UN, EU urge Israel to stop fresh demolitions in West Bank village

The United Nations and the European Union have called on the Israeli regime to stop its plans to tear down an internationally-funded makeshift hospital and dozens of Palestinian residential buildings in the central part of the occupied West Bank.

The Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and UN Development Activities for the Palestinian territories, Robert Piper, and the Director of UN Relief and Works Agency Scott Anderson made the call on Wednesday during a visit to the West Bank village of Khan al-Ahmar.

The visit came days after Tel Aviv began bureaucratic proceedings to demolish the entire village. There are some 35 families living in temporary shacks and sheds in al-Khan al-Ahmar. There are some 140 structures there, according to the world body.

“Khan al-Ahmar is one of the most vulnerable communities in the West Bank, struggling to maintain a minimum standard of living in the face of intense pressure from the Israeli authorities to move to a planned relocation site. This is unacceptable and it must stop,” Piper said.
He added, “Thousands of families live in fear of demolitions at any moment, and entire communities exist in chronic instability. When schools are demolished, the right to education of Palestinian children is also threatened. This creates a coercive environment that forces certain Palestinian communities to move elsewhere.”

The UN official further urged the international community to help protect the vulnerable Palestinian communities and make sure “international law is respected.”