The Palestinian Foreign Ministry yesterday demanded the International Criminal Court (ICC) expedite the opening of an investigation into Israel’s decision to demolish the Khan Al-Ahmar Bedouin village in occupied East Jerusalem.
On Monday the ministry filed a complaint with the ICC over an Israeli court ruling the impending danger facing the Khan Ahmar Bedouin village after the Israeli Supreme Court rejected a petition filed last week by village residents to stop the demolition orders.
The foreign ministry said in a statement yesterday that it called on ICC prosecutors to meet with Palestinians from Khan Al-Ahmar.
The European Parliament passed a resolution yesterday describing the Israeli decision to demolish Khan Al-Ahmar and evicting its residents a violation of international humanitarian law.
Khan Al-Ahmar is home to Al-Jahhalin Bedouins, refugees from the Negev desert who have lived in the area since their displacement by the Israeli army in 1967. Israel has refused to recognise Al-Jahhalin Bedouin communities or grant them building permits, a strategy often used by Israel to term any Bedouin home illegal.
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