EU urged to act after delegation visits Palestinian family facing expulsion in East Jerusalem

The European Union faced questions over what action it was going to take after a representative of the body recently visited a Palestinian family facing expulsion from their occupied East Jerusalem home.

The Ghaith-Sub Laban family live in Jerusalem's Old City and have been told they must clear out of their home by 11 June.

A member of the Office of the European Union Representative recently visited the family, who have lived in the Old City's Muslim Quarter for decades.

"This takes place in a context where an estimated 150 Palestinian families in East Jerusalem are at risk of forced eviction & displacement by Israeli authorities," the EU Delegation to the Palestinians tweeted on Thursday.

It noted the bloc's "opposition to Israel's settlement policy & actions taken in this context, including evictions".

1/2 EUREP, together with other diplomatic missions, visited the Ghaith-Sub Laban family, ordered to leave their home in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of occupied East Jerusalem where they have lived for decades by 11 June. pic.twitter.com/A7RwVXLBHL

— EU and Palestinians (@EUpalestinians) June 8, 2023

But some Twitter users called on the EU to do more.

"What are the next steps? Because we are sick and tired of your empty and weak statements," one asked.

Another said: "So, what are you going to do about it besides tweeting and offering support?

"I'm not being facetious, just curious as words aren't enough."

Pro-Palestine activists in the West often accuse their governments of failing to take serious action in the face of Israeli violations against the Palestinian people.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was the subject of a fierce statement from the Palestinian Authority in April after she claimed Israel "literally made the desert bloom".

The remark, branded a "racist trope" by the Palestinian foreign ministry, was made during a video message marking Israel's so-called "independence day".

The EU was "unpleasantly surprised" by the "inappropriate" statement from the Palestinian Authority, said a spokesperson for the European Commission.

"We reached out to the Palestinian authorities asking for clarifications regarding this unacceptable reaction to her video," the spokesperson told The New Arab.

The statement, posted to Twitter as an image, was ultimately deleted.

At first, it remained available in edited format in two written tweets, but these posts were no longer available when The New Arab checked a few days later.