Khan al-Ahmar and Abu Nuwar villages are home to around 2,000 Bedouin residents.
Israel wants their land for exclusive Jewish development. Displacing their residents and stealing their land will divide the West Bank in two, isolating one Palestinian part from the other – driving a final stake through the heart of a two-state solution Israel rejects despite falsely claiming otherwise.
Both villages are targeted for destruction and displacement of their residents. On September 5, Israel’s High Court approved Khan al-Ahmar’s demolition after earlier suspending it.
The village connects East Jerusalem to the Jordan Valley. It’s located between Maale Adumim and Kfar Adumim settlements Israel intends expanding by stealing Palestinian land.
It’s how the West Bank and East Jerusalem have been colonized since June 1967 – after Israel stole 78% of historic Palestine in 1948.
In response to the ruling, Joint (Arab) List MK Ahmed Tibi tweeted:
“The High Court of Justice, that approved almost all the injustices of the occupation since 1967, has surpassed itself this time and decided to evict Khan Al-Ahmar.”
“A blatantly immoral decision, submissive but definitely in the spirit of the new commander: Ayelet (“little snakes”) Shaked” – Israel’s so-called justice minister.
B’Tselem slammed the ruling, saying it “described…an imaginary world with an egalitarian planning system that takes into account the needs of the Palestinians as if there had never been an occupation,” adding:
“The reality is diametrically opposed to this fantasy…Palestinians cannot build legally and are excluded from the decision-making mechanisms that determine how their lives will look.”
“The planning systems are intended solely for the benefit of the settlers. This ruling shows once again that those under occupation cannot seek justice in the occupier’s courts.”
Israel wants Khan al-Ahmar and Abu a-Nuwar residents forcibly moved about seven miles from their villages – intending to relocate them adjacent to a landfill, the area unsafe for human habitation.
On September 27, the Netanyahu regime declared Khan al-Ahmar a closed military zone, one of many ways it uses to steal Palestinian land.
Soldiers prevent Palestinian activists, journalists, and human rights workers from entering the village.
Days earlier, Israel’s Civil Administration ordered village residents to demolish their own homes and other structures, demanding they leave by October 1.
An Israeli Defense Ministry statement said the following:
“Pursuant to a Supreme Court ruling, residents of Khan al-Ahmar received a notice today requiring them to demolish all the structures on the site by October 1st, 2018,” adding:
“If you refuse, the authorities will enforce demolition orders as per a court decision and the law.”
In late September, village spokesman Eid Abu Khamis said “(n)o one will leave (voluntarily). We will have to be expelled by force.”
Destroying Khan al-Ahmar village is an Israel high crime of war and against humanity, repeated countless times before since the Nakba.
Forcibly displacing Palestinians to make way for exclusive Jewish development violates international humanitarian law Rule 129, stating:
“A. Parties to an international armed conflict may not deport or forcibly transfer the civilian population of an occupied territory, in whole or in part, unless the security of the civilians involved or imperative military reasons so demand.
B. Parties to a non-international armed conflict may not order the displacement of the civilian population, in whole or in part, for reasons related to the conflict, unless the security of the civilians involved or imperative military reasons so demand.”
Nuremberg Principles and Fourth Geneva (Article 49) prohibit forcible displacement of civilians from occupied territory, calling the action a war crime.
Israel does what it pleases because of full US support and encouragement.
It regimes intend confiscating all valued parts of historic Palestine they want for exclusive Jewish development.
The international community is doing nothing to challenge its ruthless policies.
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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].
His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
