Israel orders demolition of sports field in West Bank refugee camp; EU says it “will monitor developments”

Brussels – In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, you can’t even play football. Palestinian children are not allowed to escape, even for a moment, from the living conditions of a territory ravaged by Israel’s military response to Hamas, because Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has ordered the demolition of the sports field in the Aida refugee camp, near Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank. This decision, motivated by the lack of building permits, has not gone unnoticed in Brussels, where AVS representative Mimmo Lucano has asked what the European Union can and will do in the face of such a reprehensible decision.

 “The facility is used mainly by children and young people from the camp and is one of the few accessible community spaces against a backdrop of severe restrictions on freedom of movement and difficult socio-economic conditions,” Lucano said in his parliamentary question addressed to the board of commissioners, reminding them that “its demolition could have a negative impact on the children’s well-being and the social cohesion of the local community.” 

The EU should take action, according to the Italian MEP, who, however, receives the usual standard responses. The Commission “is aware of the demolition order issued by the Israeli authorities for the sports field in the Aida refugee camp and is closely monitoring the developments,” assures the Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica. In response to the order, “the EU calls on Israel to halt the demolition and ensure children are not deprived of their right to practice sport and develop in a safe and healthy environment.” 

The tone used by von der Leyen’s team sounds anything but resolute or threatening, and merely reiterates the difficulty the European Union faces when dealing with counterparts of significant political and economic weight. With Israel, the stance has been wavering, with a string of calls to respect for international law and little else. The same story is repeated in the case of the children’s football field: “The EU also urges Israel to respect its obligations under international law in the occupied Palestinian territory, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, that Israel ratified in 1991,” Šuica said. And that is the most she can, and perhaps is able to, say.