Keith Taylor, Green MEP for the South
East, has welcomed the European Parliament's vote [1] to
condemn the Israeli government's actions in Khan al-Ahmar, in
Area C of the West Bank, whereby forces moved in the early
hours of the Thursday morning to demolish a number of buildings
in advance of an expected full demolition of the Bedouin
village [2].
Khan al-Ahmar has been a consistent target of
the Israeli authorities who have made several attempts to
demolish it over the years, driven by the government's
expansion of its illegal settlement project in the occupied
West Bank [3].
Following the European Parliament vote on a
resolution which sees MEPs take a strongly condemn of the plans
[4], Mr Taylor, a member of the European Parliament's Palestine
Delegation, said:
"Today MEPs have united to call on the
Israeli government to halt its plans to demolish a Bedouin
village and displace its peoples, for no reason other than it
stands in the way of a settlement programme. Such reckless
disregard for the human rights of a community, whose only crime
is living peacefully in the path of an illegal occupying
force's expansion plans will not be
tolerated."
The joint resolution passed by the European
Parliament follows an intervention made jointly by the EU, and
a number of European government including the UK [5]. The
statement had called on Israeli authorities not to go ahead
with its plan, noting the 'very serious consequences' it will
have on any prospect for peace in the
region.
Mr Taylor, who worked on the Greens/EFA
amendments to the European Parliament's cross-party motion,
continued:
"The UK and Israel's European allies must
join the European Parliament by going further in their
condemnation of both the
action already
takenand the
proposed full demolition of the Khan al-Ahmar village. It is
not controversial to call on the Israeli government to abide
by internationalhumanitarian
law and protect the inalienable human rights of all
people."
"If the Israeli government pushes ahead
with its plans, in full view of the world's media, it would
send a chilling statement about the current administration's
already questionable commitment to peace. In fact, with
the Nation
State law
[6], which codifies apartheid in Israel, and the rapid
expansion of the illegal settlement project in the occupied
Palestinian territories the two-state solution has never seemed
so far away."
"It is the international community's
responsibility to ensure that any prospect of peace is not
allowed to evaporate into conflict. We cannot afford to be
timid in discharging our duty."
