Israeli occupation forces attacked on Friday a group of protesters in Khan Al-Ahmar used pepper spray and prevented them from demonstrating on the nearby highway, Ma’an reported.
According to Ma’an, the Israeli occupation forces besieged the Palestinian village, situated just east of Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank, which is slated for demolition by Israel to make way for the expansion of more illegal settlements in the area.
Watch | IOF vehemently attack the weekly protest in the village of Khan al-Ahmar, east of Jerusalem, against Israel's plan to demolish the village, today. pic.twitter.com/PgFdBZO8Qs
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 19, 2018
The siege started on Friday at dawn and the Israeli occupation forces prevented any of the residents or the demonstrators from leaving the village.
All roads leading to the village were also closed in order to prevent the arrival of protesters and residents who came to demonstrate against the slated demolition.
Israel's military is set to bulldoze over the Palestinian village of #KhanAlAhmar in the West Bank using bulldozers from firms like @CaterpillarInc & @VolvoGroup. Name & shame corporations complicit in this war crime. Boycott & divest from them https://t.co/yc0KYKyIow pic.twitter.com/m2Y2VQmo8I
— BDS Movement (@BDSmovement) October 20, 2018
Ma’an said that these closures were also imposed to prevent the arrival of journalists to the village.
Earlier this week, Khan Al-Ahmar was flooded with wastewater with illegal settlers from the nearby settlement of Kfar Adumim. The incident represented the second time this month that illegal settlers had attacked and flooded the village, causing contamination to the village’s water supplies in an attempt to drive its residents from the village.
Israel deliberately wounds 15 Palestinians protesting the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar, violently arrests several others https://t.co/RlabP9LAwX
— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) October 19, 2018
Bulldozers were also seen entering Khan Al-Ahmar this week from the Jerusalem-Jericho road. The three military vehicles began to raze the ground surrounding the village, in what is thought to be in preparation for its demolition. Though the demolition was expected to take place on October 1, as yet Israel has not forcibly transferred the residents of Khan Al-Ahmar.
.@IntlCrimCourt
❌The lawless facist #Israeli Regime setting up tents at the Jerusalem Gate, where they intend to deport residents from #KhanAlAhmar #الخان_الأحمر in preparation for the ILLEGAL demolition
❌#WARCRIME❌#GroupPalestine#قروب_فلسطينيpic.twitter.com/62ba8G9I5X— ✖️???? Ᾰฑฑ༈℮ ????✖️ (@Betelgeuse100) October 19, 2018
Khan Al-Ahmar is home to some 173 Al-Jahhalin Bedouins who are refugees from the Negev desert. They have lived in the area east of Jerusalem since their displacement by the Israeli army in 1967. Israel has refused to recognize Al-Jahhalin Bedouin communities or grant them building permits, a strategy often used by Israel to term any Bedouin home illegal.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
