Israel’s High Court of Justice has rejected a petition demanding the immediate evacuation of Khan al-Ahmar, the illegal village built by Palestinian Authority Arabs on Israeli state land in Area C.
The growing unrecognized village, situated close to the city of Ma’ale Adumim, southeast of Jerusalem, and nestled in a strategic area along Highway 1, is home to the Bedouin Jahalin tribe.
The government opposed the petition “for reasons having to do with the state’s internal security and foreign relations.” The issue of evacuating the illegal Bedouin settlement has been repeatedly bunted down the road by one Israeli government after another, for more than four years.
The Regavim advocacy organization expressed its outrage over the decision in a statement released Sunday evening.
“This petition goes far beyond this particular illegal Palestinian outpost,” Regavim wrote. “This most recent High Court decision illustrates that in today’s judicial system, some are more equal than others.
“In similar petitions, when the state claimed “political considerations,” such as in the Amona, Netiv Ha’Avot and Migron cases, the High Court refused to accept arguments involving political consideration, and required the state to enforce the law and carry out demolitions. In those cases, the Court explicitly stated that there is no place for considerations of this kind in questions involving enforcement of planning and construction laws, Regavim pointed out.
“The state’s capitulation to international pressure, and today’s High Court of Justice decision granting that capitulation a seal of approval, are leading the State of Israel to the brink of anarchy,” the organization warned.
“The ground rules for Israeli retreat have been laid, and foreign concerns now have official confirmation that the Israeli government will back down from its own stated policies and national interests when pressure is applied.
“The current terminology for today’s decision is, “Shame!” Shame on the government of Israel and shame on the High Court of Justice.”
