The planned demolition of illegally built homes in the West Bank Palestinian village of Sussiya is causing the next diplomatic crisis between Israel and Europe.
Two months ago, the residents of Sussiya lost their petition requesting the High Court to block the planned demolition of the village.
Sussiya is in Area C of the West Bank, where all the planning authority is under Israeli control. The buildings in Sussiya were constructed despite the Israeli Civil Administration's refusal to grant planning permission.
Following the High Court decision, Sussiya has become the focus of an international campaign against the demolition, including multiple visits by foreign diplomats.
This week, 28 EU foreign ministers jointly expressed their "strong opposition to Israel's settlement policy and actions taken in this context, such as building the separation barrier beyond the 1967 line, demolitions and confiscation - including of EU-funded projects - evictions, forced transfers, illegal outposts, settler violence and restrictions of movement and access."
In addition to calling upon the government to cancel the plans to demolish the homes in Sussiya, they also condemned the Interior Ministry's plan to forcibly remove the unrecognised Bedouin village of Abu Nwar in the Negev Desert.
The international campaign is coming at a very delicate time for the government, which has tried to reduce diplomatic tension over the settlements in order to focus attention on the Iranian nuclear agreement.
The unofficial, de-facto "freeze" on authorisation for new settlements has already caused a right-wing backlash against the government, with two members of the Tekuma faction in Jewish Home threatening not to vote with the government.
In an attempt to calm the tension, last week the Defence Ministry authorised the construction of 906 new housing units in Beit El in the West Bank.
