European mobilization against Israeli colonization.
More than 400 European parliamentarians on Monday March 1 called on their country to take advantage of the arrival of Joe Biden in Washington to mobilize against the colonization of the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
They denounce a "de facto annexation" of the West Bank by Israel, in a letter consulted by AFP.
On the initiative of several former Israeli officials, 442 deputies and senators from twenty European countries signed this letter sent overnight from Sunday to Monday to the foreign ministries of various European countries.
"Developments on the ground clearly tend towards a reality of de facto annexation progressing rapidly, especially with the expansion of settlements and the demolitions of Palestinian structures," write parliamentarians from all political stripes, including British MP Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the Labor Party, and Frenchman Jean-Luc Mélenchon (radical left).
Demolitions of Palestinian houses and structures
Among the signatories are also the French Olivier Faure (socialist), Yannick Jadot (environmental MEP) and Raphaël Glucksmann (MEP, left), Gwendal Rouillard and Marie Tamarelle Verhaeghe (LREM, French presidential party).
“Despite the coronavirus pandemic, last year saw the highest number of demolitions of Palestinian homes and structures in four years,” they write.
On Friday, the UN and European members of the Security Council called on Israel to stop demolitions of Bedouin settlements in the Jordan Valley and demanded humanitarian access to the community living in Hamsa al-Baqa, a hamlet considered as "illegal" by the Hebrew state.
The Israeli army has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967, where approximately 3.1 million Palestinians and more than 675,000 Israelis live today in settlements deemed illegal by international law.
Israeli colonization has accelerated in recent years under the leadership of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with the benevolence of his ally in Washington, Donald Trump.
Critical biden
New US President Joe Biden has been critical of the settlements and pledged to step up efforts to create a Palestinian state.
"The start of the Biden presidency provides an essential opportunity for action," say MEPs.
Their appeal was initiated by four Israeli officials including Avraham Burg, former speaker of the Knesset (Parliament).
"The annexation is taking place before our eyes: colonization and demolitions of Palestinian homes are accelerating and Europe must take immediate and concrete actions to put an end to these destructive practices, by working with the Biden administration", a- he told AFP.
The "Trump Plan" for the Middle East, presented in January 2020, notably provided for the annexation by Israel of parts of the West Bank.
But Israel suspended this annexation project last summer in favor of an agreement to normalize its relations with the United Arab Emirates.
With AFP
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