Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah released a statement on Monday expressing his government’s solidarity with the hundreds of Palestinian Bedouins in the community of Jabal al-Baba at risk of forcible displacement by the Israeli government.

“As the Prime Minister of the State of Palestine, let me say clearly: we stand with our Palestinian citizens in Jabal al-Baba, as well as with all of the other Palestinian communities across the West Bank that Israel seeks to displace in order to build illegal settlements in their place,” Hamdallah said.

The Prime Minister added that “if the Israeli authorities proceed with this demolition, or with the displacement of entire Palestinian communities in ‘Area C’ of the West Bank, a red line will have been crossed.”

Israel Occupation has demolished these #kids_school, in the #E1 area near #Jerusalem..!!#StopIsraeliCrimes#SavePalestinian_children. pic.twitter.com/W6xdTYJGXs

— alsharawi adnan (@alsharawi) October 7, 2016

Jabal al-Baba, like other Bedouin communities in the region, is under threat of forcible transfer by Israel for being located in the contentious “E1 corridor” set up by the Israeli government to link annexed East Jerusalem with the mega settlement of Maale Adumim.

Israeli authorities plan to build thousands of homes for Jewish-only settlements in E1, which would effectively divide the West Bank and make the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state – as envisaged by the two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict – almost impossible.

On behalf of the Palestinian government, Hamdallah also urged the international community to take action and pressure Israel to comply with international law and to recognize Palestine as a state.

(Ma’an, PC, Social Media)