The IDF Civil Administration on Sunday demolished a Palestinian Arab school built illegally at the Herodian Nature Reserve and Heritage Site in Gush Etzion, south of Jerusalem.

The demolition follows the ruling in an appeal by the Regavim movement to demolish the structure and, despite Palestinian attempts, with UN support, to delay the court's decision.

The Regavim movement stated: "This building is only one out of more than 100 illegal school buildings that were built in Judea and Samaria as a way for the Palestinians to take over open areas."

The movement called for further steps: "This enforcement is the first step in restoring law and order to the area, and it is certainly not the last: now, we need to restore the site and deal with the hundreds of similar cases of illegal takeovers of lands and in nature reserves in this area and in general."

Gush Etzion Regional Council Mayor and Chairman of the Yesha Council, Shlomo Neeman, also responded to the demolition, stating: "We thank the Civil Administration for demonstrating their enforcement this morning near Herodian. Establishing dilapidated schools is, in reality, a PA land-grab tactic of State lands, which puts students at risk. We have reached an absurd situation where the court, through petitions by civil service organizations such as Regavim, must order the State to do the obvious. This is another step in the persistent struggle for our State lands. There is still a lot of work to be done."