Israeli court approves demolition of entire Bedouin village

Khan al-Ahmar school

The Israeli High Court of Justice on Wednesday gave the go ahead for the demolition of Khan al-Akhmar - the Bedouin village, near the traditional site of the Inn of the Good Samaritan.

The Combini Sisters and Pax Christi are among Catholic organisations that have been supporting the village school and medical services.

The village is home to about 180 people - refugees from the Negev desert who have lived in the area since their displacement by the Israeli army in 1967. It is located between two Jewish settlements that are illegal under international law.

The court on Wednesday rejected appeals from human rights groups in Israel and around the world and rescinded the temporary injunctions that had barred Israeli authorities from proceeding with the evictions, meaning the village could be demolished within seven days.

Israel's Defence Minister, Avigdor Lieberman said: "I congratulate the judges of the High Court of Justice for a courageous and obvious decision - in the face of a concerted hypocritical assault by [Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas] Abu Mazen, the left and the European countries...

Lieberman added that the decision proves "no one is above the law. No one will prevent us from exercising our sovereignty and our responsibility as a state," the Jerusalem Post reported.

It is not known where the residents will be forced to live. Dr Yehuda Schwartz director of the Jahalin project at Rabbis for Human Rights said that Israel has previously suggested they be relocated to a landfill site, or a land near a sewage farm. Under Article 8 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court such a forced move would be considered a war crime.

The United Nations has called on Israel to allow the Bedouin to remain on the land, saying such demolitions are against international law.

On 16 July Catholic Bishop Declan Lang, chair of the Holy Land Co-ordination, and Bishop Christopher Chessun, Anglican Bishop of Southwark had a meeting with the Minister for the Middle East at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to express their deep concern about the planned demolition.

"If the demolition goes ahead this would not only violate the rights of those families living in the village but would also deal a critical blow to hopes of a viable Palestinian State," Lang and Chessun said in their statement.

"Our churches are committed to upholding the human dignity of all in the Holy Land and promoting a peaceful two-state solution. We therefore stand in solidarity with the residents of Khan al-Ahmar and call on our government to use every diplomatic means at its disposal to prevent the Israeli authorities from destroying their homes," their statement concluded.