NEWS QUOTE: Threatened expulsion of Khan al-Ahmar community raises fears of forcible transfer in occupied West Bank

19 May 2026

Today, Israel’s Finance Minister ⁠Bezalel Smotrich authorised an order to expel the Palestinian Bedouin community from Khan al-Ahmar, and demolish their homes and infrastructure.

This follows reports that the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague has requested a warrant for this arrest. 

The community of Khan al-Ahmar is located near occupied East Jerusalem in “Area C” of the West Bank, which is under full Israeli military control. It is one of several Palestinian communities located in or next to an area slated by Israel for the E1 settlement plan, which would cut off East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. The community has faced violence and threats from the Israeli military and settlers over many years.

Today’s order is the latest step towards deepening Israel’s unlawful annexation and illegal settlement expansion in the West Bank, and raises serious concerns about the imminent risk of forcible transfer and ethnic cleansing.

Aseel Baidoun, MAP’s Deputy Director of Advocacy and Campaigns, in the West Bank, has said:

"This threat to forcibly displace the residents of Khan al-Ahmar, in the wake of reports that the prosecutor of the ICC has sought to issue a warrant for his arrest, is a brazen act of retaliation and collective punishment against an entire Palestinian community.

"The forced displacement of residents would be a grave breach of international law and would further entrench Israel’s unlawful and aggressive settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

"The UK and international community must act urgently and with concrete measures to prevent the forced displacement of Khan al-Ahmar, including a ban on all arms transfers to Israel, and ensure those responsible for serious violations of Palestinian rights are held fully accountable. Anything less will simply green‑light further atrocities and deepen the apartheid that Palestinians live under every day."

[ENDS]

Notes:

MAP has previously served this community with a mobile clinic. Communities in Area C are denied access to permanent healthcare facilities due to Israel’s apartheid policies.

Britain and four other nations last year imposed sanctions on Smotrich and another far-right Israeli cabinet minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, accusing them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.