France is very concerned about Israel’s intentions to wipe out a Palestinian village it considers key to the success of a two-state solution, reports the Middle East Monitor .
The village of Khan Al-Ahmar lies to the east of Jerusalem and more than 95 percent of its population are refugees. The Israeli occupation army, under the guidance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, appears intent on forcefully evacuating the village and consequently destroying it, but France has urged the Jewish nation to reconsider the idea as it believes destroying the strategic village of Khan Al-Ahmar could complicate the vision of a two-state solution.
“France, in collaboration with its European partners, has repeatedly called on the Israeli authorities not to proceed with the destruction of Khan Al-Ahmar and the forced evacuation of its inhabitants.
“[France calls on Israel to] permanently abandon plans to demolish Khan Al-Ahmar.”
French president Emmanuel Macron has reportedly also asked Netanyahu not to keep its European allies in the dark about its next move pertaining to the village. France wants Israel to “remove the uncertainty surrounding the fate of this village, which is located in an area that is key to the continuity of a future Palestinian state and therefore the viability of the two-state solution.”
Demolition in Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank may subject Israeli officials to criminal investigation; and more in today’s Daily Brief: https://t.co/wiCpELvHaM pic.twitter.com/lmuapsfvie
— Human Rights Watch (@hrw) September 17, 2018
The school in Khan Al Ahmar is at imminent risk of being demolished – these were happier days, girls playing in the school playground – 170 #children could soon lose their right to education. #ForEveryChild pic.twitter.com/G8OYYoAaxr
— UNICEF Palestine (@UNICEFpalestine) July 4, 2018
Israel, however, contends that the village of Khan Al-Ahmar has been built illegally and that it has every right to evacuate and destroy the village. The settlement of Arab nomads on the tracts of land between the settlements of Maale Adumim and Kfar Adumim has long annoyed Israel, which has slowly, but surely, managed to forcefully evict Palestinians by laying claim to contested territories on the Gaza strip. European nations including France believe that the fate meted out to other villages by Israel’s occupation army must not befall the village of Khan Al-Ahmar because it could seriously hamper the two-state solution.
Palestinians, meanwhile, contend that Israel effectively intends to cut off East Jerusalem from the West Bank by razing the tents in Khan Al-Ahmar and that it would establish Israeli settlements in the region, a ploy perfected by the Israeli occupation armies since the 1967 war.
Israel and Palestine have long been at war, and since 1967, Israel has been accused of forcefully and illegally occupying Palestinian land by creating settlements on strips of land one at a time. Most countries in the world believe Israel to have taken illegal steps in Palestine by being forceful aggressors, but the Jewish nation disputes this characterization.
