by News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff
Following complaints from residents, police raze 18 storefronts, three gas stations illegally built in Shuafat refugee camp
The European Union
on Saturday condemned the Israeli demolition of some 20 commercial
structures in the Shuafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem, saying it was
part of "Israeli settlement expansion."
The buildings were razed on Wednesday as
part of the Jerusalem municipality's policy of expanding enforcement
with respect to illegally-built structures.
The Israel Police said the operation,
during which 18 storefronts and three gas stations in a particularly
neglected part of the camp were torn down, was carried out following
complaints from the residents and with their consent.
The operation "targeted stores that were
built illegally in the center of the camp and created unbearable
traffic congestion and crowding. The municipality will continue to
carry out activities with the support of the police against illegal
businesses in the different areas," the police statement said.
The EU, however, chose to link the
operation to a recent decision by the Jerusalem Planning and Building
Committee, which earlier this month approved the construction of
hundreds of new homes in the city's Gilo and Ramat Shlomo
neighborhoods.
"Last week, Israeli authorities demolished
some 20 Palestinian commercial structures in the Shuafat Palestinian
refugee camp in east Jerusalem. The demolition started several weeks
after the Jerusalem Municipality decided to promote a plan to build 800
housing units in the Israeli settlements of Gilo and Ramat Shlomo in
east Jerusalem," a spokesperson at the Office of Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy at the EU said.
"The European Union strongly opposes the
policy of Israeli settlements, which is illegal under international
law, and the actions taken in this regard. The European Union expects
the Israeli authorities to reconsider and revoke these decisions.
"The policy of settlement construction and
expansion in east Jerusalem continues to undermine the possibility of a
viable two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the future capital of
both states, which is the only realistic way to achieve a just and
lasting peace," the statement said.
Despite the fact that the demolition took
place with the residents' consent and was carried out as part of the
Jerusalem Municipality's ongoing attempts to improve their quality of
life, Palestinian media described the city's actions as "a crime by the
occupation."
Ahmad Abu Holy, head of the Palestine
Liberation Organization's Refugee Department, condemned the move,
telling the Palestinian news agency Wafa that it was carried out "under
the illegal pretext of building without a permit."
News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2018/11/25/eu-slams-demolitions-in-east-jerusalem-as-israeli-settlement-%e2%80%8eexpansion%e2%80%8e/
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