ICC green lights evacuation of Bedouin village – report

Israel has received assurances from the International Criminal Court that the planned demolition of a Bedouin hamlet in the West Bank would not contravene international law, the Walla news site reports.

The report says that Roi Sheindorf, Israel’s deputy attorney general for international law, was recently in The Hague for consultations with ICC officials on the intention do evacuate Khan al-Ahmar, east of Jerusalem.

It quotes two diplomatic officials as saying that the ICC made it clear that the evacuation was “possible.” There is no comment from the Prime Minister’s Office or the Justice Ministry on the report.

Army Radio reported earlier this week that the government intends to postpone the planned evacuation of the hamlet, which has drawn fierce international condemnation, due to an upcoming report by the ICC prosecutor regarding the Palestinian population of the West Bank.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reassured his Likud faction Monday that the central West Bank Bedouin hamlet of Khan al-Ahmar will be razed “very soon.”

But as was the case last week, when Netanyahu told his cabinet that the Palestinian village would be demolished “very soon” and that preparations were underway, the prime minister refused to provide a date for the operation.

A defense official who spoke with The Times of Israel following Netanyahu’s remarks said that no plans are currently in the works to flatten the village, which is home to roughly 180 people.

The High Court of Justice ruled in May to allow the state to move forward with its plans to demolish Khan al-Ahmar, which was established illegally without building permits.

Last month, Netanyahu’s office announced that the planned evacuation would be delayed indefinitely amid new talks between the government and the ramshackle village’s residents. The delay drew angry responses from both Likud and Jewish Home lawmakers, who have demanded the clearing of the hamlet, which would make way for the expansion of the neighboring Kfar Adumim settlement.

— With Jacob Magid