The Palestinian leadership has submitted an appeal to the International Criminal Court to intervene in the planned demolition of the illegally constructed Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar, senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said on Tuesday.
"It included the focus on the war crimes facing Khan al-Ahmar, specifically the crimes of forcible displacement, ethnic cleansing and destruction of civilian property," Erekat told reporters.
A day before a temporary injunction that had put the demolition on hold is due to expire, dozens of Palestinian activists have erected new structures in the village, located just east of Jerusalem.
Israel plans to demolish Khan al-Ahmar and relocate its 180 residents – Bedouin who scrape a living by raising sheep and goats – to a site 12 kilometers (7 miles) away.
Home to members of the Bedouin Jahalin tribe, which the military expelled from southern Israel in the 1950s, Khan al-Ahmar sits between the city of Maaleh Adumim and the settlement of Kfar Adumim.
"We are just waiting to see if they are going to come tonight and expel us and demolish the houses," said Feisal Abu Dahok, 45, a resident of the village.
"We will not leave voluntarily. If they throw us out we will return to stay in this place. There is no other place for us to go."
"We hope that an official judicial investigation can be opened as soon as possible," Erekat said.
Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Britain have followed the European Union and the United Nations in urging Israel not to demolish Khan al-Ahmar, citing the serious impact on the community and prospects for peace.
The U.S., however, had made it clear it does not plan to cooperate with any ICC lawsuits. On Tuesday, U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton threatened to sanction the ICC over war crimes investigations into actions by the U.S. as well as Israel.
But last week the High Court of Justice rejected petitions to prevent the move, siding with the authorities which say the village was built without the required permits. Palestinians say such documents are impossible to obtain.
Israel plans to relocate the community to an area 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 applying to occupied territory.
