Israel's top court on Thursday suspended the planned demolition of a Bedouin village in the West Bank that has become a focus of Palestinian protests and international concern, a lawyer for the residents said.
The High Court of Justice issued its injunction a day after Israeli security forces sparked scuffles by moving in bulldozers into Khan al-Ahmar. It gave the state until July 11 to respond to the residents' contention that they had been unfairly denied building permits, lawyer Alaa Mahajna told Reuters.
Around 180 Bedouin, raising sheep and goats, live in tin and wood shacks in Khan al-Ahmar, 10 kilometers (6 miles) east of Jerusalem between the Israeli communities of Maaleh Adumim and Kfar Adumim.
The Palestinians claim that Israeli building permits have been impossible to get for Khan al-Ahmar. Israel has long sought to clear Bedouin from the area between the two communities, and the High Court approved the demolition in May.
Human rights groups say that removing the Bedouin village would create a bigger Israeli settlement pocket near Jerusalem and make it more difficult for Palestinians to achieve territorial contiguity in the West Bank, where they seek a future state.
Israel said it plans to relocate the residents to an area about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) away, near the Palestinian village of Abu Dis.
The new site is adjacent to a landfill and rights advocates say that a forcible transfer of the residents would violate international law on occupied territory. The United Nations and European Union have come out against the plan as well.
Interviewed before the court's ruling on Thursday, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan signaled that the Khan al-Ahmar demolition might not be imminent.
Noting the level of international opposition to the move, he said, "I hope this decision will be implemented in the coming weeks."
