Israel's top court on Wednesday cleared the way for the planned demolition of a Bedouin village in the West Bank that has become the focus of Palestinian protests and international concern.
Around 180 Bedouin 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.
The High Court of Justice rejected an appeal to block the demolition, lifting an injunction set to expire in a week.
No date has been set for the demolition at this time.
The United Nations, the European Union and others have expressed concern over the fate of Khan al-Ahmar, but Israel maintains the village was illegally built and has offered to resettle residents 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) away.
Israel says the structures that make up Khan al-Ahmar, which include an Italian-funded school, pose a threat to residents because of their proximity to a highway. Critics have dismissed this claim as a ploy to remove the village's residents.
The court said it was not presented with evidence to warrant overturning the previous verdict and there was no question over the illegality of the construction on the site.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman lauded the judges for their "brave" ruling in the face of a "hypocritical" campaign directed by the Palestinians, the Israeli left and European countries.
"No one is above the law. No one can stop us from implementing our sovereignty and responsibility as a state," he said.
Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Uri Ariel welcomed the ruling, saying "the High Court set a precedent that will be used in many future cases."
Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein noted that "the pressure exerted by the EU was useless. Israel is a nation of law and all are equal before it."
Amnesty International said the court approved a "war crime," citing the forcible transfer of people under occupation as a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
"With this shameful and manifestly unlawful ruling, the High Court has confirmed a pattern of complicity in the crime of forcible transfer of Palestinian communities for the expansion Jewish only settlements," Amnesty's director in Jerusalem, Saleh Higazi, said in a statement.
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on Israel to abandon its plans and said the destruction of private property by an occupying power violates international law.
Joint Arab List MK Yousef Jabareen criticized the court's ruling, calling it "another moral stain on legal history that condones statement construction and uprooting residents."
Fellow party member MK Dov Khenin decried the ruling as "a terrible wrong that every conscientious person must oppose."
The European Union has asked Israel to reconsider the planned demolition.
U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov issued a statement saying, "The U.N. calls on Israel to cease the demolition of Palestinian property and the efforts to relocate the Bedouin in the West Bank. Such actions undermine the two-state vision and are in violation of international law."
Residents remained defiant and said they would resist the move.
"We will stand against this decision and we will not leave our land," said Ibrahim Abu Dahook, who lives in the encampment.
