[News] EU rewards Israel for selling classrooms donated to Palestinians

Tue Jun 4 11:27:32 EDT 2019

https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/eu-rewards-israel-selling-classrooms-donated-palestinians 

  EU rewards Israel for selling classrooms donated to Palestinians

Ali Abunimah <https://electronicintifada.net/people/ali-abunimah> - 3 
June 2019

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last week, Israel announced 
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/31/israel-to-auction-prefab-classrooms-donated-by-eu-to-palestinians> 
that it would auction off two prefabricated buildings that had been 
donated to Palestinians by the European Union.

In October, Israeli occupation forces confiscated the structures that 
were part of a school for dozens of children in Ibziq, a community in 
the north of the occupied West Bank.

Israel’s brazenness generated consternation on social media. Even the 
EU’s foreign policy spokesperson Maja Kocijančič tweeted 
<https://twitter.com/MajaEUspox/status/1134553210419601408> that the 
decision was “incredible.”

But when Kocijančič delivered the EU’s official response at a press 
briefing on Monday, she indicated that it would be business as usual: 
Israel can do as it likes and the EU will take it lying down.

“When the structures were seized last year – 23 October 2018 and 5 
November 2018 – the EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah called on 
Israeli authorities ‘to return the confiscated items to their intended 
beneficiaries without pre-condition as soon as possible,’” Kocijančič said.

Otherwise, Israel was to “provide compensation without delay for the 
dismantled and confiscated assets.”

“The EU expects its investments in support of the Palestinian people to 
be protected from damage and destruction,” Kocijančič added.

But Israel hasn’t compensated the EU, rebuilt the schools, protected the 
EU’s “investments” – or the people of Ibziq who have been the targets of 
repeated Israeli attacks.

    Israeli Civil Administration temporarily displaces 13 Palestinian
    families, a total of 70 people, incl. 38 children, in Khirbet Ibziq
    on 13 Dec. These orders require the families to vacate their homes
    from 12:00 noon until 6AM the next morning on 16 Dec, 23 Dec, 26
    Dec, & 31 Dec. pic.twitter.com/EWWdhsoDB8 <https://t.co/EWWdhsoDB8>

    — B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم (@btselem) December 17, 2018
    <https://twitter.com/btselem/status/1074661422817271808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

    Last Sunday, 2 Dec, at 10 AM, Israeli Civil Administration came to
    Khirbet Ibziq, NE of Tubas, & confiscated a tractor belonging to a
    Palestinian farmer from Bardalah, on the grounds that he/it was
    within a forbidden military zone. https://t.co/cMzHLDGa4j
    pic.twitter.com/Ar05jyH0Xl <https://t.co/Ar05jyH0Xl>

    — B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم (@btselem) December 10, 2018
    <https://twitter.com/btselem/status/1072164278361358337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

    In 2 years, #Israeli
    <https://twitter.com/hashtag/Israeli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
    authorities have forced residents of Ibziq #WestBank
    <https://twitter.com/hashtag/WestBank?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
    to evacuate their homes more than 20 times
    pic.twitter.com/L34qXYcCni <https://t.co/L34qXYcCni>

    — B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم (@btselem) May 27, 2015
    <https://twitter.com/btselem/status/603606423180857347?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

Instead, Israel has continued its widespread assault 
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/israel-steps-attacks-palestinian-schools> 
on Palestinian schools across the occupied West Bank, particularly in 
Area C <https://electronicintifada.net/tags/area-c>.

Area C is the approximately 60 percent of the occupied West Bank that is 
still fully controlled by Israel under the Oslo accords signed in the 1990s.

The EU still believes this land will make up the bulk of a future 
Palestinian state even as it becomes clear that Israeli leaders, backed 
by the Trump administration, are moving towards annexing it 
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/michael-f-brown/after-golan-are-trump-and-netanyahu-coming-west-bank-0> 
to Israel.

Kocijančič did reaffirm that the place where the confiscation took place 
is occupied territory and that under international law Israel has “the 
obligation to protect and facilitate development for the local 
population, and to grant unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance.”

But there was no inkling that the EU would do anything either to enforce 
international law or to make Israel pay for its theft.

So I sent a follow-up question to Kocijančič asking, “Can you confirm 
that the EU plans to take no action whatsoever to hold Israel 
accountable for what it has done?”

“I can’t confirm something that I didn’t say,” Kocijančič replied. “Our 
position is very clear from my answer.”

The only thing that is clear is that the European Union will continue 
allowing Israel to shoot children dead 
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/how-eu-pretends-not-see-israels-calculated-slaughter-gaza> 
in cold blood, demolish schools and build even more colonies on stolen 
Palestinian land, and the only thing Israel need fear is a few mild 
words of rebuke 
<https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-homepage/63534/statement-spokesperson-publication-israeli-authorities-new-tenders-over-800-settlement-units_en>.

In the meantime, the EU will continue to lavish money 
<https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/eu-expands-partnership-israeli-settlement-builder> 
on Israel and its war industry, sending a message that is clearly 
understood by Israel’s government: crime pays.

Indeed, as Kocijančič was delivering her empty statement on Israel’s 
theft of the school buildings, EU officials were welcoming an Israeli 
delegation in Brussels to “learn from each other in addressing common 
domestic and regional threats and challenges.”

    The 3rd 🇪🇺🇮🇱 EU-Israel Counter Terrorism Dialogue is taking
    place today in Brussels

    Key to discuss and learn from each other in addressing common
    domestic and regional threats and challenges, in particular thru
    combatting terrorism financing#EU4Israel
    <https://twitter.com/hashtag/EU4Israel?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>#counterterrorism
    <https://twitter.com/hashtag/counterterrorism?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>
    pic.twitter.com/olPmXmRTXs <https://t.co/olPmXmRTXs>

    — EU in Israel (@EUinIsrael) June 3, 2019
    <https://twitter.com/EUinIsrael/status/1135450995213967360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>

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