High Court rejects petition that sought immediate razing of Khan al-Ahmar

The High Court of Justice declines to order the government to demolish the illegal West Bank Bedouin encampment of Khan al-Ahmar, saying the timing of such an operation is at the discretion of the government due to security and diplomatic considerations.

The ruling comes as a blow to right-wing organizations that have sought to have Khan al-Ahmar demolished for years, and will increase criticism from the hard-right flank of the current government, which includes several ministers and MKs who have long called for the encampment to be removed.

In the unanimous ruling of the three-judge panel, Justice Alex Stein writes that the government’s position, requesting that the court allow the state to evacuate Khan al-Ahmar at a time of its choosing due to damage that might be caused at present to Israel’s security and its diplomatic standing, is justified.

The basis for the state’s claim was laid out in confidential documents shown to the court which, Stein writes, “put our minds at rest that these reasons, without exception, are tied to the state’s security and foreign affairs,” and says the court’s practice is not to interfere with the priorities of a state authority in enforcing the law.

The court underlines, however, that Khan al-Ahmar is illegal and should be demolished.

The right-wing Regavim organization, which petitioned the court for the demolition of the encampment, says the ruling demonstrates the court’s bias against the settlement movement, claiming that the state has in the past argued that diplomatic considerations were preventing it from demolishing Israeli West Bank settlements which the court nevertheless ordered demolished immediately.

“On the other side, the capitulation of the state to international pressure and the rubber stamp of the High Court to that capitulation is leading the state to anarchy: whenever state policy is disliked by international elements they will pressure the government to retreat… this is a disgrace for the State of Israel and a disgrace to the High Court,” says Regavim in response to the ruling.