News / Palestine

Israel army mistreating Palestinian Bedouins in WB: European envoys

Tuesday, 19 July 2016 5:40 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 21 July 2016 6:27 PM ]

A woman from the Arab Jahalin Bedouin community stands amidst the debris of homes in the West Bank Bedouin camp of al-Khan al-Ahmar on April 7, 2016. ©AFP

Several European ambassadors say the Israeli army mistreats the Bedouin communities in the occupied West Bank, warning that Tel Aviv’s measures against the Palestinians could result in their forced displacement.

The ambassadors of Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland and Norway to the occupied territories issued the warning in a letter which dates back to July 7 but was seen by AFP on Tuesday.

The Israeli policies against the Bedouin communities could create a "coercive environment" forcing them to leave their areas, the diplomats said in the letter addressed to Israeli Major General Yoav Mordechai, the head of the military body that coordinates Israeli activities in the West Bank and Gaza.

The Israeli military has displaced 75 Palestinian Bedouins in the West Bank by confiscating caravans given to them by international donors, the envoys said, noting that the Bedouins’ forcible transfers could be “a grave breach of international humanitarian law."

The diplomats further denounced Israel’s confiscation of Bedouins' shelters, saying, "It is a serious concern that humanitarian assistance which is delivered under humanitarian principles be confiscated."

As an occupying regime, Tel Aviv should meet the basic needs of the Bedouin communities, they added.

Bedouin makeshift tents and structures are seen in front of buildings of the illegal Israeli settlement of Ma’ale Adumim in the occupied West Bank on July 4, 2016. ©AFP

Back in March, the United Nations said Israel was demolishing Palestinian homes and other buildings constructed with international aid at an "alarming" rate.

According to the latest UN figures, Israel has demolished 190 structures funded partly or fully by international donors in the West Bank including East Jerusalem al-Quds so far this year, almost double the 108 from all of 2015.

The Israeli regime usually destroys the structures under the pretext that they are built illegally, but aid groups say obtaining necessary permits is nearly impossible.

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