Israel Matzav: European Union building illegally (for Arabs) in Judea and Samaria Area C

Monday, February 09, 2015

European Union building illegally (for Arabs) in Judea and Samaria Area C

In open violation of international law, the European Union has built more than 400 housing units for 'Palestinians' in Area C - an area of Judea and Samaria that is under Israeli civilian and security control under the Oslo accords - under the guise of 'humanitarian grounds.'

More than 400 EU-funded Palestinian homes have been erected in Area C of the West Bank, which was placed under Israeli jurisdiction during the Oslo Accords – a part of international law to which the EU is a signatory.

The Palestinian buildings, which have no permits, come at a cost of tens of millions of Euros in public money, a proportion of which comes from the British taxpayer.

This has raised concerns that the EU is using valuable resources to take sides in a foreign territorial dispute.

Official EU documentation reveals that the building project is intended to ‘pave the way for development and more authority of the PA over Area C (the Israeli area)’, which some experts say is an attempt to unilaterally affect facts on the ground.

Locally, the villages are known as the ‘EU Settlements’, and can be found in 17 locations around the West Bank.

They proudly fly the EU flag, and display hundreds of EU stickers and signs. Some also bear the logos of Oxfam and other NGOs, which have assisted in the projects.

Questions have also been asked about the conduct of EU workers in the region, after a picture emerged of a man in EU uniform threatening soldiers and bystanders with a rock outside a settlement in 2012. An EU spokesperson declined to comment on the picture.

And when they do comment, these European successors to their Nazi heritage lie about it:

Maja Kocijancic, a Brussels-based EU spokesperson, denied that this was happening.
‘The EU's funding will provide training and expertise, to help the relevant Palestinian Authority (PA) Ministries to plan and build new infrastructure and enable people to reclaim and rebuild their land there,’ she said.

‘To date, no construction has started yet under these programmes. The EU is not funding illegal projects.'

When shown sequences of photographs showing construction taking place, she declined to comment. She also did not comment on an EU-Oxfam sign stating that the 'main activities' of construction work are 'rehabilitation and reclamation' of land.

However, her statement appeared to be contradicted by Shadi Othman, a spokesman for the EU in the West Bank and Gaza. Speaking on the telephone from the West Bank, he accepted that the construction was taking place.

'We support the Palestinian presence in Area C. Palestinian presence should not be limited Areas A and B. Area C is part of the occupied Palestinian territory which eventually will be Palestinian land.

'Palestinians have a right to live there, build schools there, have economic development.

And where is the Israeli government on this? Apparently hog-tied.

This week, prior to the release of its latest report, Regavim took journalists to look at a number of Beduin encampments straddling E1 as well as the Jerusalem-Jericho road. They are not temporary tent encampments as they were in years past, but rather clusters that – in addition to tents and tin shacks – also include modular structures with cement floors bearing the EU logo.

According to Ari Briggs, Regavim’s international relations director, the EU logo is placed on the structures in the belief that this will prevent Israel from demolishing them. Israel is not likely to take down a building with an EU logo, due to concerns over both public relations damage and the harm it could cause to relations with the EU, he said.

Maj.-Gen Yoav Mordechai, the coordinator of government activities in the territories (COGAT), was in Europe this week holding talks with high-level EU officials. One diplomatic source said this issue was one of the topics of his conversations.

A COGAT representative, referring to the Regavim charge that it is reluctant to take down the structures because of EU involvement, said: “The civil administration acts against illegal construction, and no organization is exempt from enforcement.

COGAT has sent official letters to embassies and international organizations cautioning them against building illegally in Judea and Samaria.”

If we don't stick up for ourselves no one else will. The original Regavim report is here. Hat Tip: Honest Reporting.

Labels: European Union, international law, Judea and Samaria, Judea and Samaria construction, Oslo accords