[News] Palestine - 80+ INGOs Urge Israel to Halt the Demolition and Forcible Transfer of the Bedouin Community of Khan al Ahmar

[Anti-Imperialist News]

http://english.pnn.ps/2018/06/08/80-ingos-urge-israel-to-halt-the-demolition-and-forcible-transfer-of-the-bedouin-community-of-khan-al-ahmar/ 



  80+ INGOs Urge Israel to Halt the Demolition and Forcible Transfer of
  the Bedouin Community of Khan al Ahmar

Jerusalem/PNN/  8 June 2018

Concerned about a recent ruling by Israel’s High Court of Justice 
authorizing the demolition of the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al 
Ahmar and evacuation of its residents to a site near Abu Dis, AIDA, a 
network consisting of more than 80 INGOs operating in the occupied 
Palestinian territory (oPt), calls on Israel to halt its plans to 
forcibly relocate this vulnerable community and to allow them to live in 
peace and dignity in their current location. AIDA also urges the 
international community to resort to appropriate measures to bring 
Israel into compliance with its international obligations.

The Palestinian Bedouin community of Khan Al Ahmar is comprised of 181 
people, who originated from Tel Arad in the Negev and were displaced to 
the West Bank in 1951. The vast majority are Palestine refugees 
registered with UNRWA. The community has resided in its present location 
near Jerusalem since 2009. Khan al Ahmar is located in Area C of the 
West Bank – under full Israeli civil and security control under the Oslo 
Accords – close to the Kfar Admumim settlement, a closed military zone 
and the foreseen extension of the West Bank Barrier.

Khan al Ahmar Abu Helu is one of 18 Bedouin communities belonging to the 
Jahalin tribe who are at risk of forcible transfer in the Jerusalem 
periphery because of their location in an area earmarked by Israel for 
the future expansion of the Ma’ale Adumim settlement block under the 
so-called ‘E1 Plan’.

Daniela Bernacchi, CEO & General Manager at Cesvi said: “The execution 
of Israel’s plan to connect Maale Adumim with Jerusalem would cut the 
West Bank in two, and further limit Palestinians’ freedom of movement 
and isolate communities”.

The community has been subjected to an increasingly coercive environment 
over the past couple of decades to force them to leave their homes and 
lands and accept their relocation. Beyond the absolute prohibition on 
forcible transfer prescribed by international law, Jabal West, the 
relocation site prepared by Israel near the Palestinian town of Abu Dis, 
raises humanitarian concerns, as it is located in an urban area, near a 
refuse dump site, and is therefore not appropriate to host a Bedouin 
community whose traditional lifestyle relies on herding and grazing.

The Israeli High Court of Justice’s ruling puts an end to a protracted 
legal battle that sought to protect Khan al Ahmar residents from 
forcible transfer. The community categorically rejects Israel’s 
relocation plan, and insists on their right of return to their ancestral 
lands in Southern Israel as the only durable solution to their plight. 
In the meantime, they have appealed to the international community for 
protection and assistance to remain in their current place of residence.

Furthermore, should Khan al Ahmar’s forcible transfer be allowed to 
materialize, it will serve as a negative precedent that could trigger 
the expedition of the forcible transfer of dozens of communities at risk 
across the West Bank.

“The relocation of Khan Al Ahmar would create a worrying precedent for 
other communities at risk of forcible transfer, besides paving the way 
for Israeli annexation of Palestinian land”, says Rossella Urru, Head of 
Mission at Première Urgence Internationale.

The majority of the structures at risk of demolition were provided as 
humanitarian assistance by the international community. These include a 
primary school, made of mud and tires, which serves 170 children from 
Khan al Ahmar and neighbouring Bedouin communities. The demolition of 
the school would constitute an attack on the right to education, which 
all states have an obligation to protect.

If carried out, the forcible transfer Khan al Ahmar would represent a 
grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and, as such, constitute a 
war crime under the Rome Statute.

Therefore, AIDA urges the international community, including the EU and 
its Member States, the United States of America, and other international 
actors to:

Publicly condemn the ruling of the High Court of Justice in the case of 
Khan al Ahmar, which violates international law;

Take concrete and immediate steps to prevent the demolition and 
relocation of Khan al Ahmar and bring Israel into compliance with 
international law;

Engage directly with the Government of Israel, reiterating that the 
wanton destruction of Palestinian property and obstruction of 
humanitarian assistance violate International Humanitarian Law; and that 
the forcible transfer of the Khan al Ahmar community and other 
communities at risk would constitute a war crime;

Demand that the Government of Israel should immediately cease its plans 
to relocate Khan al Ahmar and other Palestinian communities in the West 
Bank and allow to remain and develop in their current locations;
Systematically protest against demolitions and confiscations of 
Palestinian property, and demand restitution or compensation from the 
Government of Israel for confiscated or demolished international 
assistance in oPt.

-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 https://freedomarchives.org/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://freedomarchives.org/pipermail/news_freedomarchives.org/attachments/20180608/32c3d1d9/attachment.htm>