The local councils of three Israeli settlements near Jerusalem on Monday appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court of Justice to demolish 15 houses belonging to Palestinian Bedouins constructed with the help of the European Union.
“The settlements of Adumim, Novi Pratt and Alon, East of Jerusalem have appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court demanding the demolition of 15 houses constructed without a permit on the settlements’ land with the help of the European Union to house nomadic tribes in the region,” Israeli radio reported.
“The European Union has recently begun an active construction process contrary to the law on the land of these communities,” the appeal said, adding that “the EU constructs hundreds of fixed buildings in those areas, under the cover of human activity.”
A member of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Jerusalem, Ahmed Attoun, told Turkey’s Anadolu news agency that “Israel is seeking to displace about 7,000 Palestinian Bedouin in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in order to control thousands of [acres] of land there”.
“The Israeli government has already begun deporting some families from areas adjacent to the settlement of Maale Adumim,” he added.
Attoun pointed out that “the Israeli restrictions on the Bedouin aims at controlling the surrounding land in East Jerusalem, as well as to prevent communication between the city and the West Bank, in order to prevent any chance of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders.”
