House for House; Law for Law
Press Release - MK Uri Ariel
22 January 2008
[Translation by IMRA]

MK Uri Ariel, Chairman of the National Union-NRP Knesset faction, recently
submitted a parliamentary question to Minister of Defense Ehud Barak which
included detailed aerial photographs of scores of illegal building erected
by Arabs in the area of Judea and Samaria. All the buildings were erected in
Area C under full Israeli authority such that all construction there
required a permit from the authorities. All the Palestinian structures
identified in the parliamentary question are adjacent to Israeli outposts
against which demolition orders have been issued.

The information reached Ariel from the Movement to Preserve National Lands
that deals in monitoring threatening takeovers of State land in the entire
country. The movement has coordinators in the Galilee, Samaria, Sharon,
Judea and Negev who carry out ongoing monitoring via sophisticated equipment
and matching information with official state authorities regarding the take
over of public lands by private elements.

MK Ariel emphasized that the fact in the very same area demolition orders
were issued against building by Jews, for which permits had not yet
completed, while almost completely ignoring Palestinian construction that is
certainly illegal is revolting. "There is not even a façade of law and
justice on the part of the prime minster in the matter of the outposts. The
clear and broad discrimination that he carries out against the residents of
the outposts is invalid from a legal, moral and human standpoint. Law and
Order are not his concern but instead political and narrow self interests.
The real contempt is the ignoring of tens of illegal thousands of Arab and
Bedouin homes and the failure of the authorities to deal with them," notes
MK Ariel.

The Movement for the Preservation of National Land recently issued a
detailed file of the extent of illegal Arab construction in Judea and
Samaria with an emphasis on those that are near the outposts - against which
demolition orders have been issued. It turns out that the Civil Authority
has opened files against less than 20 percent of the illegal Arab
construction in Area C at the same time that there are more than 40 thousand
illegal buildings.

For details and the receipt of the complete file as well as aerial
photographs: Betzalel Smutritch, movement coordinator 052-8903771.