Israel Demolishes Palestinian Homes As EU Considers Ban On Settlement Goods

Israeli forces demolished Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank on Monday as settlers attacked residents of Burqa, with the latest violence coming ahead of Israeli elections in October and as Ireland pushes for EU sanctions on goods from illegal Israeli settlements.

The demolitions took place in Birzeit and Nablus, while settlers raided Burqa and attacked Palestinians. The pogroms came as Ireland, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, pushed member states to take joint action on settlement goods at an informal meeting of European Union ministers this week.

Israeli forces demolish homes in Birzeit and Nablus

In Birzeit, north of Ramallah, Israeli soldiers demolished two residential buildings, saying they lacked the required building permits, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

In Nablus, Israeli forces used a bulldozer to raze a two-storey house and a three-storey building under construction.

In Burqa, east of Ramallah, video verified by Al Jazeera showed a large group of settlers raiding the village and attacking Palestinians. According to Al Jazeera, one clip showed settlers and Palestinians throwing stones at each other.

Witnesses said the settlers entered the village from several directions on Monday night before assaulting residents, trying to set cars alight and stealing livestock.

The United Nations human rights office said last month that settler violence was at an “all-time high”, with new settlements approved and settlers and the Israeli army often acting together against Palestinian communities.

Ireland seeks joint EU action on settlement goods

Settler violence and settlement expansion are on the agenda of a two-day meeting of EU foreign ministers in Ireland beginning on Tuesday.

Ireland, which has moved to ban settlement goods itself, wants member states to act together. The discussions are expected to build on talks in Brussels in July, based on a confidential European Commission paper floating three options: an import licensing system, prohibitive tariffs or an outright ban, according to Reuters.

EU rules require goods from illegal West Bank settlements to be labelled as originating in the occupied territory rather than Israel. But the bloc has not banned trade with the settlements, leaving that to individual states.

Decisions on the policy have long been difficult for the 27 member countries, which are deeply divided over Israel and Palestine.

Neale Richmond, an Irish minister of state, said Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and its failure to stop settler violence breached international law.

“We see certain EU politicians or European politicians supportive not just of the actions of settlers and settler violence, but of this Israeli government who are supporting them,” he said. “And we cannot be complicit in the actions of this Israeli government, which more broadly is genocidal.”