The EU representative, in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah, denounced, on Monday 5 July, the latest Israeli demolitions in East Jerusalem.
According to the EU, Israeli authorities demolished one Palestinian shop in Bustan on 29 June. Several buildings in the neighbourhood have recently received new demolition orders, twenty houses are reportedly under imminent threat of demolition and more than 1,000 Palestinians are facing the threat of having their homes demolished. In Batan al Hawa, 86 families are in various stages of eviction proceeding.
The Israeli Supreme Court is due to rule on 2 August on the appeal of four of the 28 families facing eviction from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah.
“Israeli domestic laws, creating the basis for the claims to evict the families, do not exempt Israel, as the occupying power, from meeting its obligations to administer the occupied territory in a manner that provides for and protects the local population”, the EU representative warned. “Unilateral actions, such as forced transfers, evictions, demolitions and confiscations of homes will only escalate an already tense environment and lead to further violence and human suffering”, the representative denounced, calling for the immediate cessation of such activities and the provision of adequate permits for the legal construction and development of Palestinian communities. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)