EU condemns Israeli court ruling okaying expulsion of Palestinians from IDF firing zone

BRUSSELS — The European Union condemns a ruling from an Israeli court approving the eviction of over 1,000 Palestinians to make way for a military training zone.

“The Israeli Supreme Court issued last week (May 4) a decision on the Masafer Yatta eviction case in the South Hebron Hills in the occupied West Bank, increasing the risk of the forced transfer of some 1,200 Palestinians and the demolition of their homes,” a spokesperson for the bloc says in a statement.

“Settlement expansion, demolitions and evictions are illegal under international law. The EU condemns such possible plans and urges Israel to cease demolitions and evictions, in line with its obligations under international humanitarian and international human rights law.”

The statement says that “the establishment of a firing zone cannot be considered an ‘imperative military reason’ to transfer the population under occupation.”

The case of Masafer Yatta — or Firing Zone 918 — an agriculture area near Hebron in the West Bank, has been one of Israel’s longest-running legal battles.