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A Bedouin village in the occupied West Bank about to be demolished by Israel has been granted a temporary reprieve after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspended his plans for evacuation and destruction.
Israeli authorities said the small village, Khan al-Ahmar, which has only 180 inhabitants, was illegally built and ordered the villagers to leave their homes and demolish it by 1 October at the latest. Since the expiry of this deadline, residents have been waiting for the bulldozers to move in.
"L & # 39; s intention [of the postponement] is to give a chance to the negotiations and offers we have received from different bodies, including in recent days, "said the Prime Minister's Office on Saturday in a statement.
On Sunday, Netanyahu himself told reporters that the postponement would only be temporary.
"I have no intention of delaying this indefinitely, despite information going in the opposite direction, but for a short time," he said.
He said his security firm would establish what he called a "short calendar" at a meeting on Sunday.
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Activists joined villagers in protest actions
Possible war crime
Israeli demolition projects in Khan al-Ahmar have caused concern among the international community. The UN and EU member states, including Germany, have all urged the Israeli government not to go ahead, considering the possible effects of the current situation. such a demolition on the future prospects of Israel Palestinian peace.
Palestinians say that it is virtually impossible to get a building permit. They claim that the destruction of the village is part of an Israeli plan to make room for expanding Jewish settlements to divide the occupied West Bank, further fragmenting the territory sought by a future Palestinian state.
On Wednesday, the Attorney General of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, said in a statement that Israel's planned "forced evacuation" of Khan al-Ahmar could be a war crime.
Village evacuation plans include moving to an area approximately 12 kilometers (7 miles) away from a landfill.
The village is currently located east of Jerusalem on a freeway leading to the Dead Sea.
tj / jlw (AFP, Reuters)
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