The European Union (EU) has slammed Israel’s plan for the “forced transfer” of Palestinians living in the village of Susya near the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil (Hebron), calling on the regime not to raze it.
In a statement issued after a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday, the 28-nation bloc urged Israeli authorities “to halt plans for forced transfer of population and demolition of Palestinian housing and infrastructure in the Susya and Abu Nwar communities.”
Earlier this month, US State Department spokesperson John Kirby also called on Israel “to refrain from carrying out any demolitions in the village.”
Last month, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that authorities are entitled to flatten Palestinian homes in Susya, claiming that they had been built without permission.
Tel Aviv reportedly plans to relocate the residents of Susya to the nearby city of Yatta in al-Khalil.
The regime calls the Palestinian houses “illegal outposts,” with the Israeli military prohibiting residents from setting up homes in the area.
Susya is surrounded by four Israeli settlements as well as several outposts, all deemed illegal under international law.
Although Susya and its residents have much support from their fellow Palestinians as well as international solidarity activists, the villagers still fear that their homes will be demolished by Israeli occupation forces.
On June 5, hundreds of Palestinians, Israelis, and foreigners took to the streets of the village to voice anger at Tel Aviv’s plan to destroy the area.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds in 1967.
Much of the international community regards the Israeli settlements as illegal because the territories were occupied by Israel in 1967, and they are hence subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbid construction on occupied lands.
source : abna
