Top legal body rejects the state’s response to petition from Khan al-Ahmar residents, says it will hold a hearing on Aug 15.
By Jacob Magid | The Times of Israel | Jul 13, 2018
Opponents of the demolition also argue that it is part of an effort to enable the expansion of the nearby settlement of Kfar Adumim, and to create a region of contiguous Israeli control from Jerusalem almost to the Dead Sea, a move critics say will bisect the West Bank, and make a contiguous Palestinian state impossible.
The High Court of Justice agreed on Thursday to hold a hearing on a petition filed by residents of Khan al-Ahmar against the state’s decision to demolish the Bedouin village near the West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim.
The top legal body ordered that a hearing on the matter be held by August 15, meaning the demotion of the hamlet — originally green-lighted by the court in May — will be further delayed until after the session takes place and a decision is handed down. . . .
With the eviction appearing just days away, attorneys representing Khan al-Ahmar submitted an urgent petition last Wednesday that claimed the Civil Administration — the Defense Ministry body in charge of construction permits in the West Bank — never offered any plans to legalize the village, and refused to review a plan submitted by the villagers. . . .
In its response, the state argued that the Supreme Court, in its initial ruling, discussed the option of legalizing the village but ultimately ruled against it. Moreover, the state claimed that village leaders had themselves never submitted any plans for the Civil Administration’s approval.
In light of that response, the High Court had the option to either accept the claims of the state by rejecting the Khan al-Ahmar petition or hold a hearing to gain more clarity on the matter. It chose to do the latter, giving some weight to the claims of the Bedouin residents.
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