In a response to parliamentarians over the weekend, the European Commission for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, stated that Brussels had made several requests to Israel to compensate for the damaged buildings in the West Bank that were built with financial help from the EU or its member states.
According to an article published in an Israeli newspaper called Haaretz, Lenarcic’s written statement was issued after 24 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) wrote a letter to the Crisis Management Commission demanding that Israel compensate the European Union for the loss of taxpayer money from the EU.
According to what was reported by Haaretz, the letter stated that Israel did not bear the financial burden of the repercussions stemming from the illegal demolitions and the abuses of human rights.
In his response, Lenarcic stated that the EU has persistently condemned “Israel’s settlement policy as well as illegal actions taken in this context,” adding that the bloc has on a slew of occasions requested that Israel “return, or reimburse for, EU-funded assets that have been demolished, dismantled, or confiscated.” Lenarcic also stated that the EU has consistently condemned “Israel’s settlement policy and illegal actions taken in this context.”
However, despite efforts to receive this remuneration through diplomatic and diplomatic channels, the commissioner admitted that a “list of potential options to secure recompense from Israel for Eu money lost in demolitions” has not yet been brought up for discussion in the Council of Europe. This is despite the fact that the commissioner has been working to receive this compensation.
Lenarcic came to the conclusion that the decision on the prospective adoption of restrictive measures by the EU should be made by the Council using the unanimity rule.
According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations (OCHA), in the first eight months of 2022, Israeli authorities demolished, seized, or forced others to demolish a total of 590 structures that were owned by Palestinians across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. As a result, over 700 people were displaced as a direct result of these actions. Just in the months of July and August, Israel was responsible for the demolition of around 202 buildings, 29 of which had been donated for use as humanitarian relief.
According to the study, the numbers for 2022 showed a decrease when compared to the data for the previous year, which revealed that the Israeli authorities had demolished a total of 911 structures and displaced 1,209 persons.