PA Will Issue Building Permits for Construction in Israel-Governed Area C

Majdi Al Salah, the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) minister of local government, stated that the top planning council headed by him will approve plans for construction in Area C in Judea and Samaria starting next month.

Area C is under full Israeli governance as per the 1993 Oslo Accords, and as such, PA building permits would be illegal and consist of a breach of the peace agreement.

Al-Saleh on Wednesday toured the Arab village of Sussiya in southern Hebron on Wednesday, the site of a long-contested illegally built Arab village, during which he stated that his office intends to issue building permits in Area C and that if Israel demolishes the buildings, the PA will help rebuild them.

TPS in September quoted a senior source in the PA who said that the authority’s government instructed local government institutions to encourage extensive agricultural activity by Arab residents in Area C and commence construction activity in parts of Area C that are adjacent to Area A, under full PA control.

In 2009, then-prime minister of the PA Salaam Fayyad laid out the "Plan for the Creation of the State of Palestine," a methodical program for seizing control of territory in Area C, under full Israeli control as prescribed by the Oslo Accords, to form a broad and viable basis for a Palestinian state, specifically in the areas under Israeli control.

Fayyad’s plan essentially bypasses all negotiation or compromise with Israel and creates facts on the ground.

According to data collected by the Regavim organization, in 2009 the number of illegal Arab structures in Area C stood at 29,784, while in 2018 the number surged to 58,435.

Israel’s Defense Minister Naftali Bennet recently threatened to demolish any illegal Arab construction in Area C.