Hebron – UK’s Minister of State for Asia and the Middle East, Amanda Milling, stressed on Friday her government’s “long standing position” of Israeli evictions and demolitions in occupied Palestinian territories, saying this is “illegal under international law.”
“In this area, more than 1000 Palestinians face the threat of demolition and eviction from their homes. I met families and children living here and it was really difficult to hear about the challenges they face including settler violence and living in constant fear of eviction and demolitions,” said Milling during a visit to the Palestinian community of Masafer Yatta on Friday.
“The people I met today want to stay in their homes and they should be able to do so,” Milling added as she arrived in the occupied territories last Thursday in a two-day visit.
“I had the opportunity to raise these issues with the Israeli deputy foreign minister earlier in the week. The UK strongly opposes such evictions which cause unnecessary suffering.”
“Let me be clear,” Milling said, “these evictions are against international law in all but the most exceptional circumstances.”
Pressure on the Palestinian communities of Masafer Yatta in the West Bank to leave their homes has been mounting since 4 May 2022, when the Israeli High Court of Justice sanctioned their planned forced displacement to make way for military drills.
Over the past weeks, dozens of people have had their homes demolished in Khirbet Al Fakhiet and Mirkez, in some cases for the third time in less than a year, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory.
In Khirbet at Tabban and Khallet Athaba’, new demolition orders have been issued in the past two weeks. Most recently, a military exercise was launched close to residential areas.
Masafer Yatta, located in the southern West Bank, is home to 1,144 people, including 569 children.
“In addition to the immediate impact of any demolitions on lives and livelihoods, these measures could amount to human rights violations including forced evictions, exposing people to the risk of forcible transfer, a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention,” said OCHA.
