The European Parliament adopted by 320 votes to 277 with 34 abstentions a resolution on Khan al-Ahmar and other Bedouin villages.
The resolution was tabled by the S&D, ALDE, Greens/EFA, and GUE/NGL groups.
Members called for the Israeli government to shelve the relocation plan that would lead to the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar and the forcible transfer of its population to another location. They joined their call to those of the VP/HR, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom in this matter and considered it of the utmost importance that the EU continue to speak with one voice, and to remain steadfast on the issue. Parliament recalled that the Israeli army has issued demolition orders for all structures in the village of Khan al-Ahmar, which is made up of 32 families, and 173 persons in total, including 92 minors. The village is one of the 46 Bedouin communities that the UN considers to be at high risk of forcible transfer in the central West Bank.
Compensation: the resolution stressed that the demolition of houses, schools and other vital infrastructure in the occupied Palestinian territory is illegal under international humanitarian law, and it called on the Israeli Government to put an immediate end to its policy of threats of demolition and actual eviction against the Bedouin communities living in the Negev and in Area C in the occupied West Bank. Members insisted that Israel bears full responsibility for providing the necessary services, including education, healthcare and welfare, for the people living under its occupation, in line with the Fourth Geneva Convention. Should the demolition and eviction of Khan al-Ahmar take place, Parliament called on the VP/HR to step up the EU’s engagement with the Israeli authorities with regard to full respect for the rights of the Palestinian population in Area C and to demand compensation from Israel for the destruction of EU-funded infrastructure.
Settlements: Parliament noted that Israeli authorities impose an extremely restrictive building regime on the Palestinian residents of Area C in the West Bank, which makes legal Palestinian building activities nearly impossible in the area, and is used as a means to evict Palestinians and expand settlement activities. Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and EU Member States have a duty not to recognise, aid or assist settlements in an occupied territory, as well as a duty to effectively oppose them.
Two-state solution: lastly, Parliament expressed its concern that the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar would further threaten the viability of the two-state solution, which is the only lasting solution to the conflict in the Middle East. The EU’s immediate priority on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Middle East peace process is protecting and preserving the viability of the two-state solution.