Deputy Prime Ministers of Belgium, Alexander De Croo and Didier Reynders, Wednesday condemned the Israeli authorities' demolition of a Belgium-funded children's playground in Zaatara, in the West Bank governorate of Nablus. The Belgium officials affirmed in a press statement, 'they will without delay ask for explanation from the Israeli government through the Ambassador in Brussels and via the Belgian Embassy in Tel Aviv'. "This destruction of a project aimed at essential basic infrastructures is unacceptable." The projects of Belgium aim at responding to humanitarian needs and are conducted in accordance with international humanitarian law, noted the statement. Ministers De Croo and Reynders expressed 'again' their deep concern following the worrying increase in the number of demolitions and confiscations of structures and humanitarian projects in Area C, under full Israeli military control. The European Union also repeated, in the conclusions adopted at the Foreign Affairs Council in January 2016, that it is firmly opposed to the settlement policy and to the measures taken in this context, such as, in particular, demolitions and confiscations. "This policy and the measures taken in this context go against the solution based on the coexistence of two states, with the State of Israel and an independent, democratic, contiguous, sovereign and viable State of Palestine living side by side in peace and security and mutual recognition." The statement noted that Belgium is not the only international donor affected by such destructions, and that projects funded by 'our' European partners or by the European Commission have also been affected by acts of the same type, or are threatened to be. "Belgium is therefore committed to actively continue the discussion at European level on the issue of compensations that have to be paid by Israel in such cases." To be noted, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) early Tuesday morning destroyed a playground for Palestinian children in Zaatara area, to the south of Nablus city, which was built in 2015 under Belgian support as part of a developmental project for marginalized areas.
