Stop the demolitions, Israel told

Published on Wednesday 28 October 2009 21:20

EUROPEAN Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana has called on Israel to stop demolishing Palestinians' houses in East Jerusalem.

Israeli bulldozers levelled the homes of six Palestinian families there on Tuesday, leaving 26 people homeless. Another two were partially demolished.

Israeli authorities said the structures had been built without permits, but Palestinians say such permits are nearly impossible to obtain because of discriminatory Israeli planning policies.

East Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim as their future capital, has been annexed by Israel.

Yesterday, about 100 Israeli security forces arrived to remove a protest tent that members of a Palestinian family had slept in since August, when they were evicted from their home of 55 years to make way for Jewish settlers.

The officers confiscated plastic chairs, tables and a TV.

A "deeply concerned" Mr Solana said: "Such actions further undermine the efforts of the international community to relaunch credible peace negotiations aimed at achieving a just and sustainable peace. I urge the Israeli authorities to end these discriminatory measures."

A member of Jerusalem city council, Meir Margalit, resigned from its ruling coalition in protest at the demolitions, warning they would "end up with an explosion".