Representatives of the Israeli military and the Civil Administration (CA) notified on Thursday the Palestinian inhabitants of Khan al-Ahmar east of Jerusalem that their only remaining option is to move to al-Jabal a relocation site allocated to the community without consulting them next to the Adu Dis garbage dump according to the Israeli B’Tselem human rights organization.
The community’s lawyer Shlomo Lecker had expressly informed the Civil Administration officer in charge that he is not permitted to meet with his clients without his consent and presence – yet the CA went ahead regardless.
This came ahead of a High Court hearing scheduled for Monday 25 September on the community’s petitions against the Israeli plan to demolish all its structures and on a petition by settlements in the area of Ma’ale Adumim to demolish the Khan al-Ahmar school. The CA’s actions appear to be paving the way for the Israeli government to claim that it is acting in good will and has consulted the community.
Demolition of an entire community in the Occupied Territories is virtually unprecedented since 1967. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention which Israel is obliged to respect in all its actions in the West Bank this amounts to forcible transfer of protected persons which constitutes a war crime.
Last week B’Tselem sent an urgent letter to Israel’s prime minister and to other top government and military officials cautioning that demolishing the Palestinian communities of Sussia and Khan al-Ahmar as planned would constitute a war crime for which they would bear personal liability.
B’Tselem made the unusual move after War Minister Avigdor Lieberman told the press two weeks ago that his ministry was “preparing for the evacuation of Palestinian communities built without authorization” and that “work was being done to implement plans to evacuate the Palestinian villages of Sussia in the South Hebron Hills and Khan al-Ahmar near Ma’aleh Adumim within a few months.”
The forcible transfer of Khan al-Ahmar will enable future expansion of settlements including in the area designated E1 – a plan being promoted in part by the settler lobby. On Sunday 27 August hundreds of settlers joined by MKs Shuli Mualem and Moti Yogev (both of the Jewish Home party) demonstrated near the Khan al-Ahmar community pressuring the government to move forward with its demolition plan.
Khan al-Ahmar which lies on land that Israel has earmarked for expansion of settlements near Ma’ale Adumim east of Jerusalem is home to 21 families numbering 146 persons including 85 minors. It has a mosque and also a local school which was established in 2009 and serves more than 150 children between the ages of six and fifteen – some of them from neighboring communities.
