Israel troops, Palestinians clash in Khan Ahmar; 4 hurt

Four Palestinians were injured in clashes with Israeli troops in East Jerusalem’s Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a Wednesday statement.

According to eyewitnesses, an Israeli military force -- accompanied by bulldozers -- approached the village on Wednesday morning, triggering clashes with local Palestinian youth and several foreign activists.

“Israeli troops beat the Palestinians and activists and attacked them with teargas,” one witness told Anadolu Agency.

“They also arrested an 18-year old Palestinian girl, Ranin Amira, whisking her off to an unknown location,” the witness, preferring anonymity, added.

On Sept. 5, Israel’s Supreme Court ruled to demolish Khan al-Ahmar and evict its Bedouin inhabitants.

Israel seeks to expel some 10,000 Bedouin residents of what is known as the E1 Zone, which sits on 15 square kilometers of land (5.8 square miles) in East Jerusalem.

The planned demolition is meant to make way for a series of Jewish-only housing units linking Jerusalem to the Maale Adumim settlement.

If carried out, the plan would effectively cut the West Bank in two, preempting the possibility of a territorially-contiguous Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders.

In early July, Israeli bulldozers destroyed several tents and other structures in Khan al-Ahmar, sparking clashes with local residents.

There are 46 Bedouin communities -- inhabited by roughly 3,000 residents -- scattered across Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem.

Under the 1995 Oslo Accord between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), the West Bank -- including East Jerusalem -- was divided into Areas A, B and C.

Area A falls under the PA’s administrative and security control; Area B falls under the PA’s administrative control and Israeli security control; and Area C -- in which Khan al-Ahmar is located -- falls under the exclusive administrative and security control of Israel.