Tuesday

6th Jun 2023

EU urges Israel to halt demolition of Bedouin village

  • Bedouin women at home in Susya (Photo: Rosie Gabrielle)

The EU has urged Israel not to destroy a Bedouin village in the West Bank, amid a new French initiative on how to restart peace talks.

It said on Monday (20 July) the plan “for forced transfer of population and demolition of Palestinian housing and infrastructure in the Susya and Abu Nwar communities” is part of wider settlement expansion which “seriously threaten[s] the two-state solution”.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign policy chief, said the idea is to involve Arab states (Photo: consilium.europa.eu)

The statement, by foreign ministers, comes after Israeli authorities decided to demolish 37 structures in the South Hebron Hills.

The demolitions mostly target private homes, affecting 91 people, 45 of whom are children.

Twenty two of the structures were funded by the EU. One of them, a medical clinic, is subsidised by Italy.

The plan is being contested by Rabbis for Human Rights, an Israeli NGO, with a court hearing due in August.

But Cogat, the Israeli body which governs the West Bank, has the right under Israeli law to destroy the village at any time.

Quartet expansion

The EU appeal comes amid a French initiative on how to restart Israel-Palestine peace talks.

The EU ministers also endorsed “a renewed multilateral approach” to the conflict, a French proposal to broaden the format of the Quartet, the international body handling the Middle East Peace Process [MEPP], which includes the EU, Russia, the UN, and the US.

Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign policy chief, said she wants to involve Arab states.

She said Quartet envoys already held talks with Egypt and Jordan and that she will file a feasibility study on the project in September.

“At the moment … there seems to be no peace process at all”, she noted on Monday.

Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, said “the peace process is effectively dead. The situation is bad. Europe should help both parties to take steps to overcome the impasse”.

Polish foreign minister Grzegorz Schetyna said there’s a “new tempo” in France.

“Maybe the conclusion of the Iran [nuclear] deal will make it easier to find a solution to this situation as well”, he added.

UN resolution

France is also drafting a UN Security Council resolution to stimulate new talks.

Fabius, last year, told the French parliament he wants to give Israel and Palestine a two-year deadline to reach an accord and that France will recognise Palestinian statehood if there’s no outcome.

Meanwhile, the Susya demolition has little strategic meaning in terms of the viability of a future Palestinian state.

But Israel’s intransigence on past EU appeals has eroded diplomatic support.

All eight EU members of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, including Germany, earlier this month backed a report criticisng Israel’s conduct in the 2014 Gaza war.

EU institutions are also nearing publication of guidelines for retail labels on Israeli settlement exports, in a move likely to prompt consumer boycotts.

“The EU and its member states reaffirm their commitment to ensure continued, full, and effective implementation of existing EU legislation and bilateral arrangements applicable to settlement products”, the ministers said on Monday.

Israel threatens EU-funded NGOs

Israel’s deputy foreign minister has told EU countries to stop funding left-wing NGOs which, she says, “blacken” Israel’s name.

Opinion

How the EU's money for waste went to waste in Lebanon

The EU led support for the waste management crisis in Lebanon, spending around €89m between 2004-2017, with at least €30m spent on 16 solid-waste management facilities. However, it failed to deliver.

Latest News

  1. ECB president grilled over €135bn interest payout to commercial banks
  2. EU political ads rules could be 'hotbed for retaliatory flagging'
  3. Final steps for EU's due diligence on supply chains law
  4. Top EU court rules Poland's court reforms 'infringe law'
  5. Sweden's far-right is most anti-Green Deal party in EU
  6. Strengthening recovery, resilience and democracy in regions, cities and villages
  7. Why Hungary cannot be permitted to hold EU presidency
  8. Subcontracting rules allow firms to bypass EU labour rights

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. InformaConnecting Expert Industry-Leaders, Top Suppliers, and Inquiring Buyers all in one space - visit Battery Show Europe.
  2. EFBWWEFBWW and FIEC do not agree to any exemptions to mandatory prior notifications in construction
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us