By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
Amid an international outcry, Israel put on hold its planned eviction of the Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar, in the West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday postponed the forced eviction of a Bedouin village in the occupied West Bank. The planned demolition of Khan al-Ahmar sparked international condemnation after
Israel announced it planned to raze the village, a ramshackle camp housing 180 residents. Khan al-Ahmar is a Palestinian village in the Jerusalem Governorate of the West Bank. In May 2018, the Israeli High Court of Justice determined that its residents could be evicted. The United Nations, the International Criminal Court, the European Parliament and Amnesty International have stated that the demolition of the village would be a violation of international law, being a breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
International Criminal Court Says Israel Action May Be A War Crime
“I have been following with concern the planned eviction of the Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar, in the West Bank. Evacuation by force now appears imminent, and with it the prospects for further escalation and violence. It bears recalling, as a general matter, that extensive destruction of property without military necessity and population transfers in an occupied territory constitute war crimes under the Rome Statute,” ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.
Bensouda vowed to continue monitoring the developments on the ground and stated that she will not hesitate to take any appropriate action, within the confines of the independent and impartial exercise of my mandate under the Rome Statute, with full respect for the principle of complementarity.
Amnesty International Says Demolition Of Village Is A “Cruel Blow”
Leading Human Rights Organization Condemns Planned Eviction
Amnesty International declared that “the planned demolition of a West Bank village and forcible transfer of its residents to make way for illegal Jewish settlements is a war crime that lays bare the Israeli government’s callous disregard for the Palestinians.”
