Friday

29th Sep 2023

Opinion

EU's moment of truth in Khan al-Ahmar

  • Visible, public pressure brought Khan al-Ahmar thus far (Photo: Photo by Rima Essa)

Sometimes, the last day in court isn't.

The 24 May decision by Israeli High Court justices Sohlberg, Baron and Willner was supposed to be just that for Khan al-Ahmar, a Palestinian community a few kilometres east of Jerusalem. Their last day in court, to be followed by the imminent demolition of the entire community by Israeli authorities.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

As unanimous and unequivocal as it was in its delivery, that day's decision was no more than an attempt to provide a guise of formal legality for deeply immoral - and fundamentally illegal - state actions.

Deploying formalistic blindness of the most cynical kind, the justices conveniently opted to ignore such "details" as the fact that Israel has systematically established a planning regime through which it almost never allows Palestinians to receive building permits.

With the essential context conveniently tucked away, the judges paved the way for "rule of law"-based reasoning for demolishing a school, dozens of homes - and the lives of more than 170 Palestinians.

Such decisions should be challenged locally and internationally - and this one certainly was.

Peaceful community leadership by Eid Jahalin and others; non-violent resistance by activists on the days earlier this month when Israeli bulldozers were making preparations for the coming demolitions - 11 were arrested and dozens injured by Israeli security forces' brutality; visible diplomatic action - through statements as well as physical presence such as the 5 July visit by diplomats from France, the UK, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Spain and Ireland; an international open letter signed by more than 300 elected officials, legal scholars, academics, artists, faith leaders, and activists from around the world; and a clear articulation of the community's demolition as the war crime it might become if realised - all these, combined, were perhaps part of the context for a sudden willingness on the part of the High Court not to reject offhand a new petition.

New day

Now, Khan al-Ahmar has a new day in court: 1 August.

The 24 May decision did not make the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar one ounce more morally acceptable. All it did was to both greenlight the looming war crime and make the judges complicit in it, and personally liable for it.

With that now in mind, what will the judges consider in the forthcoming hearing?

As already demonstrated in recent weeks, we must focus on keeping the issue in the forefront of international attention.

The official protest by the EU-5 (the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain) was key - but as can be learned from court filings submitted by Israel in the new petition, it was not enough: Israel remained steadfast in its intention to go ahead.

The 10 July court submission by the state was unflinching: "Clarifying that the Civil Administration enforcement authorities, as well as the Israeli police and various other parties on behalf of the respondents, are in the last stretch of preparations for the implementation of the final demolition orders in the Khan al-Ahmar compound, according to the outline presented by the state. For the sake of clarity of opinion and the removal of doubt - this last stretch means the implementation of the demolition orders within a foreseeable period of a few days."

Yet, the judges are now giving this further consideration. And with more concrete actions, Israeli decision makers may as well.

The EU-5 have spoken out assertively. And on 18 July, EU high representative Federica Mogherini threatened "very serious" consequences.

But what would these be? What would they have done if no new petition had been filed and if the court hadn't issued a temporary order and the demolitions would have gone ahead as Israel officially insisted it was planning to do without delay?

International pressure

For this scenario not to become reality, they - and others - must redouble the efforts to save this community.

The efforts to date have meant that 24 May was not, after all, the last day. Two months later, Khan al-Ahmar still stands. We have a fighting chance to save this community - and dozens of others: Israeli intentions are to forcibly transfer thousands of Palestinians.

Visible, public pressure brought Khan al-Ahmar thus far. Wednesday (1 August) is the new target day, to make Israel reconsider its intentions and back off. Khan al-Ahmar's moment of truth is our moment of truth.

For decades, Israel has refused to allow Khan al-Ahmar to even have a decent access road. This month, the state finally paved one: not to serve the residents, but to make it possible to demolish their homes.

Perhaps, if justice does prevail, not only will the community be allowed to stay in place, but it will also finally have a proper access road. The last stretch towards demolitions could become the first step towards construction, development and justice.

Hagai El-Ad is the executive director of B'Tselem, an NGO in Jerusalem

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author's, not those of EUobserver.

Punish Belarus too for aiding Putin's Ukraine war

While Belarus has not sent its own troops to fight Russia's war in Ukraine, the Minsk dictatorship has been heavily involved. As a result, Belarus must be punished for its involvement — what can the world do to sanction Belarus?

Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling

Vasco Alves Cordeiro, president of the European Committee of the Regions, is advocating a revamp of the EU's regional policy so that it better supports all regions in addressing major challenges such as the green and digital transitions.

How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?

The EU Commission's new magic formula for avoiding scrutiny is simple. You declare the documents in question to be "short-lived correspondence for a preliminary exchange of views" and thus exempt them from being logged in the official inventory.

How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?

The EU Commission's new magic formula for avoiding scrutiny is simple. You declare the documents in question to be "short-lived correspondence for a preliminary exchange of views" and thus exempt them from being logged in the official inventory.

Column

Will Poles vote for the end of democracy?

International media must make clear that these are not fair, democratic elections. The flawed race should be the story at least as much as the race itself.

Latest News

  1. EU women promised new dawn under anti-violence pact
  2. Three steps EU can take to halt Azerbaijan's mafia-style bullying
  3. Punish Belarus too for aiding Putin's Ukraine war
  4. Added-value for Russia diamond ban, as G7 and EU prepare sanctions
  5. EU states to agree on asylum crisis bill, say EU officials
  6. Poland's culture of fear after three years of abortion 'ban'
  7. Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling
  8. Germany tightens police checks on Czech and Polish border

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  2. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
  2. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  3. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  4. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us