An illegal Arab outpost was found built inside of an IDF firing zone recently in southern Judea.
The training area, located in the Judean Desert east of the communities of Carmel and Ma'on, was declared a firing zone in the late 1970s and covers some 33,000 dunams (8,150 acres). Under the leadership of the Palestinian Authority and with massive European funding, a number of illegal Arab outposts have been established there.
At the entrance to the "villages," some of which are built on state land inside the firing zone, there are signs proclaiming that they are part of the "State of Palestine." Aid organizations, including the European Union, helped prepare infrastructure, roads and public buildings for these illegal communities. The '918' desert area was completely empty in the early 2000s, but by the end of 2017 more than 500 illegal structures had been built there.
The growth was made possible because the Civil Administration, which is charged with enforcing the law in the area, did not act in accordance with its duty to remove the incursions into the firing zones in real time and to enforce the law against illegal construction. This allowed the Palestinian Authority and its bodies to file a series of petitions to the High Court of Justice and to freeze the implementation of the demolition orders under the long-standing legal process.
European anarchist activists have recently established an illegal outpost called Sumud, which also serves as a base for illegal and aggressive activities against IDF soldiers and Israeli communities in the area.
At the end of last week, the Regavim field coordinator located a new road that the Arabs paved in order to connect two illegal 'villages.' The road, which is hundreds of yards long, is located in a very rocky area, and significant resources have been invested in it, further showing the PA's involvement in the process.
Regavim noted that in parallel with the expansion of the Arab invasion of the area, the IDF is gradually lowering the amount of training carried out there.
"The systematic lack of action by the Civil Administration against the Arab invasion is repeated like a boomerang with a double impact," said Yishai Hamo, the field coordinator of the Regavim movement. "Every act of weakness is answered by another invasion, and the Palestinian Authority is doing its training in the IDF training grounds. The Arab takeover is gradually pushing the IDF out of the area."
The head of the Hevron Mount Council, Yochai Damari, warevs that the situation on the ground is advancing towards the point of no return. "For years we have been warning about the reality on the ground that has become the Palestinian Authority's" creeping occupation "with the EU's de facto funding, establishing a reality and setting boundaries, a systematic and backed-up plan known to all. "Unfortunately, despite all our warnings and innumerable inquiries and tours with policymakers, the treatment is minor and not serious, and in the area the signs of the Arab state are already being planted in the light of day, we are approaching the point of no return. The alarm bells must resonate with everyone who cares about the Land of Israel."