Today, Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates called on the European Union to impose sanctions on Israel to compel it to stop home demolitions.
In a press release today, the Ministry condemned the heinous crime committed by the occupation against Khirbet Hamsa al-Fawqa in the Jordan Valley, which led to the displacement of 73 of its residents, including children, women, the elderly and the sick.
The ministry considered the demolition of homes and facilities in the Jordan Valley a compound crime in accordance with international law, the Geneva Conventions and human rights principles, and it is also a crime of ethnic cleansing that reflects the extent of the expansionist colonial targeting of the occupied Palestinian Jordan Valley.
She expressed appreciation for the visit of the European Union delegation, consuls and European ambassadors accredited to Palestine yesterday, and the stances issued by the Union in Palestine against the Israeli demolitions.
However, it called on the international community in general and the European Union in particular to "take effective decisions and practical measures to impose sanctions on the occupying power that will punish it for that crime and deter it from committing similar crimes."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates also urged the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into "the crimes of the occupation, in order to bring the Israeli war criminals to account."
In this context, the National Office for Land Defense and Settlement Resistance, affiliated to the Palestine Liberation Organization, said that Israel is using the remainder of US President Donald Trump´s term to "plunder the lands of Palestinian citizens and escalate the demolition of their homes."
In a report, the office stated that the Israeli authorities "aim to achieve further demographic change in the West Bank, especially in occupied Jerusalem and the Palestinian Jordan Valley areas."
The report indicated that the Israeli authorities demolished an entire residential community in Khirbet "Humsa Al-Fawqa" in the Jordan Valley "in the largest demolition of homes of citizens in the West Bank in a decade."
The demolition process affected about 76 homes, facilities, barracks, sheep pens, and solar cells, for 11 Palestinian families, including 60 citizens, who live in the area, while water pipes and feeders used for livestock were also not spared from the demolition, according to the report.
Yesterday, a European diplomatic delegation criticized the Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes and facilities in the Jordan Valley in the West Bank, during an inspection tour in the region.
Heads of missions and representatives of the European Union and the United Kingdom made an inspection visit to the Homs-Buqai`a gathering in the Jordan Valley, to see the Israeli demolitions a few days ago.
Since the beginning of 2020, the occupation has demolished 689 structures throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, a number that exceeds what was demolished during the entire year since 2016, which led to the displacement of 869 Palestinians and left them homeless.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Palestinian Territories, demolitions are a major means of creating an environment aimed at forcing Palestinians to leave their homes.
