23 September 2018•Update: 23 September 2018
By Qais Abu Samra
JERUSALEM
Israeli authorities on Sunday called on a Bedouin community of the Palestinian village in occupied eastern Jerusalem to demolish their homes by Oct. 1, according to a Palestinian official.
Forces from the Israeli Civil Administration raided the Palestinian Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar Sunday morning handing them notifications calling on them to dismantle their houses and depart from the territory by Oct. 1, Abdullah Abu Rahme the coordinator of the Bil’in Committee Against the Wall and Settlements told Anadolu Agency.
Abu Rahme added that the people of Khan al-Ahmar, however, refused to leave and insist on staying.
On Sept. 5, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled to demolish Khan al-Ahmar and evict the village’s Bedouin inhabitants.
Israel plans 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 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 Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders.
In early July, Israeli bulldozers destroyed a number of tents and other structures in Khan al-Ahmar, sparking clashes with local residents.
There are 46 Bedouin communities -- inhabited by some 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 C.
Area A falls under the administrative and security control of the PA; Area B falls under the administrative control of the PA and the security control of Israel; and Area C -- in which Khan al-Ahmar is located -- falls under the administrative and security control of Israel.
