BICOM

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed the demolition of the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar to allow more time for negotiations with the residents to reach an agreement.

Netanyahu said Khan al-Ahmar will be evacuated “within a short, fixed period of time. This is the decision of the court, this is our policy and it will be implemented”. He added that “the amount of time that might be needed to evacuate the residents with their consent will be determined by the Cabinet”.

On Sunday the Security Cabinet approved the Prime Minister’s decision for “several weeks in order to exhaust the negotiations for evacuation by agreement”. Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Education Minister Naftali Bennett voted against the delay. Bennett said the village is an “illegal construction, the demolition of which was approved by the High Court of Justice”. Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the Government “must try to exhaust another attempt at voluntary evacuation, but the moment the cabinet decided that Khan al-Ahmar will be evacuated, this is a process that is irreversible”.

The Israeli news agency Kan reported that the delay was instigated by Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit who warned the Security Cabinet that a forced evacuation of Khan al-Ahmar could compromise the Israeli position vis-a-vis Palestinian claims against Israel at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Last Wednesday the ICC’s chief prosecutor warned that Israel’s imminent demolition of the village could constitute a war crime.

The Israeli NGO Regavim, who began the court case to force the evacuation of the village, said the delay was a “shameful capitulation,” and complained that “for years, Prime Minister Netanyahu has implemented a policy of selective law enforcement against Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria”.

Last week Prime Minister Theresa May called on the Israeli Government not to demolish the village because it would be a “major blow for the prospects of a two state solution.” She confirmed that Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt met the Israeli ambassador to discuss the issue on 11 October and to reiterate the UK’s “deep concerns” about plans to demolish the structures in the village, including the school, which was part-funded by British taxpayers.