Khan Al-Ahmar residents pledge not to leave their homes

Despite calls by extremist Israeli officials to evacuate Khan Al-Ahmar, Palestinians gathered on Wednesday in the village east of occupied Jerusalem and vowed to support its residents who have pledged not to leave their homes. Palestinian officials said that the Israeli occupation is to demolish Khan Al-Ahmar in order to proceed with the Israeli settlement plan known as E1.

Residents of the Palestinian hamlet said that the Israeli schemes will not deter them from continuing with their struggle. About 200 people live in Khan Al-Ahmar, a community of Bedouin from Al-Jahalin tribe. More than half of them are children.

Likud MKs Yuli Edelstein and Danny Danon raided Khan Al-Ahmar on Monday and called on the Israeli government to evacuate the site as quickly as possible, the Times of Israel reported. This came less than two weeks before the state is required to report to the High Court of Justice about its efforts to force residents to leave the village.

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“My message from here to Netanyahu and to the new government is [that there can be] no more excuses and the High Court can no longer be blamed” for the government’s failure to empty the village, said Edelstein.

The Israeli occupation authorities issued orders in March 2010 to evict the residents of Khan Al-Ahmar. However, after appealing against the eviction, it was postponed until May 2018 when Israel renewed its efforts to demolish the community’s homes and shacks; Israeli courts upheld that decision on 5 September 2018.

“The local and international struggle against the decision has forced Israel not to carry it out,” Wafa news agency pointed out. “Now fascist ministers in the new far-right Israeli government have called for the residents of Khan Al-Ahmar to be expelled and their homes to be demolished.”

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