The High Court of Justice on Thursday suspended the planned demolition of a Bedouin village near Jerusalem pending an appeal by the residents.
The move, which extended an existing injunction against the demolition, comes amid international opposition to the potential razing of Khan al-Ahmar, 10 kilometers (6 miles) east of Jerusalem.
The village is home to around 180 Bedouin.
Israeli authorities claim Khan al-Ahmar, located between the Jerusalem suburbs of Maaleh Adumim and Kfar Adumim, was illegally built. Israel has long sought to clear Bedouin from the area between the two communities.
The state has offered to resettle residents 12 kilometers (7 miles) away, but the Palestinians claim that Israeli building permits have been impossible to get for Khan al-Ahmar.
The pending demolition has drawn heavy international criticism, and rights advocates say that a forcible transfer of the residents would violate international law applying to occupied territory.
Responding this week, the state rejected the appellants' argument as false and as an attempt to buy time, noting that the High Court had approved the demolition in May.
The next hearing in the case has been set for Aug. 15.
