The European Union (EU) has warned that 200 Palestinian families are facing threats of imminent eviction from their homes and their replacement with Jewish settlers calling on Israel to backtrack on such violation of the international law.
This came in a joint statement issued on Friday by the EU representative in agreement with the EU heads of missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah.
“In the last several years the number of eviction decisions has increased in particular in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan where entire communities of close to 200 families are at risk. In Batan al-Hawa alone 14 families have already lost their homes since 2015 and over 80 other households are facing eviction demands and are at imminent risk of displacement” according to the statement.
“Israeli domestic laws creating the basis for the claims to evict the families do not exempt Israel as the occupying power from meeting its obligations to administer the occupied territory in a manner that provides for and protects the local population.”
“In line with the EU’s long-standing position on Israel’s settlement policy illegal under international law and actions taken in that context such as forced transfers evictions demolitions and confiscations of homes the EU calls on the Israeli authorities to reverse the rulings on the intended evictions.”
“The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah recall the successive Foreign Affairs Council Conclusions and statements in which the EU has repeated its strong opposition to Israel’s settlement policy and actions taken in this context including evictions.”
The heads of the EU missions concluded their statement by describing Israel’s eviction and demolition policy in east Jerusalem as “illegal under international law” warning that the continuation of such practices “undermines the viability of the two-state solution and the prospect for a lasting peace.”
