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ASTRID ESSED AAN DE NOS TELETEKSTREDACTIE
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‘On Wednesday, 19 January, Israeli authorities demolished a family home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem. The possibility of further evictions of Palestinian families from homes they have lived in for decades in the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem poses the risk of fuelling tensions on the ground and contributes to the worrying trend of increasing numbers of demolitions and evictions in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem.”
” On Wednesday, 19 January, Israeli authorities demolished a family home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem.”
ISRAEL/PALESTINE: STATEMENT BY THE SPOKESPERSON ONDEVELOPMENTS IN OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM19 JANUARI 2022
https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/109863/israelpalestine-statement-spokesperson-developments-occupied-east-jerusalem_en
Statements by the Spokesperson
On Wednesday, 19 January, Israeli authorities demolished a family home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem. The possibility of further evictions of Palestinian families from homes they have lived in for decades in the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem poses the risk of fuelling tensions on the ground and contributes to the worrying trend of increasing numbers of demolitions and evictions in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem.
On Monday, 17 January the Jerusalem District Committee for Planning and Building decided to advance a plan for the construction of more than 1,450 settlement-housing units between Har Homa and Givat Hamatos for the “Lower Aqueduct Plan”, which includes lands in occupied East Jerusalem. The EU urges Israel not to proceed with this plan that would further undermine the possibility of Jerusalem serving as the future capital of both States and to halt all settlement activities.
Settlement expansion, demolitions and evictions are illegal under international law. They exacerbate tensions, threaten the viability of the two-state solution and diminish prospects for a lasting peace. The EU stands ready to give the parties full support in opening the path towards the relaunch of the peace process as soon as possible.Peter STANO(link sends e-mail)Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy+32 (0)460 75 45 53Lauranne DEVILLE(link sends e-mail)Press Officer for Foreign Affairs and Security+32 (0)2 29 92256+32 (0) 460 758 775
ZIE OOK NIEUWSBERICHT IN THE TIMES OF ISRAEL:
THE TIMES OF ISRAELEU, EUROPEAN POWERS, PAN ISRAEL OVEREAST JERUSALEM EVICTION AND CONSTRUCTION20 JANUARY 2020
France, Germany, Italy and Spain say proposed Jewish neighborhood near Har Homa threatens viability of future Palestinian state
The European Union and four major European countries released statements late Wednesday condemning Israel over new housing plans in Jerusalem and the eviction of a Palestinian family in Sheikh Jarrah in the east of the capital.
A statement from the EU spokesperson’s office said that evictions of Palestinian families “poses the risk of fueling tensions on the ground and contributes to the worrying trend of increasing numbers of demolitions and evictions in the West Bank, including in East Jerusalem.”
The EU also urged Israel not to proceed with a plan to build a new, 1,465-unit neighborhood in the capital, half of which would be in the contested area over the 1948 ceasefire line.
“Settlement expansion, demolitions and evictions are illegal under international law,” read the statement. “They exacerbate tensions, threaten the viability of the two-state solution and diminish prospects for a lasting peace.”
The foreign ministries of France, Germany, Spain, and Italy put out a separate statement, saying the planned construction, between the neighborhoods of Givat Hamatos and Har Homa, “directly threatens the viability of a future Palestinian state.”
“Israeli settlements are in clear violation of international law and stand in the way of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” it continued.
The European countries also expressed deep concern over the Sheikh Jarrah evictions, and urged Israel to permanently halt evictions and demolitions.
Before dawn on Wednesday, Israeli police evicted the Salihiya family and demolished their home in Sheikh Jarrah, arresting 18 Palestinians and Israeli activists at the scene.
Jerusalem city hall said it plans to build a special needs school for the neighborhood’s Palestinian residents on the plot, as well as six kindergartens and other public facilities.
It was the first eviction in Sheikh Jarrah since 2017. Eviction battles in the neighborhood in May were a major factor in tensions that touched off a brief conflict between Israel and Hamas terrorists, who threatened violence should Palestinians be removed from their homes.
The US envoy to the United Nations also expressed concern over the evictions on Wednesday during a monthly Security Council meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“We do this for any structure that is built illegally. It happens in West Jerusalem, and it happens in East Jerusalem,” said Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum.
According to Hassan-Nahoum, the home — owned by the Salihya family — was built illegally in the 1990s. The Salihiyas contest this, saying they have lived there since the 1950s on a plot purchased from private Arab landlords.
In 2017, the Jerusalem municipality announced that it would expropriate the property to build a school, sparking a legal battle with the Salihiya family. Last year, a Jerusalem court ruled in favor of the city, although the family has continued to contest the eviction.
Sheikh Jarrah, parts of which were historically known in Hebrew as Shimon Hatzadik or Nahalat Shimon, has become one of Jerusalem’s most tense neighborhoods. Palestinians live alongside a small cluster of right-wing Jewish nationalists who moved in following complex legal property cases.
According to the left-wing Ir Amim nonprofit, some 300 Palestinians are currently under threat of eviction in Sheikh Jarrah, mostly in private cases filed by right-wing Jewish groups.
EINDE BERICHT
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””On Monday, 17 January the Jerusalem District Committee for Planning and Building decided to advance a plan for the construction of more than 1,450 settlement-housing units between Har Homa and Givat Hamatos for the “Lower Aqueduct Plan”, which includes lands in occupied East Jerusalem. The EU urges Israel not to proceed with this plan that would further undermine the possibility of Jerusalem serving as the future capital of both States and to halt all settlement activities.
Settlement expansion, demolitions and evictions are illegal under international law”ISRAEL/PALESTINE: STATEMENT BY THE SPOKESPERSON ONDEVELOPMENTS IN OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM19 JANUARI 2022
https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/109863/israelpalestine-statement-spokesperson-developments-occupied-east-jerusalem_en
ZIE VOOR GEHELE TEKST, NOOT 2
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”’On Wednesday, 19 January, Israeli authorities demolished a family home in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in occupied East Jerusalem.”ISRAEL/PALESTINE: STATEMENT BY THE SPOKESPERSON ONDEVELOPMENTS IN OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM19 JANUARI 2022
https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/109863/israelpalestine-statement-spokesperson-developments-occupied-east-jerusalem_en
ZIE VOOR GEHELE TEKST, NOOT 2
[5]ARTICLE 53 [ Link ]
Any destruction by the Occupying Power of real or personal property belonging individually or collectively to private persons, or to the State, or to other public authorities, or to social or cooperative organizations, is prohibited, except where such destruction is rendered absolutely necessary by military operations.”
Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949.
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”Settlement expansion, demolitions and evictions are illegal under international law’
ISRAEL/PALESTINE: STATEMENT BY THE SPOKESPERSON ONDEVELOPMENTS IN OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM19 JANUARI 2022
https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/109863/israelpalestine-statement-spokesperson-developments-occupied-east-jerusalem_en
ZIE OOK NOOT 2
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”On Monday, 17 January the Jerusalem District Committee for Planning and Building decided to advance a plan for the construction of more than 1,450 settlement-housing units between Har Homa and Givat Hamatos for the “Lower Aqueduct Plan”, which includes lands in occupied East Jerusalem”
ISRAEL/PALESTINE: STATEMENT BY THE SPOKESPERSON ONDEVELOPMENTS IN OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM19 JANUARI 2022
https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/109863/israelpalestine-statement-spokesperson-developments-occupied-east-jerusalem_en
ZIE VOOR GEHELE TEKST, NOOT 2
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DE ILLEGALITEIT VAN DE NEDERZETTINGEN
BTSELEM.ORG
”The establishment of the settlements contravenes international humanitarian law (IHL), which states that an occupying power may not relocate its own citizens to the occupied territory or make permanent changes to that territory, unless these are needed for imperative military needs, in the narrow sense of the term, or undertaken for the benefit of the local population.”
BTSELEM.ORG/SETTLEMENTS
https://www.btselem.org/settlements
””Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.”
ARTICLE 49, FOURTH GENEVA CONVENTION
Artikel 55
De Staat, die een gebied bezet heeft, mag zich slechts beschouwen als beheerder en vruchtgebruiker der openbare gebouwen, onroerende eigendommen, bosschen en landbouwondernemingen, welke aan den vijandelijken Staat behooren en zich in de bezette landstreek bevinden. Hij moet het grondkapitaal dier eigendommen in zijn geheel laten en die overeenkomstig de regelen van het vruchtgebruik beheeren.
ARTIKEL 55, HAAGS VERDRAG 1907
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”Settlement expansion, demolitions and evictions are illegal under international law.”ISRAEL/PALESTINE: STATEMENT BY THE SPOKESPERSON ONDEVELOPMENTS IN OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM19 JANUARI 2022
https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/109863/israelpalestine-statement-spokesperson-developments-occupied-east-jerusalem_en
ZIE OOK
‘The EU considers that settlement building anywhere in the occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under international law, constitutes an obstacle to peace and threatens to make a two-state solution impossible. ”
EUROPA.EUMIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS8 FEBRUARI 2021
https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/337/middle-east-peace-process_en
The Resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict is a fundamental interest of the EU. The EU’s objective is a two-state solution with an independent, democratic, viable and contiguous Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbours.
The EU has consistently expressed its concerns about developments on the ground, which threaten to make a two-state solution impossible. In our view, the only way to resolve the conflict is through an agreement that ends the occupation which began in 1967, that ends all claims and that fulfils the aspirations of both parties. A one state reality would not be compatible with these aspirations. A lasting solution must be achieved on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, the Madrid principles including land for peace, the Roadmap, agreements previously reached by the parties and of the Arab Peace Initiative. If an agreement to finally end the conflict were to be reached, the door would open to a deepened and enhanced cooperation among all the countries of the region.
The EU is willing to work with its partners to re-launch peace negotiations, based on the following parameters:
- An agreement on the borders of the two states, based on the 4 June 1967 lines with equivalent land swaps as may be agreed between the parties. The EU will recognize changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, only when agreed by the parties.
- Security arrangements that, for Palestinians, respect their sovereignty and show that the occupation is over; and, for Israelis, protect their security, prevent the resurgence of terrorism and deal effectively with security threats, including with new and vital threats in the region.
- A just, fair, agreed and realistic solution to the refugee question.
- Fulfilment of the aspirations of both parties for Jerusalem. A way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of both states.
To that end, the EU undertakes a range of activities – both political and practical – and is the largest donor to Palestinian state-building efforts aiming at a Palestinian state based on the rule of law and respect of human rights. It has also consistently called for intra-Palestinian reconciliation and holding of democratic elections.
The EU – with the UN, the US and the Russian Federation – is a member of the ‘Quartet‘ which in 2002 launched a ‘road map for peace’ aimed at resolving the conflict. The EU has welcomed the Arab Peace Initiative as a significant contribution from the Arab countries.
EU positions on the Middle East peace process
The Israeli-Palestinian peace process
The EU’s objective is a two-state solution with an independent, democratic, contiguous and viable Palestinian state living side-by-side with Israel and its other neighbours. The EU’s long-term policy asserts that negotiations remain the best way forward.
EU positions on “final status issues”
- Borders: The EU considers that the future Palestinian state will require secure and recognised borders. These should be based on a withdrawal from the territory occupied in 1967 with minor modifications mutually agreed, if necessary, in accordance with UNSC Resolutions 242, 338, 1397, 1402 and 1515 and the principles of the Madrid Process.
- Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory: the EU has repeatedly confirmed its deep concern about accelerated settlement expansion in the West Bank including East Jerusalem. This expansion prejudges the outcome of final status negotiations and threatens the viability of an agreed two-state solution. The EU considers that settlement building anywhere in the occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under international law, constitutes an obstacle to peace and threatens to make a two-state solution impossible.
- Jerusalem: The EU considers that the peace negotiations should include the resolution of all issues surrounding the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states. The EU will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties. The EU supports institution building work in East Jerusalem, notably in the areas of health, education and the judiciary.
- Palestinian refugees: The EU supports a just, viable and agreed solution on this question. We will respect an agreement reached between the two Parties on this point. Since 1971 the EU has been providing significant support to the work of agencies providing vital services to the Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). It is committed to adapting this support as appropriate, in pursuit of a just and equitable solution to the refugee issue.
- Security: The EU condemns all acts of violence which cannot be allowed to impede progress towards peace. The EU recognises Israel’s right to protect its citizens from attacks and emphasises that the Israeli Government, in exercising this right, should act within international law. Through its EUPOL COPPS mission, the EU supports the reform and development of the Palestinian police and judicial institutions. EU-Israel cooperation on the fight against terrorist financing and money laundering or other aspects of soft security as well as on security research represents a non-negligible practical EU contribution to Israel’s security. Security arrangements should, for Palestinians, respect their sovereignty and show that the occupation is over, and, for Israelis, protect their security, prevent the resurgence of terrorism and deal effectively with new and emerging threats.
EU policymaking from the “Venice Declaration”
The EU has set out its policy on the Middle East in a series of high level public statements. The Venice Declaration of 1980 recognised the right to security and existence for all states in the region including Israel, and the need to fulfil the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. The Berlin Declaration of 1999 included an explicit commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state and to the recognition of a Palestinian state, when appropriate. The Seville Declaration of June 2002 introduced specific details of the final status solution, as set out above.
In June 2002, the EU co-sponsored the Roadmap for Peace, a three-stage process for achieving these objectives. The Roadmap emphasises the need for Palestinian institution-building and economic recovery with a view to enhancing the strength and viability of the future Palestinian state. This “state-building process” requires sustained engagement on the part of the international community. It also requires urgent improvement on issues related to freedom of movement in the occupied Palestinian territory. The EU has repeatedly called for the immediate freezing of settlement activities and the proactive dismantling of outposts as set out in the Roadmap.
The EU’s overarching political position on the Middle East Peace Process has been set out in multiple Council conclusions, including for example, those of 22 July 2014.
EU political support for the Middle East peace process
- The EU has strong political and economic relations with partners in the region including Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan. These are underpinned by “Association Agreements” and by European Neighbourhood Policy “Action Plans”.
- The EU’s Euro-Mediterranean Partnership/“Union for the Mediterranean” serves as a forum for regional dialogue and remains the only multilateral context outside the United Nations where all parties to the conflict can meet and work together on a range of issues.
- The EU participates in the Middle East Quartet, together with the United States, United Nations and the Russian Federation.
- The HRVP also engages in regular consultations with our partners in the region, including both parties, key countries such as Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and the Arab League on the issues involved.
EU practical & financial support for the Middle East peace process
The EU is the largest donor to the Palestinians. In recent years, the combined contribution of the European Commission and EU member states has reached almost €1 billion per year. The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is the main framework to develop political as well as economic relations of the EU with both Israel and Palestinian Authority. Commission programmes targeted at ENP partner countries have been implemented mainly through a common financial instrument: the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI). The EU’s development assistance is managed by the Commission’s Directorate–General for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (NEAR). The Commission’s Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) oversees humanitarian assistance. On the ground, the assistance is managed by the Office of the EU Representative for the West Bank and Gaza Strip in East Jerusalem. The humanitarian assistance is managed by the ECHO office in Jerusalem.
The EU has taken a leading role in the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC), established in 1993, which is a 15-member body serving as the principal policy-level coordination mechanism for development assistance to the Palestinian people. The AHLC is chaired by Norway and co-sponsored by the EU and the US. The United Nations participates together with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The EU High Representative/Vice President hosts the Spring Sessions of the AHLC in Brussels.
EU assistance is intended to foster the conditions for peace, stability and prosperity in the region, notably by advancing the Palestinian state-building process, promoting good governance and encouraging economic recovery with a view to enhancing the viability of the future Palestinian state.
Examples include:
- Humanitarian and emergency response: Due to the situation on the ground, much of the EU’s contribution is channelled in this way. We offer humanitarian and emergency aid through UNRWA and the EU’s PEGASE mechanism, providing a vital lifeline to Palestinian families affected by poverty and conflict.
- “State-building” activities: For many years, the EU has placed a major focus on empowering the Palestinian Authority (PA) through institution building and governance work. Since 2008, the EU has been intensifying these activities, in areas which complement the Palestinian Authority’s reform and development plans, for example rule of law, private sector and trade and water and land development. The EU has also contributed to the development of a modern police force through its “EUPOL COPPS” mission in Ramallah, established in January 2006, which provides police training, police equipment and the reconstruction of police, prison and training facilities. EU assistance to the civil police is complemented by wider support for the rule of law, including support for the establishment of an efficient penal and judiciary system.
- Palestinian economic activity – The EU has several measures aimed at encouraging the Palestinian private sector including credit guarantees, vocational training and trade facilitation. Palestinian economic activity is limited due to Israeli restrictions on access and movement in the occupied Palestinian territory and due to the closure of Gaza. The EU Foreign Affairs Council has stated that social and economic developments in Area C are of critical importance for the viability of a future Palestinian state, as Area C is its land main reserve. The EU has called upon Israel to work together with the Palestinian Authority to allow more access and control of the PA over Area C.
- Border assistance: In November 2005, an EU border assistance mission “EUBAM Rafah” was established to help ensure international standards at the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt. The mission was launched after Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip and had contributed to the opening of the crossing point and confidence building between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Despite the closure of the Rafah Crossing Point, following the Hamas take-over of the Gaza Strip in 2007, the EU has maintained its readiness to reactivate the EUBAM Rafah mission.
- Civil society activities: The EU’s has consistently supported “people to people” projects. For example, the EU’s “Partnership for Peace” programme offers support for local and international civil society initiatives that promote peace, tolerance and non-violence in the Middle East. The objective is to contribute to the rebuilding of confidence within each society and between societies. Projects implemented under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights focus on essential human rights aspects of the occupation and aim at improving the conditions of the Palestinian population in conformity with international humanitarian law requirements.
EINDE BERICHT
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ISRAEL/PALESTINE: STATEMENT BY THE SPOKESPERSON ONDEVELOPMENTS IN OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM19 JANUARI 2022
https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/109863/israelpalestine-statement-spokesperson-developments-occupied-east-jerusalem_en
ZIE VOOR GEHELE TEKST, NOOT 2
[11]
ZIE NOOT 5
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ISRAEL/PALESTINE: STATEMENT BY THE SPOKESPERSON ONDEVELOPMENTS IN OCCUPIED EAST JERUSALEM19 JANUARI 2022
https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/109863/israelpalestine-statement-spokesperson-developments-occupied-east-jerusalem_en
[13]
ASTRID ESSED AAN DE NOS TELETEKSTREDACTIE
https://www.astridessed.nl/?s=NOS+teletekstredactie
EINDE NOTEN