The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) in London has strongly condemned an Israeli plan to forcibly expel the Palestinian community of Masafer Yatta and called on the international community to take urgent action in this regard.

This came in an oral statement delivered by PRC representative Dr. Ahmad Skineh as part of Agenda Item 3 of a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session with the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs). 

PRC also submitted a written report on the issue in cooperation with European Initiative to Remove the Wall and Settlements. Find it HERE.

PRC said that after more than 20 years of legal proceedings, Israel’s High Court of Justice ruled on May 4 that the forcible transfer of hundreds of Palestinians from their homes and the destruction of their communities – for the clear purpose of taking over their lands in the service of settlers' interests – is legal.

Israel’s high court has ruled that about 1,000 Palestinians can be evicted from 3,000 hectares of Masafer Yatta in the West Bank as the land was designated as a “firing zone” and repurposed for Israeli military use, in one of the single biggest expulsion decisions since 1967.

PRC said that the Israeli court has, in this decision, proven its unwillingness to sanction almost any injustice or violation of the human rights of Palestinians.

PRC called on the international community to prevent Israel from forcibly transferring the Masafer Yatta communities and make sure, should this crime be committed, that those responsible for it will be held accountable.