EU claims diplomatic immunity over illegal construction in Area C

T. Belman. This is a major story published in the UK. It takes a pro-Israel stand on what is happening and is showing outrage against the EU.  This story includes a dozen pictures which give voice to the illegality.

EXCLUSIVE: Outrage as EU claims diplomatic immunity after using OUR aid money to ‘meddle in the Middle East’ by building on disputed West Bank land 

DAILY MAIL

• The EU has built more than 1,000 buildings on the West Bank without planning permission, as well as roads and other infrastructure 
• They are at 40 locations in Area C, which was placed under Israeli jurisdiction by international law 
• The buildings are given to Palestinians and paid for using aid money from European countries, including Britain
• Regavim, an Israeli NGO, launched legal action against the EU
• But the EU is claiming diplomatic immunity to avoid being taken to court, MailOnline has learnt 
• MPs have expressed their fury, branding the EU’s actions ‘dodgy’
• An EU spokesperson said its actions were illegal because they were ‘humanitarian’ 

By JAKE WALLIS SIMONS FOR MAILONLINE

The EU is claiming diplomatic immunity after using taxpayers’ money to build unauthorised settlements and roads on Israeli parts of the West Bank, MailOnline can reveal.

An Israeli NGO launched legal action after photographing EU flags flying above buildings on land placed under Israeli jurisdiction by the Oslo Accords, to which the EU is a signatory. EU bureaucrats are avoiding court by citing diplomatic rules.

The buildings, which are given to Palestinians, are intended to ‘pave the way’ for more land to be brought under Palestinian control, according to official EU papers. Many are bulldozed by Israel only for the EU to repeatedly rebuild them, generating more costs for the taxpayer.

Leaked documents obtained by MailOnline show that the EU – which receives £350million per week from Britain – is using diplomatic rules to place officials above the law, foiling attempts to hold bureaucrats accountable.

MPs have expressed outrage that the EU is using aid money to ‘meddle’ in a foreign territorial dispute, and branded its actions ‘dodgy’.

‘It is deeply concerning that the EU falls back on diplomatic immunity after breaking planning regulations,’ Jacob Rees-Mogg MP told MailOnline. ‘The UK Government would take a very dim view of a friendly state doing that to us.

‘Diplomatic immunity is there to protect envoys from unjust treatment, not to protect the high-handed behaviour of arrogant bureaucracies.’

He added: ‘The EU maintains that it is based on fundamental principles of rule of law and support for democracy. But when this clashes with its bureaucratic bungling, neither rule of law nor democracy seem important.’

The projects come at a cost of tens of millions of Euros in aid money, a proportion of which comes from the British taxpayer. Construction is also funded by international charities, including Oxfam.

EU flags are mounted on the buildings, leading them to become known locally as the ‘EU settlements’.

‘The EU should comply with the law. It should not be meddling in the Middle East, then hiding behind some dodgy use of diplomatic immunity,’ Andrew Percy MP told MailOnline.

‘This is a gross waste of taxpayers’ money. It’s another example of money given to the EU over which Parliament has no real oversight.

‘The British electorate is contributing to this but we are completely unaware of how it’s being spent. We don’t know who is spending this, and we can’t vote them out.’

He added: ‘No wonder the EU think they’re above the law. They are untouchable.’

Mr Percy also expressed serious concerns that the EU is ‘undermining the Oslo Accords’ and ‘damaging attempts at peace’ in the Middle East. ‘Not only is it a waste of taxpayers’ money, it is morally questionable,’ he said.

This month, the EU approved a further £193million of aid to the Palestinian Authority.

Professor Eugene Kontorovich, an international lawyer from the Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, said: ‘There’s no question, the EU is openly in violation of international law.’

But an EU spokeswoman argued that the construction was legal ‘in accordance with the humanitarian imperative’, and said the EU believed that Area C would be ‘part of any viable future Palestinian state’.

‘All EU activity in the West Bank is fully in line with international humanitarian law,’ the spokeswoman said. ‘Under international law Israel also has the obligation to protect and facilitate development for the local population, and to grant unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance.’

She would not say whether or not the EU’s actions breached the Oslo Accords.

The Oslo Accords are a series of agreements between Israel and the Palestinians, made in the Nineties, which divided the West Bank into Areas A, B and C.

Area C was placed under Israeli control, while Areas A and B were Palestinian. The agreements were ratified by the international community, including the EU, and intended as a step towards the two-state solution.

More than 1,000 EU-funded Palestinian homes, as well as roads and other infrastructure, have been erected in the Israeli Area C of the West Bank, without permits from Israel.

But the EU says that international humanitarian legislation, coupled with their belief that Area C will end up in Palestinian hands, allows them to proceed with construction.

Regavim, a right-wing Israeli NGO, has brought a number of law suits against the EU, accusing it of undermining international agreements. On each occasion, the EU avoided court by claiming diplomatic immunity, MailOnline has learnt.

The NGO has questioned whether diplomatic immunity should be applied in this case, as Article 41 of the Vienna Convention states that in return for immunity, diplomats must not ‘interfere in the internal affairs of that State’.

A Brussels-based EU spokesperson said: ‘Any attempt by local courts to serve or deliver judicial acts to EU Delegations in third countries… may violate the EU’s immunity from jurisdiction.’

In recent months, Israel has demolished some of the unauthorised EU buildings, leading to a game of cat-and-mouse and a further waste of aid money. Local witnesses say that earlier this month, the EU constructed a rudimentary school on a Friday, and Israel bulldozed it on Saturday.

In another example of wastage, the EU funded the development of an unauthorised road that bisects Area C from east to west. It was originally a dirt path, but last year the EU widened it with heavy equipment.

Israeli authorities halted the construction in October, before asphalt was laid, and work has been sporadic since. EU-funded drainage and irrigation continues in the area, preparing the ground for future Palestinian settlement.

‘It is the most outrageous waste of our aid money at a time when many countries are looking to make difficult savings at home,’ Andrew Percy MP said.

Speaking to the foreign media, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, said: ‘When we take down these illegal constructions, we are then again condemned, so it’s a Catch-22… This is a clear attempt to create political realities… I think we need to re-set our relationship with the EU.’

Relations between Israel and the EU are already strained after the EU issued guidelines that goods produced in the occupied territories should be labelled as such.

Tzipy Hotovely, Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister, told Israel’s parliament that although Israel was keen to strengthen ties with Europe, it could not overlook actions that undermine its sovereignty.

‘Improved relations between the EU and Israel will not come at the expense of enforcing the law in Area C,’ she said. ‘The government of Israel has no intention of giving a green light to the building of illegal structures in a political effort to decide the borders of Israel.’

The ‘EU Settlements’, can be found in more than 40 locations around the West Bank.

The largest is Wadi Abu Hindi, which is about five miles away from Jerusalem. It is comprised of more than 100 houses, of which about 30 display EU signs.

Another, Khan Al Amar, is located one kilometre north of Highway One, which bisects the West Bank. It is comprised of about 50 houses, all of which displaying EU signs.

A third, Mak-Hul, in the northern West Bank near Nablus, is located on an Israeli military firing range. A fourth is Susia, in the south near Hebron.

Ari Briggs, International Director of Regavim, said: ‘The EU is attempting to establish a de-facto Palestinian State on Israeli territory, with mountains of European taxpayers’ money.

‘They act as if they are above the law and are now attempting to hide behind diplomatic immunity. These actions would not be acceptable anywhere else on Earth, and the EU must be held accountable.’

But other groups disagree. Sarit Michaeli, spokesperson for B’Tselem, the left-wing Israeli human rights group, said:

‘Area C is part of the occupied West Bank, and Israel, the occupying power, is legally obligated to manage the area for the benefit of the Palestinian population.

‘However, it does the exact opposite, and restricts the capacity of Palestinians to develop… Under these circumstances, EU and member state humanitarian assistance is the least the international community can do.’

An Oxfam spokesperson said: ‘In recent years, more than 98 percent of Palestinian permit applications for building in Area C of the West Bank have been rejected by the Israeli Government, according to their own statistics.

‘This means many Palestinian communities in Area C, which is under the full control of Israel, are being prevented from building basic, essential structures such as homes and schools.
‘Palestinian communities in Area C are some of the poorest in the West Bank. The international community has a responsibility to support vital projects for marginalised communities in Area C, which are legal under international humanitarian law.’

A European Commission spokesman confirmed that Britain – which is the seventh-largest financial contributor to the EU – is likely to have ‘full knowledge’ of any Palestinian settlement project, as aid priorities are agreed by British ministers.

And according to a Dfid spokesman, although Britain is not ‘directly funding’ the Palestinian settlements, the British taxpayer is contributing as a percentage of the ‘core EU budget’.
In 2013, Britain’s gross contribution to the €149.5billion EU budget was about €17.1billion, which amounted to 11.4 percent of the total.