Germany raps Israel's demolition plans for West Bank solar projects

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle criticized Israeli plans to demolish several German-funded solar and wind turbine projects in the West Bank during a meeting with the Foreign Press Association (VAP) in Berlin on Thursday. He said that the solar plants and wind turbines did 'not pose a threat to anyone.' Westerwelle was referring to reports about Israeli demolition orders for six solar and wind turbine projects in the West Bank. He added it would be 'good and useful', if this planned demolition would be stopped since these wind and solar projects did provide energy to the people in the West Bank. Israeli authorities are threatening to raze the projects aimed at bringing clean energy to remote villages in the West Bank. They are arguing that the solar panels and wind turbines were installed without permission- yet it is widely acknowledged that Israel tends to refuse permits in area C of the West Bank. The conflict strikes at the heart of international criticism of Israel’s highly disputed control of 62 percent of the West Bank where more than 300,000 settlers live. The village of al-Thala, where 80 people lived without electricity in the south of the West Bank is reportedly one of the recipients of the solar panels project. German aid group Medico and Comet-ME, a group which has worked hard to bring renewable energy to the West Bank, are working to bring solar and wind power to 30 Palestinian communities. In January, ‘stop work’ orders were issued by the Israeli authorities for the solar panels and wind turbines in al-Thala and five other communities. According to a new UN report, in the last year alone Israel demolished 622 structures and 222 homes. More than 90 percent of these were in Area C of the West Bank and they displaced reportedly more than 1,100 Palestinians, of whom half were children.