Israel: European diplomats come to support Palestinians threatened with deportation
Audio 01:36
For twenty years, the inhabitants of Khirbet Al-Majaz, in the south of the West Bank, have waged a legal battle to remain in their village.
Israel declared the perimeter a “shooting zone”.
RFI / Guilhem Delteil
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
By Benjamin Netanyahu's own admission, the project to annex part of the West Bank is now "suspended".
But on the ground, the peace process is still stuck.
In the southern West Bank, nearly a thousand Palestinians could see their villages destroyed by Israel.
On Monday, representatives of 18 countries and international organizations came to support them.
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With our correspondent in Jerusalem,
Guilhem Delteil
Khirbet Al-Majaz is one of twelve Palestinian communities living in the desert hills of the southern West Bank.
The village consists of a few basic structures and a school funded by the European Union.
In front of the parterre of European diplomats come to support these Palestinians threatened with expulsion, Nidal Younes, president of the Council of the Palestinian local community, tells about the destruction - monthly, he assures - by the Israeli army.
Of these 12 Palestinian communities, only four have been legalized by Israel.
The others are threatened with destruction because they are in an area declared military.
European diplomats tour the community.
An inhabitant welcomes them in the cave which serves as his home.
The legal fight allowed the inhabitants to stay put but not to develop the villages.
A breach by Israel of its international obligations regrets the representative of the European Union, Sven Kühn von Bürgsdorff.
"
The Israeli administration is doing nothing so that these people can not only stay but also live in reasonable and healthy conditions,"
explains the diplomat.
On the contrary, it is orders of expulsion, orders of destruction, orders of confiscation that are issued.
The opposite of what it must do according to the 4th Geneva Convention.
"
After 20 years of legal battle, a final judgment from the Supreme Court is expected.
But already, the countries represented on Monday are calling on Israel not to destroy these villages.
The displacement of nearly 1,000 inhabitants would be contrary to international law and "would weaken the viability of the two-state solution", they say.
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Israel
Palestinian territories
Benjamin Netanyahu