[Translated by Hillel Fendel]
Israeli headlines recently focused on the Supreme Court decision to demolish and evacuate an illegal Bedouin outpost and Prime Minister Netanyahu's refusal to carry out the evacuation orders because of European pressure.
The Khan al-Ahmar villagers, members of the Bedouin Jahalin tribe, lived in the Negev until a few years ago. After a dispute broke out within the tribe, it split into two and some of its members fled north to the Ma'aleh Adumim area, where they are living today.
The residents of Khan al-Ahmar knew from the first moment that they were living in the area illegally, and that it would not be possible for them to remain there for long. However, the Palestinian Authority had a different plan: In August 2009, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced his plan for the creation of a Palestinian state, the principle of which was to establish a de facto state, not by various agreements and complicated negotiations, but by creating facts on the ground, even in Area C, which are the areas of the Jewish towns and villages.
The need to seize strategic territory for the creation of a state is clear, and Khan al-Ahmar is in one of the most important places in the area for territorial contiguity to be created according to Fayyad's plan. Thus, the Bedouin residents of the outpost gave the PA a very important foothold in the region, and now they are pawns in the hands of the PA, extreme left-wing organizations, and European governments who are using them to continue to occupy the territory.
Several evacuation orders were given to the illegal outpost. For more than 10 years, the State of Israel has repeatedly offered its residents alternatives. The alternative currently being discussed is an area located several kilometers west of the site where the outpost is located, in a place called "Jahalin West" in the Abu Dis area of the Jerusalem suburbs. According to the agreement, every family would receive a compensation package of about half a million shekels for each woman married to the head of household. Every woman would also receive a plot of land ready for construction with better conditions than anywhere else in the PA: running water, electricity infrastructure, permanent homes, and public institutions such as HMOs, educational institutions, etc.
The neighborhood is completely ready. All the plots are aligned and the infrastructure is in place. But the village's representatives, under strong pressure from the PA, decided at the last minute not to agree to a compromise, and to oppose the move to "West Jahalin." They actually rejected all the compensation the State offered them and created a situation in which their children will continue to live in tin shacks and with unsuitable infrastructures.
Last August, the Court had no choice but to reject the petitions of the residents of the outpost and to allow the State to evict them. "The law dictates that there is no legal reason to intervene in the Defense Minister's decision to implement the demolition orders issued for the illegal structures in Khan al-Ahmar," wrote Judges Solberg, Wilner, and Baron.
Unfortunately, late last month we heard the announcement that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu intends to freeze the evacuation of Khan al-Ahmar This move will undermine the Israeli presence in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley, to seize controlling territories, and to harm the development of Israeli towns in the region. This is a robbery of strategic assets in broad daylight. The illegal Bedouin outpost of Khan al-Ahmar was established without approval in the strategic area 1E in order to create a buffer within the Israeli towns of the area, and to occupy the areas controlling Highway 1 between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea.
Former Knesset Member Yaakov "Ketzaleh" Katz, founder of Bet El Institutions, commented on the Khan al-Ahmar controversy: "When the Supreme Court ruled to demolish Jewish homes, Netanyahu was meticulous to obey the orders within the time frame given by the Court. When the Court demands the demolition of Arab homes, Netanyahu postpones the demolition against the Court's ruling and against the will of his voters' base. Whoever has influence on Netanyahu in the U.S. or Israel should do all within his power to pressure the Prime Minister to deal fairly and in the same way with both Jews and Arabs. As Israeli elections approach and Netanyahu seeks to strengthen his base support, it is the opportune time to press Netanyahu to act according to the will of his voters."
Prime Minister Netanyahu's caving into European pressure and postponing the evacuation constitutes a backbone for the establishment of additional illegal Palestinian outposts, the increase in Palestinian construction and control in the Adumim Block and Area C, and a violation of the sovereignty of the State of Israel. A government supportive of Judea & Samaria must not allow this to happen. The Prime Minister and cabinet ministers must evacuate Khan al-Ahmar immediately.
[Based on an article which originally appeared in Hebrew in Yesh'Emda - the Yesha Council newsletter]
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