The Peace Now movement filed a petition with the High Court of Justice Thursday against Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Southern Command Chief MaJ.-Gen. Gadi Shamni, demanding that they halt the construction of 15 permanent structures in the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Netafim.

The petition calls on Barak and Shamni to issue orders to demolish the buildings.

According to the petition, the structures are being built illegally on public land and private land owned by Palestinians.

"As in any case that pertains to illegal Israeli construction in the West Bank, here too the presence of the law enforcement agencies is not felt," the petition read.

Peace Now said it filed the petition after realizing that without the court's intervention the structures will be inhabited and "become yet another testament to the demise of the rule of law as it applies to the Israeli population in the West Bank."