European envoys complain over IDF seizure of West Bank caravans

Eight European ambassadors accuse the IDF of displacing 75 Palestinian Bedouins in the West Bank by confiscating caravans given to them by international donors.

The ambassadors, from Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland and Norway, warn 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,” the ambassadors say in a joint letter to Major General Yoav Mordechai, the head of the military body that coordinates Israeli activities in the West Bank and Gaza. The ambassadors also say the confiscated caravans and materials cost $64,500.

“It is a serious concern that humanitarian assistance which is delivered under humanitarian principles be confiscated,” they say.

As occupying power, the envoys argue, Israel is required to meet the basic needs of the population.

“Relief items should not be requisitioned, confiscated, expropriated or interfered with,” they say.

— AFP