Jerusalem, 15 September, 2022 (TPS) — On Thursday, and not for the first time in recent months, a group of uniformed officers of the Canadian Armed Forces was photographed as they aided a group of Palestinian Arabs who are attempting to establish “facts on the ground” by building new structures in violation of the Oslo Accords. The Canadians were seen near the Maon Farm in the south Hebron area where last week Arabs incited violent clashes, in which an Israeli shepherd was critically wounded.
The area toured by the Canadian military personnel is under full IDF military closure orders. The Canadian officers were accompanied by Palestinian Police who have no authority in Area C. Area C is under full Israeli security and civilian control, as per the 1994 Oslo Accords. The Palestinian Authority (PA) has no authority there.
This is nothing new. In July, TPS reported on how a delegation of senior Canadian military personnel was then also documented patrolling in uniform in Area C in Judea and Samaria. The Canadians were seen visiting an illegal structure built by local Arabs on state land belonging to Maon in the southern Hebron Mountains.
And in August another Canadian military delegation was spotted in Judea and Samaria, where they met with Palestinian activists at a number of locations and were seen touring other structures illegally built by local Arabs in Area C.
When Israelis build new structures in Judea and Samaria without government authorization – like in Chomesh – even when it is just a few caravans added to an already existing town, the IDF moves swiftly and evicts the occupants and destroys whatever was built.
But when the PA aids its people in building new structures in Area C – even when it damages Jewish archeological sites – the IDF is not always so quick to act.
The Regavim Movement explained that these Canadian military officers were in the area as part of a delegation of NATO military personnel to the Proteus Project. Proteus was established in the 1990s by President Clinton to aid the PA build its police department. But, they have absolutely no mandate in Area C and since such visits were not coordinated ahead of time with the IDF they constitute a violation of both Israeli and international law.
No nation would tolerate formal delegations of a foreign military – in uniform no less – to conduct any kind of “tour” or “survey” within its borders, no matter how friendly the relations between the 2 nations might be.