<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<div class="container font-size5 content-width3">
<div class="header reader-header" style="display: block;"> <font
size="-2"><a class="domain reader-domain"
href="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/">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/</a></font>
<h1 class="reader-title">80+ INGOs Urge Israel to Halt the
Demolition and Forcible Transfer of the Bedouin Community of
Khan al Ahmar</h1>
</div>
<div class="content">
<div class="moz-reader-content line-height4" style="display:
block;">
<div id="readability-page-1" class="page">
<div>
<p>Jerusalem/PNN/ 8 June 2018</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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’.</p>
<p>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”.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>“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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Therefore, AIDA urges the international community,
including the EU and its Member States, the United
States of America, and other international actors to:</p>
<p>Publicly condemn the ruling of the High Court of
Justice in the case of Khan al Ahmar, which violates
international law;<br>
<br>
Take concrete and immediate steps to prevent the
demolition and relocation of Khan al Ahmar and bring
Israel into compliance with international law;<br>
<br>
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;<br>
<br>
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;<br>
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.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://freedomarchives.org/">https://freedomarchives.org/</a>
</div>
</body>
</html>