Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Saturday that the planned eviction of Khan al-Ahmar, an illegal Bedouin village east of Jerusalem, would be postponed indefinitely.
But after severe backlash, Netanyahu clarified on Sunday that "Khan al-Ahmar will be evicted, in line with the High Court's decision. The amount of time given to the attempts to reach its consensual eviction will be set by the cabinet. I believe it won't take long and it will be consensual."
Israel has come under heavy criticism, with major European governments urging it to avoid the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar. The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor recently said such a move could constitute a war crime.
Israel says the Palestinian Bedouin encampment of corrugated shacks, just outside a Jewish settlement, was illegally built in an unsafe location near a major highway. It has offered to resettle residents a few miles away in what it says are improved conditions – with connections to water, electricity and sewage treatment they currently lack.
But critics say it's impossible for Palestinians to get building permits and that the demolition plan is meant to make room for the expansion of an Israeli settlement.
Israeli officials said alternative solutions have arrived in recent days from various sources and Netanyahu wanted to give them a chance. This sparked criticism from Netanyahu's hard-line coalition partners who are demanding decisive action. In response, Netanyahu clarified that the village would certainly be razed, and that his delay was not open-ended.
"Khan al-Ahmar will be evacuated, it's a court ruling, that's our policy and it will be done," he said. "I have no intention of postponing this until further notice, contrary to reports, but rather for a short, defined period of time."
Army Radio said Sunday that the decision was made after the residents informed the Prime Minister's Office that they were willing to leave the area voluntarily and settle in the nearby village of Anata.
An official at the Prime Minister's Office said that razing the village had been postponed "with the aim of trying to exhaust negotiations [with the residents] and the offers received from various elements on this matter in recent days."
He did not comment on Army Radio's report.
Israel's High Court of Justice recently rejected a final appeal against the plans to raze the village, but the Israeli court ruling has done little to placate international detractors.
Commenting on Israel's decision to postpone the eviction, Walid Assaf, a Palestinian Authority minister who holds the settlements portfolio, said, "We have received the news, however, we see this decision, made by the occupation government, as a temporary one. The decision of postponing the demolition is temporary and we have evidence [to prove] what is happening, and our decision is to continue to protest until the demolition order is canceled."
Scuffles broke out outside Khan al-Ahmar on Friday, after Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli forces there. The troops responded with crowd control measures, the IDF said.
