitted a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court against the Defense Ministry and the Civil Administration for neglecting for a decade to demolish an illegal Arab building which is on state land within the administrative borders of the town of Leshem.

Illegal Arab construction has surged in recent years, particularly during the recent Jewish holiday season, as Regavim noted.

During that time, Palestinian Authority residents were taking advantage of the absence of building inspectors to establish facts on the ground.

Civil Administration forces have destroyed a number of illegal buildings in recent months, many of which had been built with the support of the European Union.