The struggle to enforce the law in Yehuda and Shomron has reached a crisis this week. Classified documents have revealed that a secret team – aside from police and army units – is monitoring events in the territories. The "special law enforcement staff of Israelis in Yesha" has special duties and assignments, and is headed by the Deputy State Prosecutor, lawyer Shai Nitzan.

The special unit was first established after the murder of former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, based on recommendations by the Shmagar Committee. A decision was reached to establish a unit that included representatives from the State Prosecutor's office, the police, the IDF, the Shabak (Israel Security Agency), and the Civil Administration. The unit was first exposed the human rights organization, "B'Tzedek", in 1998, which caused a public uproar.

The discovery of protocols of past meetings of the unit, attended by representatives of the Jewish Department of the Shabak, legal advisors, the IDF, the Civil Administration, and the State Prosecutor's office, was revealed this morning on the "Galei Tzahal" radio station. Members of the unit draft proposals about different issues, such as building permits, illegal outposts, and how to deal with the "main provocateurs" in the settlements.

Lawyer Nadav Ha'atzni, the legal advisor of the human rights organization in Yesha, said that the law enforcement team is operating illegally. "There is a severe case of discrimination, of selective law enforcement, and almost everything being done by the unit is deemed illegal by the High Court of Justice," claimed Ha'atzni.

During the course of the day, a special committee on Yesha, chaired by coalition chairman Ze'ev Elkin, is scheduled to mark Human Rights Day in the Knesset by discussing law enforcement and human rights in the territories. The central question will be raised: Is the law being broken, in an effort to enforce the building freeze "law" in Yehuda and Shomron?