How the EU needs to improve work in area C

A Palestinian boy grazes his sheep in Haddidya, which lies in the central part of the Jordan Valley and is surrounded by settlements. The sheep are not allowed to graze past these stones. Photo by Simon Rawles.

 

In May 2012, European foreign ministers issued one of the strongest Foreign Affairs Council state­ments on the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) to date. The ministers called on the government of  Israel to address worsening conditions for Palestin­ians living in Area C. These included fundamental rights violations such as forced transfer, restric­tions on access to water, settlement construction, violence from Israeli settlers, and obstruction of access to humanitarian aid. After the release of the May 2012 Foreign Affairs Council Conclusions, there were high hopes that  positive advances in EU policy could change an increasingly untenable situation. Violations of inter­national law continue to contribute to “facts on the ground” that appear more irreversible by the day. In this last year, however, little has changed for Palestinians. In the occupied West Bank, more than 600 houses have been built in the past year in Israeli settlements—illegal under International law—and 535 Palestinian­owned homes and struc­tures have been destroyed, leaving approximately 784 people homeless or displaced.
 
While a number of EU institutions and member states have issued strong statements in reaction to these de­velopments, European responses to ongoing demolitions of homes, schools and other basic infrastructure remain ad­hoc and uncoordinated. And, despite a handful of ini­tiatives by individual EU member states, Europe’s leaders are still reluctant to raise collectively and systematically with their Israeli counterparts the need for fundamental changes to Israeli government policies that harm Palestin­ian rights and development in Area C. Over 60 percent of the occupied West Bank is designated as “Area C,” meaning it falls under full Israeli government  military and civil control. An estimated 150,000 Palestin­ians live in Area C, with approximately 325,000 Israelis living in settlements. Area C is home to some of the most vulnerable Palestin­ian communities. They struggle to build simple homes, graze sheep and goats, make a living and raise their access to land, water and basic services such as schools, medical facilities and a responsive police force. Isolated from services provided by the Palestinian Authority in other parts of the West Bank, Palestinians living in Area C rely heavily on humanitarian and development assistance.
 
- Read the full report here.