927 Israel destroys Palestinian Solar project provided by Netherlands. Reported in WaPo but not NYT

Israel destroys Palestinian Solar project provided by Netherlands.
Reported in WaPo but not NYT

Newsletter published on 15 July 2017

(1) Israel destroys Dutch development project; Netherlands furious
(2) This Palestinian village had solar power — until Israeli soldiers
took it away - WAPO
(3) Israel Confiscates Palestinian Shepherds' Solar Units - Haaretz
(4) Palestinians prepare to lose the solar panels that provide a
lifeline (2012)
(5) Israel to Demolish Palestinian Solar Energy Program (2012)

(1) Israel destroys Dutch development project; Netherlands furious

http://nltimes.nl/2017/06/30/israel-destroys-dutch-development-project-netherlands-furious

By Janene Pieters on June 30, 2017 - 08:29

{photo} Empty structures that used to hold solar panels - Israeli army
destroys a Dutch development project in the Palestinian village Jubbet
adh Dhib on the west bank of the Jordan, 28 Jun 2017. Photo: Comet-ME /
Facebook {end}

Israel demolished a Dutch development project consisting of 96 solar
panels and other equipment for supplying power to Palestinian village
Jubbet Adh Dhib on the west bank of the Jordan. The Netherlands spent
about half a million euros on the project last year. The Ministry of
Foreign Affairs is furious, AD reports.

"We immediately protested seriously with the Israeli authorities and
demanded return of the goods. We're currently investigating the exact
damages and what next steps can be taken", Foreign Affairs spokesperson
Chris Bakker said to the newspaper.

Israeli soldiers raided the village on Wednesday morning. "The Israeli
soldiers also tried to drag the batteries away, but they were apparently
too heavy. They were damaged, however", said Tamar Cohen, organizational
development manager at Comet-me, the organization with whom the
Netherlands donated the solar panels. Israel regularly evacuates
Palestinian settlements because of the lack of property acts or building
permits. "But that always goes through the court first and then we can
litigate. This is the first time soldiers seized goods unannounced",
Cohen said to the newspaper.

COGAT, the Israeli government on the west bank of the Jordan and the
Gaza strip, said that the Dutch solar panels were illegal, in a
statement given to AD. "The necessary permits were lacking. A ban on
building solar panels in the village has now been imposed. We emphasize
that the village has other power sources."

The Netherlands donates tens of millions of euros to projects for
Palestinians on the west bank of the Jordan and in the Gaza strip every
year. Aid agencies often don't request building permits from the Israeli
military government, because of long waiting times and very low chance
of success. In practice this basically means that the projects are
dependent on Israeli goodwill.

This is not the first time Israel destroyed a Netherlands funded
project. In 2015 Israeli troops seized Dutch funded agricultural
machinery for Palestinian farmers in the village of Kusra. The
Netherlands also paid the fines to get the machinery back, because the
farmers themselves couldn't. And in 2000 Israeli tanks bombed a port
under construction in the Gaza strip. The Netherlands contributed 23
million euros to that port.

The international community considers Israel's occupation of the
Jordan's west bank to be illegal and strives for an independent
Palestinian state in parts of the area. But the peace process between
Israel and Palestine has been deadlocked for years.

(2) This Palestinian village had solar power — until Israeli soldiers
took it away - WAPO

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/this-palestinian-village-had-solar-power--until-israeli-soldiers-took-it-away/2017/07/05/d4b8a5fc-6036-11e7-a4f7-af34fc1d9d39_story.html

This Palestinian village had solar power — until Israeli soldiers took
it away

By Anne-Marie O'Connor

July 7

JUBBET ADH DHIB, West Bank — The residents of this dirt-poor Palestinian
village waited decades for electricity. But in November, a Dutch-funded
solar project finally gave them round-the-clock power to refrigerate
food or do a load of laundry.

That ended last week when Israeli military administrators in the West
Bank sent soldiers with assault rifles and a team of workers to shut
down the $400,000 project, ripping out its electrical components and
driving away with 96 solar panels, some of them broken, villagers said.

Israeli officials called the construction illegal, but the builders
contested the charge, saying they are providing desperately needed
humanitarian aid that is required under international law.

"It was a disaster. We are all in mourning," said Fadia al-Wahsh, head
of the local women’s committee, hours after the soldiers left, as
villagers discussed how to save food and medicine from the stifling
summer heat.

The confiscation was the latest round of a widening conflict between
European donors and the Israeli government over projects that benefit
Palestinians in Area C, about 60 percent of the West Bank under full
Israeli control.

  "The Netherlands immediately protested to the Israeli authorities and
demanded the return of the confiscated goods," said Dirk-Jan Vermeij, a
spokesman for Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, who he said told Dutch
parliament Tuesday that "this confiscation is simply unacceptable." He
said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had discussed the issue with Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon declined to comment
in a text exchange but referred questions to Israel’s military
Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, known as
COGAT. A spokesman for COGAT said in an email that the solar and
electric panels were installed without the necessary permits.

COGAT said the parties involved could "file a request for releasing the
equipment as long as the organization will promise that the illegal
construction will not be established without the necessary permits again."

[20 minutes from modern Jerusalem, a Palestinian village is stranded in
the past]

The incident illustrates a Catch-22 in the West Bank: For years, Israel
has denied most permit requests for Palestinian construction in Area C.
But if Palestinians build homes or other structures without permits,
Israeli authorities say the structures are subject to demolition because
they lack permits.

The European Union said in a recent report that there has been an
"exceptional upsurge" in seizures or demolitions of European-funded
projects by the Israeli government, which faces pressure from Israeli
settlers to shut them down.

The report said Israeli forces have seized or demolished 117
European-funded humanitarian projects for Palestinians from September
through February: latrines, animal shelters, agricultural projects and
emergency shelters for families displaced by Israeli home demolitions.

   A Dutch-funded solar energy system was installed in this impoverished
Palestinian village in November. Its panels were seized last week by
Israeli authorities who called it illegal construction, saying the
village did not have the necessary permits. The village women's
committee has been trying to acquire electricity for the village, which
first requested power three decades ago.  (Courtesy of Comet-ME/Courtesy
of Comet-ME)

"E.U. humanitarian activities are carried out in full accordance with
international humanitarian law," the E.U. said in a February statement,
calling on Israel "to halt demolitions of Palestinian houses and
property in accordance with its obligation as an occupying power under
international humanitarian law."

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told Army Radio
that he saw political motives behind E.U. construction, the Times of
Israel reported.

"Like thieves in the night, they are building illegal buildings .?.?. to
create territorial contiguity for the Palestinians," he was quoted as
saying. "They are creating facts on the ground."

A May U.N. report said Israeli authorities reportedly rejected permits
for 391 of the 428 requests for building in Palestinian communities in
Area C in the first half of 2016, the most current figures available.

Most of the permits approved were reportedly issued by Israeli
authorities to transfer Bedouin populations, the United Nations said.

" ‘Lack of permits’ is the cynical pretext used by Israeli authorities
to create the illusion that proper procedures exist," B’Tselem, an
Israeli human rights group, said in a statement.

[A new Jewish settlement begins to rise in the West Bank ]

A Israeli government proposal to allow thousands of new housing units in
the Palestinian town of Qalqilya recently drew outraged public
statements from Israeli settler leaders — who call for Israel to annex
Area C — and was openly criticized by several right-wing ministers in
the Netanyahu government.

Jubbet adh Dhib, a village of 170 people, has requested a hookup to the
electrical grid numerous times since 1988, according to Human Rights
Watch. European-funded solar streetlights were dismantled in 2009 at the
request of Israeli authorities, European diplomats say.

A few hundred yards from it is the Jewish settlement of Sde Bar, founded
in 1998, according to the nongovernmental Settlement Watch. Residents
say they received Israeli utilities and protection for years before Sde
Bar was legalized retroactively in 2005.

Michael Sfard, the legal counsel for Comet-ME, the Israeli-Palestinian
nonprofit that installed the solar electricity system, said he would
fight the decision to shut it down and would appeal to Israel’s highest
court, if necessary, on the grounds that Israel was violating
international law by damaging humanitarian aid without providing an
alternative.

"This has nothing to do with law enforcement," Sfard said. "We have two
neighboring communities in the West Bank, one with all the privileges,
and another that has nothing. It’s cruel."

COGAT said Jubbet adh Dhib has an electricity alternative, an apparent
reference to a generator that consumes $100 a day in diesel fuel —
villagers say they can afford to run it only a few hours a day.

"I explained to them that we had medicine in the refrigerator, insulin
for diabetics," said Amna al-Wahsh, a member of the women’s committee.
"They said, ‘Move away; let us do our job.’ "

Anat Ben Nun, external relations director of Peace Now, said demolitions
of Palestinian homes reached record levels in 2016, while unauthorized
Israeli outposts with roads, water and electricity, "all built
completely illegally — are being retroactively legalized."

The solar project in Jubbet adh Dhib was touted as an inspirational
success for the women’s committee, which is trained to cope with medical
emergencies, such as delivering babies.

At a March International Women’s Day event in Ramallah, Amna al-Wahsh
described the transformation of her village.

"We have refrigerators, washing machines," she said. "Our children can
study whenever they like. I used to be afraid to let my children go to
the bathroom with a candle, because they could burn down the house."

"We are indescribably happy," she said, as the audience, including
European and American donors, applauded.

(3) Israel Confiscates Palestinian Shepherds' Solar Units - Haaretz

http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium-1.799795

Israel Confiscates Palestinian Shepherds' Home Solar Power Units

The units were intended to operate refrigerators, used to store cheeses
– on which the family's livelihood depends – and medicines for the sheep
and the family

   Jul 06, 2017 11:38 AM Amira Hass

Israel confiscated Wednesday two home solar power units that had been
contributed by the European Union to a small sheep-herding...

(4) Palestinians prepare to lose the solar panels that provide a
lifeline (2012)

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/mar/14/palestinians-prepare-to-lose-solar-panels

Palestinians prepare to lose the solar panels that provide a lifeline

Israel is planning to demolish 'illegal' solar panels that are the only
source of electricity for Palestinians in West Bank villages

Phoebe Greenwood in Tel Aviv

Wednesday 14 March 2012 18.00 AEDT

First published on Wednesday 14 March 2012 18.00 AEDT

Two large solar panels jut out of the barren landscape near Imneizil in
the Hebron hills. The hi-tech structures sit incongruously alongside the
tents and rough stone buildings of the Palestinian village, but they are
fundamental to life here: they provide electricity.

Imneizil is not connected to the national electricity grid. Nor are the
vast majority of Palestinian communities in Area C, the 62% of the West
Bank controlled by Israel. The solar energy has replaced expensive and
clunky oil-powered generators.

According to the Israeli authorities, these solar panels – along with
six others in nearby villages – are illegal and have been slated for
demolition.

Nihad Moor, 25, has three small children. The family live in a two-room
tent kitted out with a fridge, TV and very old computer. She also has a
small electric butter churn, which she uses to supplement her husband's
small income from sheep farming.

"The kids get sick all the time. At the moment, because of a change in
the weather, they all have colds. Without electricity I wouldn't even be
able to see to help them when they need to use the [outdoor] toilet at
night," Moor says. "I don't want to imagine what life would be like here
if [the panels] were demolished."

Imneizil's solar system was built in 2009 by the Spanish NGO Seba at a
cost of €30,000 to the Spanish government. According to the Israeli
authorities, it was built without a permit.

Guy Inbar, a spokesperson for the Israeli authorities in the West Bank,
explains: "International aid is an important component in improving and
promoting the quality of life of the Palestinian population but this
does not grant immunity for illegal or unco-ordinated activity."

The problem for Palestinian communities here is that permission to build
any infrastructure is very hard to come by. According to figures from
the civil administration quoted by the pressure group Peace Now, 91
permits were issued for Palestinian construction in Area C between 2001
and 2007. In the same period, more than 10,000 Israeli settlement units
were built and1,663 Palestinian structures demolished.

The Jewish settlements in Area C are connected to the national water and
electricity grids. But most Palestinian villages are cut off from basic
infrastructure, including water and sewage services. Imneizil, which
borders the ultra-religious settlement of Beit Yatir, currently has nine
demolition orders on various structures, including a toilet block and
water cistern for the school.

Comet ME is an Israeli NGO trying to circumvent these crippling
restrictions on Palestinian development by harnessing Hebron's abundant
natural energy sources – wind and sun.

Funded largely by the German government, the organisation has already
provided tens of Palestinian villages with electricity through solar
panels and wind turbines. Its goal is to reach all villages in the
southern Hebron area by the end of 2013.

"In technical terms it's do-able, but it depends on Israeli policies,"
says Elad Orian, Comet ME's founder. "Power is a human right, like
housing and education," he says. "We deal with providing basic energy
services. Renewable energy provides the best route to do it."

The green energy solution has its flaws. At a cost of around $4,500 per
family, it is expensive. Nor does it generate enough electricity to
sustain a community. But it has offered a lifeline to the 150,000
Palestinians living in Area C's impoverished communities.

However, it will become increasingly difficult to convince donors that
alternative energy is worth investing in if the expensive technology
they are funding is destroyed. After the order issued against the
Imneizil solar panels in September, six alternative energy systems built
by Comet ME in Hebron have received demolition orders.

A legal fight waged by Rabbis for Human Rights has succeeded in
suspending, but not lifting, the demolition of Imneizil's panels. The
German foreign office has launched an intense diplomatic effort to save
the others in nearby villages.

One UN expert, speaking anonymously as they are not authorised to talk
to the media, believes the crackdown on the alternative energy movement
by the Israelis is part of a deliberate strategy in Area C. "From
December 2010 to April 2011, we saw a systematic targeting of the water
infrastructure in Hebron, Bethlehem and the Jordan valley," the source
said. "Now, in the last couple of months, they are targeting
electricity. Two villages in the area have had their electrical poles
demolished.

"There is this systematic effort by the civil administration targeting
all Palestinian infrastructure in Hebron. They are hoping that by making
it miserable enough, they [the Palestinians] will pick up and leave."

According to UN research, that is happening. Ten out of 13 Palestinian
communities living in Area C surveyed by the Office for the
Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in 2011 reported that families had
already left their land as a result of Israeli policies. Ali Mohamed
Hraizat, 49, head of Imneizil's village council, fears that if the solar
panels are destroyed, his community will see an exodus.

"We've been here since 1948. We try to stay and maintain our lives, but
people will leave if the electricity is cut off," he says. "They are
used for light for their children to study by and for televisions. They
will move into town. The solar panel isn't doing any harm … I just don't
see the point in demolishing it."

(5) Israel to Demolish Palestinian Solar Energy Program (2012)

https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/02/16-4

https://www.revleft.space/vb/threads/168014-Israel-To-Demolish-Palestinian-Solar-Energy-Program

Israel To Demolish Palestinian Solar Energy Program

Thursday, February 16, 2012

by Common Dreams staff

A sustainable energy program in 'Area C' of rural West Bank is being
threatened by Israeli authorities. The program, which recently installed
solar panels and wind turbines in 16 communities, is providing 1,500
Palestinians with electricity -- who were formerly without reliable
energy.(Photo: AFP/Menahem Kahana)

The foreign aid program, thus far successful, has become a new target
for Israel as it threatens to demolish the structures that supposedly
lie within Israeli 'administration'.

* * *

Der Spiegel reports:

     The best part is when the lights in the tents go on, one by one,
says Elad Orian. Electricity here, in the hills south of Hebron, was
long unreliable. Either it was not available or it was too expensive,
produced for just a few hours each day by a noisy, diesel-guzzling
generator. That changed when Elad Orian and Noam Dotan, two Israeli
physicians who had tired of conflict, came along three years ago and
installed solar panels and erected wind turbines. Since then, such
facilities have been installed in 16 communities, providing 1,500
Palestinians with electricity. [...]

     The success, though, could soon be a thing of the past. Israel has
threatened to tear them down with five municipalities in recent weeks
having received "stop work" orders -- the first step on the road to
demolition. The problem is that the facilities are in the so-called Area
C, which covers 60 percent of the West Bank and is administered by
Israel. Permission from the Israelis is a requirement before
construction projects can move ahead -- and permits are almost never
given to Palestinians. [...]

     European diplomats in Ramallah and Tel Aviv suspect that the
demolition orders are a reaction to a recently drafted, unusually
critical EU report on the situation in Area C. It states: "The window
for a two-state solution is closing rapidly with the continued expansion
of Israeli settlements." The conclusion: The EU needs to target
investment in economic development and improved living conditions of
Palestinians in Area C. [...]

"What can you do if there are impediments to development, such as an
undefined de-development policy?" says Tsafrir Cohen, Middle East
coordinator of Medico International, which supported two of the systems.

     A few months ago, a similar project co-financed by the Spanish
government was scheduled for demolition, something which has been
prevented thus far through massive diplomatic pressure.

     Projects funded by foreign aid organizations or the EU have often
been destroyed in the past, the best known example being the Gaza
airport, financed with $38 million from the EU only to be destroyed by
Israeli bombs a short time after its construction. Generally, though,
the demolitions have been the result of security concerns. The fact that
harmless solar cells -- installations which are funded by allied
countries to provide basic humanitarian needs -- are at risk of
demolition is a new development. [...]

     Hundreds of people live in the village, and they are the poorest of
the poor. A community of shepherds, they moved freely through the area
until Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967. Since then, they have
settled, collecting rain water during the winter and buying expensive
drinking water brought in by a truck along a gravel track in the summer.
A well-maintained road to the settlement doesn't exist, despite the fact
that Shaab al-Buttum lies between two Israeli outposts. The settlements
are illegal, but miraculously they have all the basics their Palestinian
neighbors are missing: electricity, water and roads.

* * *

Ma'an News reports:

     In recent months, the army issued demolition warnings against six
solar and wind power systems in the South Hebron Hills, which were
funded by European governments and development groups.

     "What can you do if there are impediments to development, such as
an undefined de-development policy?" says Tsafrir Cohen, Middle East
coordinator of Medico International, which supported two of the systems.

     Known locally as Masafer Yatta, the communities lie almost entirely
in Area C, the 62 percent of the West Bank under full Israel civil and
security control since the 1993 Oslo Accords. [...]

     Cohen says if Medico International abandons development work in
Area C, moving to Palestinian Authority-controlled areas where permits
are not a problem, they would do little more than "painting the walls of
Bantustans."

     "We cannot just facilitate a nice jail cell, and a system where
people don’t have rights." [...]

     Threats to demolish vital village resources are intended to
"silently move us from the land," village council head Ali Muhammad Ali
Heirezat says. "We have been here since 1948, and we don’t have another
place to go."

* * *

Several West Bank villages had been without electricity for years. Not
long ago, however, international funding and an Israeli foundation made
it possible to erect solar panels and wind turbines. In total, 16
communities with 1,500 residents have benefited. Here, a woman in the
West Bank village of Susya.