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Parliamentary question - E-005834/2012Parliamentary question
E-005834/2012

VP/HR — Israel's High Court of Justice ruling legitimising Israeli mining in the West Bank

Question for written answer E-005834/2012
to the Commission (Vice-President/High Representative)
Rule 117
Emer Costello (S&D) , Kyriacos Triantaphyllides (GUE/NGL) and Margrete Auken (Verts/ALE)

On 26 December 2011, Israel’s High Court of Justice rejected a petition filed by the Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din, which challenged the legality of the use of natural resources extracted by 11 Israeli companies quarrying and mining in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.

The basis of the petition was that such exploitation of natural resources by an occupying power is strictly illegal under Articles 43 and 55 of the Fourth Hague Convention. However, Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled that it is legal for Israel to exploit the West Bank’s natural resources for its own economic needs. It is reported that some 95 % of the quarries’ yield is sold to Israel, supplying almost 25 % of Israel’s consumption of raw materials for the construction industry.

This is in clear contradiction with international law. Indeed, leading Israeli international law scholars have filed an amicus brief challenging the judgment on the grounds that it misinterprets the laws of occupation and the provisions regarding the occupying power’s management of public property in the occupied territories.

According to Article 21 TEU, the EU’s external action shall be guided by, amongst other things, respect for the principles of international law. Moreover, the conclusions of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting of 14 May 2012 recalled the applicability of international humanitarian law in the occupied Palestinian territory.

1. Having studied the implications of this ruling, what conclusions has the European External Action Service reached?

2. Does the Vice-President/High Representative share the view that this ruling implies that the Israeli authorities no longer view international law as applicable to the West Bank?

3. What action does the Vice-President/High Representative propose to take to ensure that international law is implemented in the occupied Palestinian territory?

OJ C 180 E, 26/06/2013