Israeli court decides to demolish Khan Al-Ahmar village

The Israeli High Court of Justice on Wednesday has finally decided to demolish the Bedouin West Bank village of Khan Al-Ahmar.

 The ruling comes despite long petitions and protests by citizens and activists in the area, which is home to some 180 Bedouins living in tents near the Maali Adumim settlement.

Head of the Wall and Settlements Resistance Committee, Walid Assaf told WAFA that according to committee lawyers, the court gave the Israeli army authority to start implementing the eviction and demolition process, adding that there is a decision to prevent citizens from returning and living there again.

Assaf called on the Palestinian people to address the occupation practices and support the victims of such decision, and to stand in the face of all Israeli plans to seize the land and the displace the Palestinians.

“No legal action can be taken in this case, however, all we can do is the mass protest in the village in order to prevent the demolition.”

In the same context, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) warned the Israeli government against any harm to the village of Al-Khan Al-Ahmar or the displacement of its inhabitants, considering it a war crime and a violation of international humanitarian law and all relevant international conventions and laws.

Member of the PLO Executive Committee and head of the human rights and civil society department of the organization, Ahmed al-Tamimi, said the decision by the Israeli High Court on Wednesday to reject the petition of the residents of the village and ordered the evacuation and demolition of the village was a politicized decision to mislead the public opinion.

Al-Tamimi said that the Israeli government’s decision to implement the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision to demolish the village of Al-Khan Al-Ahmar and expel its inhabitants, was a flagrant challenge to the whole world and a serious violation of international humanitarian law and human rights.

The international community, including the European Union and European countries had heavily lobbied the Israeli government to prevent the community’s demolition.
To their part, right-wing Israeli politicians immediately issued congratulatory messages to the court, a body they have often accused of upholding Palestinian land rights in favor of those of the settlers and the state.
The ruling proves that “No one is above the law. No one will prevent us from exercising our sovereignty and our responsibility as a state,” even though the ruling takes place inside the West Bank.