Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade asked me to send his apologies and reply on his behalf. He is very keen to get a full account of the issues the Deputy has raised.

The Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar, to the east of Jerusalem, has been subject to demolition and removal orders for many years. Some houses and other structures have been demolished on a number of occasions. International donors, including the UN OCHA humanitarian fund to which Ireland contributes, have provided humanitarian assistance to replace demolished structures, including water facilities and latrines. Particular attention has been focused on the school, constructed out of tyres plastered with mud, which currently serves five local communities, and has 169 pupils.

However, concern has been heightened in recent days by the issue of a series of new stop-work orders relating to the village structures, and by the imposition of a military lockdown on the community and heavy military presence, giving rise to fears that a major demolition action may be planned. Irrespective of whether this is intended, the object clearly is to increase pressure on the residents to move from the area.

There has been a strong international response to this threat, in which Ireland has taken an active part. In October 2016 the Irish and other EU heads of mission in Palestine visited Khan al-Ahmar to see the situation, demonstrate support and show that the actions of the authorities there were being scrutinised. In response to the recent increased threat, there have been strong statements on the case from the relevant UN agencies on the ground and from the EU representative.

The Irish ambassador in Israel has made a démarcheat a senior level in the Israeli Foreign Ministry, drawing attention to the threats and expressing the strong concerns of the Government over the threats of demolitions, contrary to international law.

The Irish representative in Ramallah will be joining other EU heads of mission in a further visit to the community in the next few days. More broadly, Ireland also supports a range of Israeli and Palestinian NGOs that are active in combating human rights and justice issues arising from the occupation. The Minister, Deputy Flanagan, has also recently decided that Ireland should join the West Bank Protection Consortium which is made up of a network of NGOs and international donors and works with a total of 392 communities, 188 of which are at heightened risk of forcible transfer. The consortium supports threatened communities and co-ordinates the provision of essential services including material assistance and legal aid to those at risk of forcible transfer. Ireland has allocated €200,000 to the consortium for 2017. In the case of Khan al Ahmar, the most recent reports today suggest the threat of demolition may not be as imminent as feared. The prompt attention to the case may have helped in this regard but we cannot be active on every case all the time. This is the kind of uncertainty the community has to live with permanently. Ireland's missions in the area will keep this case under very close observation.

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