This week, the Regavim Movement, which acts to prevent illegal seizure of state land, in collaboration with the Gush Etzion Regional Council, petitioned the court for an injunction to halt construction of a multi-story building in the village of Walaja, south of Jerusalem, which is being erected without permits or authorization.
The massive project is on a site adjacent to the Jewish community of Har Gilo, near the security barrier in the northern Gush Etzion section of the Jerusalem Envelope. The development resembles the infamous Holyland Project in Jerusalem’s Malha neighborhood: Two 12 story towers, connected by an additional 4 story building, totaling 8,472 square meters.
Yaron Rosenthal, Head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council, added: “The structure, located just 200 meters from Har Gilo and the security barrier, rises to a great height and poses a security threat to the surrounding region. We will not tolerate such rampant construction that endangers the safety of residents and all those traveling on our roads. I call on the authorities to act swiftly against the structure – and the hundreds of additional illegal structures spilling over from the boundaries of Walaja into the open areas of Gush Etzion.”
The Holyland project is a scar on the city of Jerusalem and should never have been permitted to proceed. This new project must be halted in its tracks before it does further damage to our eternal capital.