MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the threat of demolition of Khan al-Ahmar and other Bedouin villages
11.9.2018 - (2018/2849(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 123(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Neoklis Sylikiotis, Martina Anderson, Patrick Le Hyaric, Takis Hadjigeorgiou, João Ferreira, João Pimenta Lopes, Miguel Viegas, Eleonora Forenza, Marisa Matias, Merja Kyllönen, Kateřina Konečná, Ángela Vallina, Jiří Maštálka, Matt Carthy, Lynn Boylan, Liadh Ní Riada, Marie‑Christine Vergiat, Marie‑Pierre Vieu, Luke Ming Flanagan, Miguel Urbán Crespo, Tania González Peñas, Xabier Benito Ziluaga, Lola Sánchez Caldentey, Estefanía Torres Martínez, Sofia Sakorafa on behalf of the GUE/NGL Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0384/2018
B8‑0389/2018
European Parliament resolution on the threat of demolition of Khan al-Ahmar and other Bedouin villages
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on the situation of Israel and Palestine,
– having regard to the statements by Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini on latest developments regarding the Palestinian community of Khan al-Ahmar, in particular those of 18 July 2018 and 7 September 2018,
– having regard to the Fourth Geneva Convention, in particular to Articles 49 and 53 thereof,
– having regard to UN General Assembly resolution 194 and UN Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 252 (1968), 338 (1972), 476 (1980), 478 (1980), 1860 (2009), and 2334 (2016),
– having regard to UN General Assembly resolution 67/19,
– having regard to the UN human rights conventions to which Israel and Palestine are states parties, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which Israel has signed,
– having regard to the UN Human Rights Council resolution on ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territory, adopted on 3 July 2015 with unanimous EU support,
– having regard to the Charter of the United Nations,
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
– having regard to the EU-Israel Association Agreement, and in particular Article 2 thereof,
– having regard to Rule 123(2) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas, 51 years after the 1967 war, Israel continues to occupy Palestine, in violation of international law and all relevant UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, and whereas the State of Palestine on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital has yet to become a full UN member in accordance with the 1948 UN resolution;
B. whereas Parliament has repeatedly expressed its strong support for the two-state solution, with the State of Israel and an independent, sovereign, free, contiguous and viable Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the 1967 borders, living side by side in peace;
C. whereas Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and constitute a major obstacle to peace efforts and have done so for many years; whereas the policies of occupation and colonisation of the Israeli Government breach the Fourth Geneva Convention and are leading to the further erosion and complete destruction of the prospects for achieving a two-state solution, as laid down in all relevant UN resolutions, as well as the relevant EU Council conclusions;
D. whereas Khan al-Ahmar is one of 18 Bedouin communities, which the UN considers to be at risk of forcible transfer; whereas this community is made up of 32 families totalling 173 persons, including 93 children and teenagers; whereas the Israeli army has issued demolition orders to each and every structure in Khan al-Ahmar, including the school (which also serves children from other communities), clinic, mosque, and all the homes; whereas the EU has provided humanitarian aid to Khan al-Ahmar, but the Israeli army has destroyed buildings constructed using EU aid and has refused to pay compensation; whereas several Member States (Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Britain) called on Israel not to demolish the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the occupied West Bank after Israel’s High Court cleared the way for its demolition;
E. whereas Khan al-Ahmar is situated at the eastern entrance of Jerusalem between several Israeli settlements in a strategic area in terms of the territorial contiguity and economic development of the State of Palestine; whereas the Palestinian population face blatant violations of their rights, including settler violence, water diversion, severe restrictions on free movement, home demolition and forced evictions; whereas the forcible transfer of residents of an occupied territory constitutes a grave breach of international humanitarian law and is a war crime; whereas since 1967, Israel has forcibly evicted and displaced entire communities and demolished more than 50 000 Palestinian homes and structures; whereas planning policy is used as a means to evict Palestinians and to expand colonial settlement activities;
F. whereas under international law, any third party, including the EU Member States, has a duty not to recognise, aid or assist settlements, as well as a duty to effectively oppose them; whereas Israeli settlement products are still imported into EU Member States and therefore into the European market under preferential treatment arrangements, despite the fact that current EU legislation does not allow the import of such products under the preferential terms of the EU-Israel Association Agreement; whereas trade with Israeli settlements, including the participation of foreign companies in the colonial settlement enterprise, creates incentives for the colonisation of the occupied territory;
G. whereas the EU-Israel Association Agreement, and in particular Article 2 thereof clearly states that ‘Relations between the Parties […] shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement’;
1. Calls for the 51‑year Israeli occupation of Palestine, including East Jerusalem, to be brought to an end, thereby paving the way for peace;
2. Considers that a final status agreement between Israel and Palestine that implements international law and UN resolutions would be a major contribution to peace and stability in the entire region;
3. Recalls that Israel as the occupying power bears full responsibility for providing the necessary services, education, healthcare and welfare for the people living under its occupation;
4. Deplores the recent decision of Israel’s Supreme Court to reject appeals against the demolition of the Bedouin village of Khan al‑Ahmar, which further seriously undermines the prospects of a viable two-state solution;
5. Strongly condemns Israel’s colonial settlement enterprise and its continued expansion, which violates international law and fuels Palestinian resentment;
6. Stresses that the demolition of structures, including houses, schools and other vital infrastructure in the occupied Palestinian territory, is illegal under international humanitarian law; reaffirms the call made by the UN Secretary-General with regard to the necessity of holding accountable those who violate international humanitarian law;
7. Recalls that differentiation creates disincentives to Israel’s illegal occupation and reaffirms the territorial basis of a two-state solution on the 1967 border; calls for the EU to ensure that all agreements between the EU and Israel must unequivocally and explicitly indicate their inapplicability to the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, as reiterated in the Foreign Affairs Council conclusions; calls for the correct implementation of the labelling of Israeli settlement products on the EU market, in line with existing EU legislation and the EU’s long‑standing policy in this regard; points out that this should lead to the banning of Israeli settlement products as they are products of a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law; calls, at the same time, for the European Union to take action based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in relation to European companies involved in the illegal Israeli colonial settlement enterprise, including in and around East Jerusalem as is the case with the area of Khan al-Ahmar;
8. Calls on the UN to assume its responsibility and take concrete action regarding the Israeli occupation of Palestine in order to salvage the prospects of peace based on the two‑state solution and to become a genuine political player and facilitator in the Middle East Peace Process;
9. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process, the parliaments and governments of the Member States, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Knesset, the Palestinian Legislative Council, the President and Government of the State of Palestine, the President and Government of Israel, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, the Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean and the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.