BICOM

Israel Police entered Khan al-Ahmar this morning and removed five temporary structures that were built by demonstrators last week.

According to media reports, police officers did not demolish any homes in Khan al-Ahmar, but took down the new structures without incident or violence. Palestinian media reported that several pieces of heavy machinery were brought in to the site to begin the demolition process.

An Israeli official said that the structures were built by “representatives from the Palestinian Authority in protest and defiance against the High Court decision and against the enforcement of Israeli law in Area C”. The police have declared the area a “military zone” for the next 12 hours to allow security forces to begin evicting the residents.

The European Parliament is expected to vote on a resolution later today that says the demolition of the Bedouin village would constitute “a grave breach of international humanitarian law”. It adds: “Ten EU Member States are supporting humanitarian programs in Khan al-Ahmar, including the construction of a primary school, and an estimated 315,000 euros worth of EU-funded humanitarian assistance is now at risk.”

On Monday a UK Foreign Office spokesperson said the demolition would have “very serious consequences” for the residents, as well as on the prospects of the two-state solution. Last week the Israeli Supreme Court approved the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar after it agreed with government’s claim that the village had been built on state-owned land and its houses were constructed without permits. An injunction preventing the demolition of the village expired at midnight on Wednesday.

Khan al-Ahmar is home to 180 Bedouin who live in tin shacks and tents. The legal action to demolish the village began a decade ago when three new structures were built without a construction permit. Some of those structures serve as a school, which received funding from the EU.