By Qais Abu Samra
RAMALLAH, Palestine
Israeli forces on Monday rounded up four activists, including one foreign national, who had been participating in a rally held in support of a Bedouin village in East Jerusalem facing demolition by the Israeli authorities.
“Scores of activists stood up to an Israeli military force, including bulldozers, that had entered the village of Khan al-Ahmar -- with bulldozers -- and eventually forced it to withdraw from the area,” Abdullah Abu Rahma, coordinator of a local committee that tracks Israeli settlement-building activity, told Anadolu Agency.
According to Abu Rahma, four activists, including one foreigner, were detained by Israeli forces -- while another five sustained minor injuries -- during the melee.
“We will resist any Israeli attempt to demolish Khan al-Ahmar,” Abu Rahma asserted.
In a statement, Gaza’s Health Ministry confirmed that five activists had been slightly injured after being beaten by Israeli forces.
On Sept. 5, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled to demolish Khan al-Ahmar and evict its inhabitants.
Israel seeks to expel some 10,000 Bedouin residents of what is known as the E1 Zone, which sits on 15 square kilometers (5.8 square miles) of land in East Jerusalem, to make way for a series of Jewish-only housing units linking Jerusalem to the Ma'ale Adumim settlement.
If implemented, the plan would effectively cut the West Bank in two, preempting the possibility of a territorially-contiguous Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders.
In early July, Israeli bulldozers destroyed several tents and other structures in Khan Al-Ahmar, sparking clashes with local residents.
There are 46 Bedouin communities -- inhabited by roughly 3,000 residents -- scattered across Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem.
Under the 1995 Oslo agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), the West Bank -- including East Jerusalem -- was divided into Areas A, B and C.
Area A falls under the PA’s administrative and security control; Area B falls under the PA’s administrative control and Israel’s security control; and Area C -- in which Khan al-Ahmar is located -- falls under the exclusive administrative and security control of Israel.
