The Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, acknowledged in a written reply to Hilde Vautmans (Renew Europe, Belgium) on Thursday 30 April that the number of demolitions and confiscations of EU-funded projects in Area C of the West Bank had increased in 2019.
According to a European official, demolitions or confiscation of structures financed by the EU and Member States have increased from 51 in 2018 to 98 in 2019, an increase of 90%. In financial terms, the increase is even greater: from 168,000 to 480,000 euros, or +185%.
More broadly, between 2018 and 2019, according to the EU, demolitions increased by 35%, from 460 to 623. The number of displaced people increased by 95% (from 469 to 914) in the West Bank, including in Area C and East Jerusalem.
Asked by Mrs Vautmans about the measures the EU would take to combat the destruction of EU-funded projects and to obtain compensation for the damage suffered, Mr Lenarčič explained that “on a number of occasions, the EU has called for the restitution or compensation of EU-funded humanitarian assets, which have been demolished, dismantled or confiscated by Israel, so that they can be returned to their intended beneficiaries”.
The Commissioner said that further measures to protect EU projects were under discussion, without giving further details.
According to an EU official, this claim for restitution or compensation is often coordinated with the Member States. “So far, the Israeli authorities have not responded positively to these multiple calls for restitution and/or compensation”, the official acknowledged.
See the question by Mrs Vautmans and the answer by Mr Lenarčič: https://bit.ly/3d7JmbE (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)