Israeli leader suspends plan to raze village
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he has decided to postpone the planned demolition of a West Bank hamlet to allow time for a negotiated solution with its residents, in a move that appeared aimed at staving off the fierce international condemnation such a demolition would likely entail.
Israel has come under heavy criticism, with major European countries urging it to avoid the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar. The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor recently said such a move could constitute a war crime.
Israeli officials said alternative solutions have arrived in recent days from various sources and Netanyahu wanted to give them a chance. That sparked criticism from Netanyahu’s hardline coalition partners who are demanding decisive action. In response, Netanyahu clarified that the hamlet would be razed, and his delay was not openended.
“Khan al-Ahmar will be evacuated, it’s a court ruling, that’s our policy and it will be done,” he said. “I have no intention of postponing this until further notice, contrary to reports, but rather for a short, defined period of time.”
Netanyahu’s Cabinet decided on Sunday to postpone the demolition by “a few weeks” to allow a negotiated settlement.
Israel says the Palestinian Bedouin encampment outside an Israeli settlement was illegally built in an unsafe location near a major highway. It has offered to resettle residents a few miles away in what it says are improved conditions — with connections to water, electricity and sewage treatment they currently lack. But critics say the demolition plan is meant to make room for the expansion of an Israeli settlement.
Israel’s Supreme Court recently rejected a final appeal, paving the way for Khan al-Ahmar’s demolition.
The encampment of 180 residents has become a rallying cry for Palestinians, who have staged protests at the site for the past few months. Much of the high-level European engagement derives from concerns that such demolitions could threaten the prospect of a contiguous Palestinian state, at a time of already fading hopes for a two-state solution.
Waleed Assaf, who heads the Palestinian department of settlement affairs, welcomed the Israeli announcement but said opposition would continue “until the Israelis completely revoke the demolition order.”