Description

French diplomat Marion Castaing lays on the ground after Israeli soldiers carried her out of her truck containing emergency aid, in the West Bank herding community of Khirbet al-Makhul, in the Jordan Valley September 20, 2013.
Credit: Reuters/Abed Omar Qusini

Israeli soldiers pull a Palestinian off a truck loaded with items European diplomats wanted to deliver to locals in the West Bank herding community of Khirbet al-Makhul, in the Jordan Valley September More...
Credit: REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini

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by Philip Weiss for Mondoweiss

Update: Reuters is reporting that Israeli soldiers manhandled a French diplomat in the standoff at a Bedouin village in the Jordan Valley.

Israeli soldiers manhandled European diplomats on Friday and seized a truck full of tents and emergency aid they had been trying to deliver to Palestinians whose homes were demolished this week.

A Reuters reporter saw soldiers throw sound grenades at a group of diplomats, aid workers and locals in the occupied West Bank , and yank a French diplomat out of the truck before driving away with its contents.

“They dragged me out of the truck and forced me to the ground with no regard for my diplomatic immunity,” French diplomat Marion Castaing said.

“This is how international law is being respected here,” she said, covered with dust.

The Israeli army and police declined to comment.

Locals said Khirbet Al-Makhul was home to about 120 people. The army demolished their ramshackle houses, stables and a kindergarten on Monday after Israel ‘s high court ruled that they did not have proper building permits….

“It’s shocking and outrageous. We will report these actions to our governments,” said one EU diplomat, who declined to be named because he did not have authorisation to talk to the media.

“(Our presence here) is a clear matter of international humanitarian law. By the Geneva Convention, an occupying power needs to see to the needs of people under occupation. These people aren’t being protected,” he said.

Original report on our site:

On Monday, Israel demolished a Bedouin community in the Jordan Valley, Mak-hul.Today there is breaking news that a French diplomat has placed herself in the way of Israeli forces trying to prevent the delivery of tents to the villagers. The report, from a reliable source:

As many of you know, a diplomatic convoy accompanied a delivery of tents to Mak hul today for the people who lost their homes in the demolition of the community on Monday.

The Israel Civil Administration has moved to confiscate the truck with the tents. A French diplomat is sitting in the truck to prevent confiscation.

Reuters TV and main correspondent is there from the morning and is capturing it all.

We have confirmation from the French Consulate… [of this information, now going out on twitter:]

French diplomat sitting in truck full of humanitarian aid in demolished # Palestine village Makhul to prevent confiscation from Israeli soldiers

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Israeli soldiers 'manhandle' European diplomats attempting to deliver aid to Palestine from Independent.ie

ISRAELI soldiers manhandled European diplomats on Friday and seized a truck full of tents and emergency aid they had been trying to deliver to Palestinians whose homes were demolished this week.

A Reuters reporter saw soldiers throw sound grenades at a group of diplomats, aid workers and locals in the occupied West Bank, and yank a French diplomat out of the truck before driving away with its contents.

"They dragged me out of the truck and forced me to the ground with no regard for my diplomatic immunity," French diplomat Marion Castaing said.

"This is how international law is being respected here," she said, covered with dust.

The Israeli army and police declined to comment.

Locals said Khirbet Al-Makhul was home to about 120 people. The army demolished their ramshackle houses, stables and a kindergarten on Monday after Israel's high court ruled that they did not have proper building permits.

Despite losing their property, the inhabitants have refused to leave the land, where, they say, their families have lived for generations along with their flocks of sheep.

Israeli soldiers stopped the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delivering emergency aid on Tuesday and on Wednesday IRCS staff managed to put up some tents but the army forced them to take the shelters down.

Diplomats from France, Britain, Spain, Ireland, Australia and the European Union's political office, turned up on Friday with more supplies. As soon as they arrived, about a dozen Israeli army jeeps converged on them, and soldiers told them not to unload their truck.

"It's shocking and outrageous. We will report these actions to our governments," said one EU diplomat, who declined to be named because he did not have authorisation to talk to the media.



"(Our presence here) is a clear matter of international humanitarian law. By the Geneva Convention, an occupying power needs to see to the needs of people under occupation. These people aren't being protected," he said.