Khan al-Ahmar captures the West Bank – Yusra Abu Eid will lose not only her home, but the entire village of Khan al-Ahmal, whom she has called home for years.
A Palestinian village on the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem faces imminent demolition by Israeli authorities, forcibly evicting a 34-year-old man with 220 residents living in tents and tin houses. you will have to
“I have nowhere to go,” Abu Eid, who moved to Khan al-Ahmal from the nearby town of Al-Ezariah to live with her husband, told Al-Jazeera.
Khan al-Ahmar has been in the international spotlight for years due to legal battles between residents and Israeli authorities over the survival of the village.
In September 2018, the Israeli Supreme Court gave the green light for the removal of the village, leaving it open to demolition at any time. However, such plans have since been put on hold several times.
On January 21, Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right minister of state security in the new Israeli government, ordered the village to be immediately cleared. His plans to visit the site with another controversial politician, Bezalel Smotrich, have met with protests in the village.
The Israeli government has until February 1 to explain to the Supreme Court why the Israeli military-controlled village known as Area C has not yet been demolished, or submit a plan for its demolition. there is.
“I was watching the whole time”
A few kilometers from Jerusalem, Khan al-Ahmar is sandwiched between two of Israel’s main illegal settlements, Ma’ale Admim and Kfar Admim.
It is an important corridor aimed at linking Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem’s main settlement with the Jordan Valley, under what is called the E1 Settlement Project, which effectively divides the occupied West Bank in two. It’s along
The Israeli government plans to relocate to an area next to the landfill near the Palestinian village of Abu Dis in East Jerusalem, about 12 kilometers (7.4 miles) away.
The forced transfer of protected persons to occupied territories is classified as a war crime under international law.
Resident Mohammad Abu Eid Jaharin said the village and surrounding settlements had been under economic siege for years under Israeli occupation. This has resulted in limited grazing land for livestock, although this is the main source of livelihood for the inhabitants. He also said Israeli authorities have revoked all Israeli work permits for men in the village.
Jaharin was born in Khan al-Ahmar after Israel expelled his clan from the southern Naqab (Negev) region in 1951. After the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, the village came under the control of Israeli forces.
“We are constantly monitored by drones that film everything we do, and we are not allowed to bring in any building materials or equipment. will be destroyed,” Jaharin, 53, told Al Jazeera.
The community’s only school, built out of mud and old car tires, also faces destruction.
Six-year-old Ala Talib Youssef was sitting in the schoolyard, less than 4 meters (13 feet) on all sides, eating with his peers during class breaks.
“We’re not leaving here,” she said of the potential clearance.
Yousef described school as “beautiful” than home and said he hopes to become a “beautician” when he grows up.
Her 8-year-old brother, on the other hand, had his sights set on something seemingly simpler. It’s a “big garden” for playing soccer with classmates and schoolmates.
“There is no flat ground in the village for us to play. Even the schoolyard is very small,” he said.
Battle for “Area C”
The Khan al-Ahmar school serves about 200 children from the village and the nearby Bedouin community through grade 9. Students then have to go to Al-Ezariah, and many problems, including lack of public transport, prevent many, especially girls, from completing their education.
Fifth grader Shahd Ibrahim said he loves to be an Arabic teacher in the same school.
She recalled how Israeli forces, accompanied by bulldozers, raided the community when demolition orders were issued more than four years ago.
“I woke up to the sound of my father and grandfather screaming at the soldiers stationed here and there. There was a bulldozer in front of our house, my brother was crying and my mother was trying to silence him,” he said. An 11-year-old boy told Al Jazeera.
When asked what her village lacked, she replied:
Local campaign coordinator Jamal Jumaa said more effort was needed to strengthen community resilience under the new Israeli government, which is said to be the most right-wing government in Israel’s history. Said there was.
“Today’s battle is more difficult than ever. It’s not a battle for one place or another. There are plans to completely clean up Area C,” said Jumar, referring to a group of Palestinian villages facing displacement south of Hebron.
Abu Eid, meanwhile, said he was terrified of what might happen next, but he was adamant about what he was about to do.
“Unfortunately, this is happening not only to me, but to everyone in the village,” she said.
“I will not leave; we will remain in our land.”
