*UPDATES WITH PALESTINIAN CONDEMNATION
By Qays Abu Samra
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – An Israeli court on Wednesday rejected an appeal against the eviction of the Palestinian Bedouin hamlet of Khan al-Ahmar in east Jerusalem, a Palestinian official said.
“The Supreme Court ruling allows the eviction of residents and demolition of their structures within seven days,” Walid Assaf, the head of an anti-settlement commission affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told Anadolu Agency.
Assaf reiterated the rejection of the court verdict by residents of Khan Al-Ahmar hamlet and the Palestinian Authority.
The Israeli court verdict immediately drew fire from the Palestinian Authority.
“The decision is a new proof that the Supreme Court is an impartial tool of the occupation,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
It lamented that the Israeli ruling contradicts with international law, going on to call on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an official investigation regarding Israeli “crimes”.
For his part, Ahmed al-Tamimi, a member of the PLO executive committee, described the verdict as “politicized to manipulate the international public opinion with a view to concealing Israeli intentions to demolish the Bedouin community and evacuate its people”.
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, for his part, hailed the court ruling.
“Khan al-Ahmar will be evacuated, I congratulate the judges of the Supreme Court for their brave decision, ” he said on Twitter.
“Nobody [is] above law, nobody prevents us from consolidating our sovereignty,” he said.
On July 5, Israeli bulldozers destroyed a number of tents and other structures in Khan al-Ahmar, triggering clashes with local residents.
There are 46 Bedouin communities scattered across Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem inhabited by some 3,000 residents.
Under the 1995 Oslo agreement between Israel and Palestine, the West Bank was divided into A, B and C zones.
The administrative and security authority of area A was given to Palestine while the administration of area B was given to Palestine but its security to Israel, while in area C, both administration and security authority went to Israel.
Khan al-Ahmar is located in area C.
