JERUSALEM: Eight European ambassadors have accused the Israeli army of displacing 75 Palestinian Bedouins in the occupied West Bank by confiscating caravans given to them by international donors.
The ambassadors, who included Germany’s envoy, warned that policies targeting Bedouin communities could create a “coercive environment” forcing them to leave their areas. Such a scenario could result in forcible transfers, “which are considered a grave breach of international humanitarian law”, they said.
In a joint letter to Major General Yoav Mordechai, head of the military body that coordinates Israeli activities in the West Bank and Gaza, the ambassadors said the confiscated caravans and materials had cost $64,500. “It is a serious concern that humanitarian assistance which is delivered under humanitarian principles be confiscated,” they said.
As occupying power, they said, Israel is required to meet the basic needs of the population.
“Relief items should not be requisitioned, confiscated, expropriated or interfered with,” they said.