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EU rewards Israel for selling classrooms donated to Palestinians

Last week, Israel announced 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 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.

Instead, Israel has continued its widespread assault on Palestinian schools across the occupied West Bank, particularly in 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 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 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.

In the meantime, the EU will continue to lavish money 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."

Israeli authorities will reportedly postpone the controversial auction of prefabricated classrooms donated by the EU to Palestinian, amid an escalating diplomatic row over the jurisdiction of international versus Israeli law.

© Reuters / Mussa Qawasma
Israeli armed forces dismantled concrete structures that served as primary school for 43 Palestinian children in Zanouta, south of Hebron city, in the occupied territories

The Israel Defense Ministry postponed the auction of EU-donated classrooms and materials earmarked for Palestinian children for one month amid massive outcry in both online and diplomatic circles. A spokesperson for the Coordinator of Government Activities, which runs the Civil Administration, said the postponement was for "technical reasons" and not due to pressure from the EU.

Uh-huh.

Israel's Civil Administration dismantled and seized two prefabricated buildings originally intended for use as classrooms for some 49 children in a small community in the northern West Bank last fall, citing lack of appropriate building and planning permission. The authorities claim they offered to return the classrooms to the EU on the guarantee that they would not be rebuilt in the West Bank without the requisite permissions, but the offer was rejected.

However, EU representatives deny such a proposal was ever made in the first place, and the two sides are continuing negotiations against a backdrop of deteriorating relations. An additional two tents and three metal sheds were also confiscated from a nearby community for the same reason.

The Israeli Civil Administration conducts regular auctions of property seized from Palestinian communities, and sometimes unauthorized Jewish outposts.

The EU knows that such structures violate Israeli law but claims that international law supersedes it, while claiming "the direct financial injury to donors caused by these seizures amounts to €15,320 ($17,200)."

EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah have called for the items to be returned or equivalent compensation be paid as soon as possible.

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