Illegal Arab Stadium, Castle

Land of Israel loyalists protest to Supreme Court about an illegal million-dollar Arab castle being built near Gush Etzion – and an illegal stadium built just outside Psagot.

The Regavim Land of Israel organization filed suit in the Supreme Court this week to find out why the State is allowing an illegal million-dollar Arab castle to be built near Gush Etzion.

"If 15,000 frenzied Arabs at a game decide to march on Psagot, they can be here in five minutes without anyone stopping them – and certainly not our lone soldier standing at the town gate.”

The luxurious, Roman-architecture style mansion is being built in territory under total Israeli control, known as Area C under the Oslo Accords. It stands, nearly finished, in an Arab outpost near the village of Hussan, not far from Sde Boaz in western Gush Etzion.  Stop-work orders have been issued against the structure, but they have never been enforced.

At the same time, some 20 men from the Jewish town of Psagot, which straddles the eastern edge of Ramallah/Al Bireh, marched into Ramallah on Tuesday – protesting the illegal construction of an Arab stadium in the city.

"Who Will Stop Mob of Fans from Marching on Psagot?"

In addition to the discrimination inherent in the fact that illegal Arab construction is ignored while unauthorized Jewish buildings are immediately demolished, the Psagot residents are concerned over the very real security threat. “The stadium is only 290 meters (320 yards) from our town,” says town secretary Noam Sharon, “and if 15,000 frenzied Arabs at a game decide to march on Psagot, they can be here in five minutes without anyone stopping them – and certainly not our lone soldier standing at the town gate.”

Click here to see a Hebrew-language video of the stadium and the protest. The stadium is being built by the German government and FIFA (International Federation of Association Football), yet lacks the necessary permits.

An internal memo in the Civil Administration states that there is a “total freeze” on enforcement of illegal Arab construction in Judea and Samaria.

Regavim asks in its suit that the Supreme Court order the State to set a concrete timetable for the demolition of the illegal castle, just as has been ordered by the Court in other similar cases. It has also filed suit against the Ramallah stadium, but to no avail.

Regavim has protested similar illegal structures for two years, but has been informed several times that “there are not enough building inspectors.” This claim is not accepted by Regavim in view of the dozens of inspectors recently added for the purpose of enforcing the construction freeze on the Jews of Judea and Samaria.

“The Civil Administration takes care of 100% of the cases of illegal Jewish construction,” Regavim says, “but only a tiny fraction of the cases of illegal Arab building.”