“The Palestinian presence in Area C has continuously been undermined through different administrative measures, planning regulations and other means adopted by Israel as occupying power. Prior to 1967 there were between 200,000 and 320,000 Palestinians in the Jordan Valley. Today the number is 56,000 (of which 70% live in Area A in Jericho)”.

The report, just published by the European Union Heads of Commission, ‘Area C and Palestinian State Building’ looks critically at Israel’s breach of international law in the way it controls occupied land, spcifically that classed as ‘Area C’ under the Oslo Accords.

It outlines how: “The restrictions on the normal life of the local Palestinian population in Area C impact directly and indirectly on the security, humanitarian, developmental and psychological conditions of the Palestinians in the entire area of the West Bank.” and makes reference to the way “Frequent destructions of houses; public buildings and livelihood-related constructions result in forced transfer of the native population”.

However, it makes no acknowledgement of Israel’s openly stated plans to escalate the forced removal of Palestinian Bedouins from Area C, primarily the Jordan Valley and area around East Jerusalem, over the next two years. This plan, if allowed to go ahead, will result it 60,000 Bedouins being ethnically cleansed from the Jordan Valley, East Jerusalem and the Naqab, and forced to live in townships. or reservations, with no access to land to sustain their traditional agricultural or animal rearing lifestyles. 

The Heads of Mission have proposed that the EU and its member states call for an immediate cesation of “Israeli demolitions of Palestinian-owned structures in Area C, until Palestinians have access to fair and non-discriminatory zoning and planning”. They also recommend the development of infrastructure for Palestinian communities, supporting the Palestinian private sector, and “facilitating access to currently closed areas for Palestinian agricultural development in the Jordan Valley and in obtaining necessary permissions to establish greenhouses, irrigation systems and management of livestock.”

These are all essential for the Palestinian community in the Jordan Valley to continue to exist, but the report falls short of demanding an end to Israel’s illegal occupation, or a timescale or structure for European states to pursue the proposals, or put pressure on the Israeli state to comply with them.

The full report can be viewed at: http://thecepr.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=280:area-c-and-palestinian-state-building&catid=5:reports