UNITED NATIONS, United States, Feb 27, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – The United Nations
and European members of the Security Council on Friday called on Israel to
stop demolitions of Bedouin settlements in the Jordan Valley, and for
humanitarian access to the community living in Humsa Al-Baqaia.
In a joint statement at the end of a monthly session of the Security
Council on the conflict in the Middle East, Estonia, France, Ireland, Norway
and Britain said they were “deeply concerned at the recent repeated
demolitions and confiscation of items, including of EU and donor funded
structures carried out by Israeli authorities at Humsa Al-Bqaia in the Jordan
Valley.”
It said the concern was also focused on the 70 people or so living in the
Bedouin community, including 41 children.
“We reiterate our call on Israel to halt demolitions and confiscations,”
the statement said. “We further call on Israel to allow full, sustained and
unimpeded humanitarian access to the community in Humsa Al-Baqaia.”
Humsah al-Baqia sits in the Jordan Valley, a fertile and strategic patch
of land that runs from Lake Tiberias to the Dead Sea, which has emerged as a
flashpoint in the struggle over the West Bank.
It is in the West Bank’s so-called Area C, occupied Palestinian territory
that remains under full Israeli military control.
Under Israeli military law, Palestinians cannot build structures in the
area without permits, which are typically refused, and demolitions are
common.
The UN envoy for the region, Norwegian Tor Wennesland, also voiced his
concerns over the demolitions and land confiscations.
He said Israel security forces had “demolished or confiscated 80
structures” in the Bedouin community “in an Israeli declared firing zone in
the Jordan Valley.”
He said that the actions had “displaced 63 people, including 36 children
multiple times, and followed a similar demolition in November 2020.”
“I urge Israel to cease the demolition and seizure of Palestinian property
throughout the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and to allow
Palestinians to develop their communities,” he said.