Mr. Éamonn Meehan:

The objective of the demolitions is to create space for settlers to move in to occupy those houses or build additional settlements in those spaces. All Israel wants to do is to remove these people. It has no concern for their welfare and does not care where they go so long as they move outside of the boundaries of East Jerusalem into one of the towns or cities in the West Bank. There is no concern, as the UNOCHA can confirm, for these people and what happens to them. If they fall on tough times, they have to be looked after by the UN or charities or taken in by family members. Their permanent residency status in East Jerusalem is tenuous. They are not citizens and do not have citizenship rights. In any event, the Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem live in a situation of permanent neglect by the Israeli municipal authorities, whether it is the collection of waste, the provision of education or healthcare, or anything else. They have a fraction of the annual expenditureper capitaof the Israeli citizens of the country. It is a situation of permanent neglect and it is all part of the same overall strategy.

On freezing diplomatic relations, as Dr. Power outlined, there is a suite of measures. Freezing diplomatic relations might not be what would be done in the first instance. It should be there as an option, but not on top of the list from the start.