The IDF Civil Administration ordered the expropriation on Tuesday of land between the Samaria communities of Hizmeh and Adam, both of which are located just north of Jerusalem, so as to widen the local road there to have two lanes and ease traffic congestion.
However, Arutz Sheva has learned that just hours after the order was given, the Palestinian Authority (PA) sent representatives to the area and started illegally building corrugated iron structures to establish facts on the ground and prevent the usage of the previously empty land.
Shortly after learning about the development, members of the Regavim watchdog group for Jewish national property rights sent an urgent petition to the Civil Administration.
Thanks to the swift action, inspectors were sent to the scene, where they distributed orders against the illegal construction.
Apparently, an immediate demolition of the illegal structures was not possible due to juridical reasons, but the Civil Administration is expected to arrive on the scene on Wednesday with a large force to prevent the land grab.
It has long been documented that the PA conducts similar illegal moves to gain control over parts of Area C, which in the 1993 Oslo Accords was designated as an area under full Israeli security and administrative control.
The attempted PA land grab Tuesday occurred on the day that a prayer rally was held in the Samaria town of Givat Assaf, also located to the north of Jerusalem, against the feared governmental intention to destroy the town.
Nearly all of Givat Assaf has been purchased legally and registered by residents in the state land registry, but despite there not being an Arab complainant claiming the land it is on, the state has said it is not interested in recognizing the town and making it state land, leaving the community in clear danger.