File photo
Israel's top court cleared the way on Wednesday for the demolition of a Bedouin village in the occupied West Bank whose fate has become a focus of Palestinian protests and international concern.
The Supreme Court, in a decision released by a court spokesman, rejected petitions against the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar and said a temporary injunction that had put a hold on the move would lapse in a week.
Around 180 Bedouin, raising sheep and goats, live in tin and wood shacks in Khan al-Ahmar. It is outside Jerusalem between two Israeli settlements and was built without Israeli permits, which Palestinians say are impossible to obtain.
Palestinian activists in the West Bank on Tuesday burnt pictures of U.S. President Donald Trump to protest a recent U.S. decision to cut all funding for UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA.A protest was held outside America House in Ramallah (affiliated with the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem), where demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and condemned longstanding U.S. policies on Israel/Palestine.Speaking at the protest, organizer Issam Abu Bakr said the American presence in the West Bank was “unwelcome”.“We’re here today to affirm our right to return [to pre-1948 Palestine] and demand that UNRWA continue its activities until the refugee issue is resolved based on international resolutions,” Abu Bakr told Anadolu Agency.He accused the U.S. of harboring a pro-Israel bias and seeking to destroy the cause of Palestinian refugees displaced from their homes in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.Last Friday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Washington would “no longer commit funding” to UNRWA.The U.S. was -- by far -- UNRWA's largest contributor, providing it with $350 million annually -- roughly one quarter of the agency's overall budget.Established in 1949, UNRWA provides critical aid to Palestinian refugees in the blockaded Gaza Strip, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Palestinians decry US decision to end funding for UNRWA
Israel said it plans to relocate the residents to an area about 12 km (seven miles) away, near the Palestinian village of Abu Dis.
But the new site is next to a landfill, and rights advocates say that a forcible transfer of the residents would violate international law applying to occupied territory.
The European Union had publicly urged Israel to cancel the evacuation plan.
Feisal Abu Dahouk, a resident of Khan Al-Ahmar called the court's ruling "a racist decision", telling Reuters by telephone "there is no place we can go".
Several Palestinian journalists suffered from teargas after Israeli forces dispersed a protest in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Tuesday.The protest was held to show solidarity with Palestinian journalist Ali Dar Ali, who remains incarcerated in Israel’s Ofir prison west of Ramallah.“Israel continues to target Palestinian jouranlists to cover up its crimes against the Palestinian people,” Naser Abu Bakr, head of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, told demonstrators.Galeri: Israel breaks up protest for detained Palestine journalist“We will continue to work with the International Federation of Journalists, along with other advocacy groups, with a view to holding Israel accountable and securing the release of detained journalists,” he added.Dar Ali was detained by Israel last month on charges of “inciting violence”.According to Palestinian figures, some 6,500 Palestinians are currently languishing in Israeli prisons, including roughly 350 minors, scores of women and at least six lawmakers.
Israel breaks up demo for detained Palestine journalist
Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman hailed the decision.
"Khan al-Ammar will be evacuated! I congratulate the Supreme Court justices on their brave and called-for decision, in the face of the orchestrated hypocrisy of Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas), the left and European states," Lieberman wrote on Twitter.
Ayman Odeh, head of the United Arab List in Israel's parliament, said on Twitter the villagers had "fallen victim to the destructive policies of a rightist government that is broadening settlement blocs at the cost of Arab communities".
Jerusalem Municipality is planning new settlement homes in occupied East Jerusalem, according to Israeli media on Tuesday.Municipal officials will meet on Wednesday to discuss a plan to construct 75 settlement homes in Beit Hanina neighborhood in the city, the daily Israel Hayom reported.The initial plan includes allocating 11 square kilometers for the construction of eight blocks with seven to 12 floors.In 1967, Israel built Pisgat Ze'ev and Neve Yaakov settlements in the same neighborhood.According to Palestinian monitors, Israel has increased the pace of settlement building in East Jerusalem since U.S. President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital last year.Roughly 600,000 Israelis currently live in more than 100 Jewish-only settlements built throughout the West Bank and East Jerusalem since Israel occupied the territories in 1967.The Palestinians want these areas, along with the Gaza Strip, for a future independent state of Palestine.International law views the West Bank and East Jerusalem as “occupied territories” and views all Jewish settlement-building activity there as illegal.Israel settlers accuse Hamas of ‘war crimes’ before ICCIsrael may strike Iran targets outside Syria: LiebermanIsrael signals it could target Iranian military assets in IraqWorld-famous artists boycott Israeli music festivalIsraeli navy injures Palestinian during boat protest
Israel plans new settlement homes in Jerusalem
Most countries consider settlements built by Israel on land it captured in the 1967 Middle East War as illegal, and an obstacle to peace. They say they reduce and fragment the territory Palestinians seek for a viable state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Israel disputes this and cites biblical, historical and political connections to the land, as well as security needs.
Israeli forces demolish a kindergarten and women's center in the Jabal al-Baba Bedouin Palestinian community, eastern Jerusalem on July 25, 2018.
Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Bedouin houses in Jabal al-Baba area