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Tel Aviv: The United Nations and European Security Council members on Friday called on Israel to stop the demolition of Bedouin settlements in the Jordan Valley and to end humanitarian access to the community living in Humsa Al-Baqaia.
In a joint statement at the end of a monthly Security Council meeting on the Middle East conflict, Estonia, France, Ireland, Norway and Britain said they were “deeply concerned about the recent repeated demolition and seizure of items, including from EU-funded structures and donors, were carried out by Israeli authorities at Humsa Al-Bqaia in the Jordan Valley.”
The concern is also said to be focused on the approximately 70 people living in the Bedouin community, including 41 children.
“We reiterate our call on Israel to stop demolition and seizure,” the statement said. “We call on Israel to allow full, sustained and unhindered humanitarian access to the community in Humsa Al-Baqaia.”
Humsah al-Baqia sits in the Jordan Valley, a fertile and strategic piece of land that runs from Lake Tiberias to the Dead Sea, which emerged as a focal point in the West Bank’s battle.
In the West Bank’s so-called Area C, it 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 usually denied, and demolition is typical.
The UN envoy for the region, the Norwegian Tor Wennesland, also expressed his concern about the demolition and land confiscation.
He said Israel’s security forces had “demolished or confiscated” 80 structures “in the Bedouin community” in an Israeli-declared shooting range in the Jordan Valley. ‘
He said the action displaced 63 people, including 36 children, several times, and followed a similar demolition in November 2020.
“I call on Israel to stop 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.