The Regavim Movement, which first petitioned the Supreme Court over a decade ago for the evacuation of the illegal Bedouin camp of Khan al-Ahmar, reacted on Tuesday evening to a Channel 12 News report that the government intends to relocate the residents of the camp a mere 300 meters (330 yards) away from their current location.
Meir Deutsch, Regavim’s Director General, released a strongly worded response.
“This hair-brained scheme hatched by the Ministry of Defense will turn the Palestinian Authority’s flagship outpost in Judea and Samaria into a permanent, recognized Palestinian settlement. The PA targeted this point on the map precisely because of its critical strategic value as the link between Bethlehem, Ramallah and Jericho – an area where there is no Palestinian Arab presence,” said Deutsch.
“Enabling the takeover and de facto annexation of this strategic location will be a fiasco for the security and strategic integrity of the State of Israel,” he warned.
Deutsch added, “The Israeli government invested millions, preparing an alternative location for Khan al-Ahmar on Israeli state land in Jahalin West near Abu Dis. The relocation of the squatters has been stalled solely due to European pressure. It is inconceivable that the very same members of this government who repeatedly attacked Netanyahu for his failure to evacuate the squatters of Khan al Ahmar are now responsible for this bizarre, pathetic alternative – one that is far worse in every way.”
“The planned relocation will do little to improve the lives of the squatters, but it will set a dangerous precedent of state-sanctioned annexation for the dozens of illegal squatters’ camps throughout the region that were established according to the Khan al-Ahmar model,” he concluded.