Israel har gennem en årrække strammet sit greb om de besatte områder på Vestbredden.
I en høring i Udenrigs- og forsvarsudvalget i det israelske parlament, Knesset, kom det i august frem at den israelske regering indfører nye muligheder for at ødelægge palæstinensiske bygninger og materiel, som den israelske regering betragter som ulovlig.
Det går blandt udover EU-støttede humanitære projekter i regionen. Konkret risikerer en palæstinensisk skole at blive revet ned. Det er en skole, som en række medlemslande har givet penge til gennem EU. Billedet til det her blog-indlæg er taget ved skolen for en uge siden. Det betyder, at Israel lader EU betale for at sikre grundlæggende rettigheder for palæstinesiske børn for derefter at ødelægge de selvsamme skoler, legepladser og andet uden lovligt grundlag. Det kan vi ikke acceptere.
Det er ikke bare en trussel mod palæstinensiske børns ret til at modtage undervisning og deres familiers mulighed for at leve på den jord, som de har boet på i generationer – men det truer også muligheden for en to-stats-løsning og fred mellem Israel og Palæstina.
Ligesom man i Folketinget kan stille såkaldte §20-spørgsmål til regeringen, kan vi som europa-parlamentarikere stille spørgsmål til EU-Kommissionen. Derfor har jeg og 17 af mine kolleger stillet følgende skriftlige spørgsmål til EU-Kommissionen:
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Demolitions and confiscations EU-funded aid in the West Bank
- What concrete measures has the Commission taken since then to ensure financial compensation from Israel for the cost of EU-funded demolished or seized aid, including potential deduction of the value from EU-Israel bilateral support?
- What are the EU’s red lines regarding Israeli activity in the above-mentioned priority areas which may jeopardize a possibility of a two-state solution?
At a Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee hearing in the Israeli Knesset on 13 August, 2020, a Civil Administration official described new legal instruments which have allowed Israeli authorities to expand demolitions and seizures of Palestinian homes and structures, including EU-funded aid.¹
Priority areas for enforcing against Palestinian presence in Area C discussed include areas surrounding Jerusalem, Ma’ale Adumim and the E1 area, South Hebron Hills, and Jordan Valley.²
On 11 September 2020 allocation of 20 million NIS to map ‘unauthorised Palestinian construction’ in Area C was reported – the first time for funds to be allocated for such a survey under the state budget.³
Given that numbers of demolitions this year despite the coronavirus pandemic have reached a higher monthly average number than in 2016 previously representing a peak⁴, and in light of a dramatic spike in settlement expansion.⁵
Karen Melchior (Renew), Nathalie Loiseau (Renew), Hilde Vautmans (Renew), María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos (Renew), Izaskun Bilbao Barandica (Renew), Michal Šimečka (Renew), Javier Nart (Renew), Irena Joveva (Renew), Barry Andrews (Renew), Pascal Durand (Renew), Brando Benifei (S&D), Grace O’Sullivan (Verts/ALE), Nikolaj Villumsen (GUE/NGL), Evin Incir (S&D), Giuliano Pisapia (S&D), Tanja Fajon (S&D), Mounir Satouri (Verts/ALE), Ernest Urtasun (Verts/ALE)
¹ Minutes of the Knesset Hearing of Foreign and Defence Committee, 12 August 2020 (in Hebrew) http://fs.knesset.gov.il/23/Committees/23_ptv_581852.doc
² Ibid.
⁴ Unlawful Demolitions in the West Bank Spike During COVID-19 – Statement by Humanitarian Coordinator
Jamie McGoldrick, 10 September 2020 https://www.un.org/unispal/document/unlawful-demolitions-in-thewest-bank-spike-during-covid-19-statement-by-humanitarian-coordinator-jamie-mcgoldrick/
⁵ West Bank: Statement by the High Representative Josep Borrell on Israeli settlement expansion https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/87070/west-bank-statement-highrepresentative-josep-borrell-israeli-settlement-expansion_en