UN: Sussiya demolition would be ‘sign of Israeli annexation goals’

An Israeli demolition of the Palestinian village of Sussiya would be seen as a sign of its plans for a de facto annexation of Area C of the West Bank, a high level UN official told the Security Council in New York on Monday.

“The demolition of this community would set a dangerous precedent for displacement and feed the perception that Israel aims at a de facto annexation of Area C,” said Nickolay Mladenov, the UN’s special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.

In his wide-ranging report, Mladenov focused in particular

on Israeli activities in Area C of the West Bank, specifically settlement building and the IDF’s continued demolition of illegal Palestinian structures, including in Sussiya.

The small unauthorized herding village in the South Hebron Hills – whose fate will ultimately be determined by Israel’s High Court of Justice – has garnered intense international attention. Both the United States and the European Union have warned Israel not to take it down.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman has yet to provide the High Court with the state’s opinion on the matter and is not expected to do so until after the US election in November.

The court case comes as the international community, including the UN, has increased its focus on IDF demolitions of illegal Palestinian structures and building in Area C of the West Bank, and in Israeli-Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem that area located over the pre-1967 lines.

“The Beduin in Area C are particularly vulnerable. Some communities, such as the herders in Sussiya and those in the controversial E1 area around east Jerusalem are particularly at risk,” Mladenov said.

Right-wing politicians and activists have charged that the Palestinians have increased illegal construction in strategic portions of Area C, as part of a deliberate Palestinian Authority plan to increase its hold on Area C in any final status agreement for a twostate solution.

Mladenov, in contrast, told the UNSC that Area C demolitions were part of an attempt by Israel to pressure the Palestinian herders and Beduin to move out of those areas.

For years in Sussiya, he said, “planning schemes submitted by the residents to the Israeli authorities have been repeatedly rejected, while the neighboring settlement has been granted a generous planning scheme, and the nearby illegal outpost, is connected to water and electricity networks.”

He addressed the UNSC hours after the Civil Administration razed three illegal structures in the Beduin village of Ma’azi Jaba in Area C of the West Bank, just outside of Jerusalem.

The Civil Administration said it had previously destroyed illegal structures in the same village.

“Despite previous enforcement measures being issued, the owners of these buildings proceeded with constructing the buildings again, ignoring prior orders issued and enforcement measures carried out in this location,” the Civil Administration said. “Each of the enforcement measures were carried out after all the orders were issued.”

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that 11 structures have been removed. The IDF took down eight structures and forced the Beduin owners to take down another three, according to OCHA.

Five of the demolished structures were residential, three were animal shelters, two were kitchens and one was used as a sitting area for guests, it said.

Some 28 people were displaced, including 19 children, OCHA said, adding that “All the structures were built following the last mass demolition in the community, which took place on 31 August 2015.” •