UN officials urge Israel to halt plans to transfer Palestinian Bedouins

Two United Nations humanitarian officials with responsibilities in the occupied Palestinian territory have expressed Wednesday their grave concern over the Israeli "rapidly advancing plans" to transfer Palestinian Bedouins in the central West Bank from their current communities, the UN News Center reported.

The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, James W. Rawley, and the Director of Operations in the West Bank for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) , Felipe Sanchez, released a joint statement that recalled a report of the UN Secretary-General from March this year, drawing a link between the proposed transfers and illegal settlement expansion and warning that the move would breach the Fourth Geneva Convention and violate human rights.

On 28 April, residents of Abu Nwar, in Area C of the West Bank, where Israel retains control over security, planning and building, were informed that some families would have to move to the Al Jabal area outside of East Jerusalem.

Area C accounts for over 60 per cent of land in the West Bank and is home to an estimated 300,000 Palestinians.

The Bedouins currently living in Abu Nwar are one of 46 Palestinian Bedouin communities – most of whom are refugees – who are slated for transfer to three proposed "relocation" sites, with the Israeli authorities claiming that Bedouin communities lack title over the land and that "relocation" will improve their living conditions.

"Israeli practices in Area C, including a marked increase of demolitions and confiscations of donor-funded structures in the first quarter of 2015, have compounded an already untenable situation for Bedouin communities," said Rawley.