Khan al-Ahmar

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen during an election campaign tour in the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem on April 8, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The best outcome of these elections is if things don’t get worse

These elections have turned into a referendum on the annexation of the West Bank — but that’s not something for Israel to decide. Five thoughts on Israel’s upcoming elections. 1. In many ways Tuesday’s general elections in Israel seem fixed if you’re among the ranks of people hoping to see Benjamin Netanyahu end his decade-long reign…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man April 8, 2019

Thousands of Palestinians march toward the the Gaza-Israel fence during a Great Return March demonstration east of Gaza City, May 14, 2018. (Mohammad Zaanoun)

The grassroots movements in Israel-Palestine that won 2018

+972 Magazine’s story of the year for 2018 is the protest movements that managed to beat the odds by forcing governments to revisit and even change their policies. The story of African refugees stopping their deportation from Israel, and Gazans using popular protests to make sure the world doesn’t forget about them. By Michael Schaeffer…

By +972 Magazine December 31, 2018

Education Minister Naftali Bennett, MK David Bitan, Culture Minister Miri Regev and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a Knesset plenum session, December 5, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Don’t believe the hype: The Israeli right is weaker than it seems

The right had a decade to annex the West Bank, quash Palestinian aspirations, and thwart Hamas in Gaza. Yet today, more than ever, its invincibility is anything but certain. By Meron Rapoport The past decade belonged to the Israeli right. Since 2009, the right-wing bloc easily defeated its opponents and won elections, while Prime Minister Benjamin…

By +972 Magazine December 27, 2018

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Frank Romano speaks with reporters upon finally being brought to the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, September 16, 2018. (Angela Godfrey-Goldstein/Jahalin Solidarity)

Judge: Israeli police ‘scandalous’ for trying to deport U.S.-French activist

Instead of bringing to court Frank Romano, who was arrested trying to block an Israeli army bulldozer in Khan al-Ahmar, Israeli police tried to deport him without notifying his lawyer or the court. Judge orders him released. After taking the nearly unprecedented step of arresting a foreign national under Israeli military law, Israeli police openly…

By Orly Noy September 16, 2018

Hailey Mann, a Jewish-American member of All That's Left, wakes up after spending the night in the schoolyard of Khan al-Ahmar, the Palestinian village Israel plans to completely destroy any day now, September 16, 2018. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

PHOTOS: Activists spend night in Palestinian village Israel plans to demolish

The Israeli military is expected to demolish and forcibly displace the entire village of Khan al-Ahmar any day now. Hundreds of activists hope to stave off the bulldozers, or at least stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the village’s residents when they arrive. Ever since a temporary injunction delaying the forcible displacement and demolition of the entire Palestinian…

By Oren Ziv September 16, 2018

Activists protest the demolition of Wadi al-Ahmar near the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the West Bank on September 12, 2018. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

Activists dig in ahead of Khan al-Ahmar demolition

Israel may demolish and evict the Palestinian-Bedouin community any day now, and activists are maintaining a presence there until it does. Israeli forces demolish a small, protest camp that was erected earlier in the week. By Oren Ziv An Israeli High Court injunction preventing the forced displacement and demolition of the Bedouin community of Khan…

By Oren Ziv September 13, 2018

Israeli policemen scuffle with Palestinian demonstrators in the Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar, east of Jerusalem, on July 4, 2018. (Flash90)

For Israel, Khan al-Ahmar residents lack ‘good faith’ displayed by settlers

As far as Israel is concerned, the demolition and displacement of Palestinian communities cannot be prevented, because they lack the good intentions that seemingly only Jewish settlers have. By Sharona Weiss An interim injunction that prevented the demolition and eviction of the Jahalin Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar ends on September 12. Israel will then face the weighty choice…

By +972 Magazine September 11, 2018

Palestinian, foreign, and Israeli activists try to block an Israeli bulldozer preparing for the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar, July 4, 2018. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

The moment of truth for EU policy on Israel-Palestine

Whether European states follow through on their threats and warnings over the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar will determine a great deal about the EU’s relevance and its ability to influence Israeli policy vis-a-vis the Palestinians. European powers are going to have to make a crucial choice in the coming week. Two months after five EU…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man September 5, 2018

A child looks on at the remains of demolished homes in the Palestinian village of Khan al-Ahmar, July 4, 2018. (Yaniv Nadav/Flash90)

Between garbage and sewage: Israel’s future plans for Khan al-Ahmar

To avoid being transferred to a garbage dump in East Jerusalem, the villagers of Khan al-Ahmar will have to convince three other Bedouin communities to evacuate the area. After that, they can live near a wastewater site. By Hagai El-Ad Since the mid-1970s, Israel has been working to drive Palestinians out of the West Bank area which lies…

By +972 Magazine August 16, 2018

Palestinian schoolgirls sit outside the school in Khan al-Ahmar, which held its first day of school a month and a half early in order to prevent its planned demolition, July 16, 2018. (Oren Ziv)

How to fight the demolition of a West Bank school? Start the year early

For years the Israeli government has tried to destroy Khan al-Ahmar’s eco-friendly school, along with the rest of the tiny West Bank hamlet. So the Palestinian Authority cut short the summer break and started the school year early. The students didn’t seem to mind. By Oren Ziv Dozens of schoolchildren welcomed the new school year in the West Bank…

By Oren Ziv July 16, 2018

Harba Hamadin, a resident of the Bedouin community Abu Nawar, stands in front of the buildings demolished by Israeli authorities in his village, July 10, 2018. (Orly Noy)

The West Bank villages under threat no one is talking about

While the media focused on Khan al-Ahmar’s nonviolent struggle against its destruction, Israeli authorities demolished 12 structures in a nearby Bedouin community, laying the groundwork for further evictions. Israel is fighting a war of attrition against the Bedouin villages east of Jerusalem. And yet, despite the looming threat of wholesale demolition and eviction, the villagers can finally breathe easy, after…

By Orly Noy July 11, 2018

All That's Left activists place backpacks outside Israel's Supreme Court to protest the decision to demolish the village of Khan al-Ahmar, including its eco-friendly school, which serves the local Bedouin population, Jerusalem, July 10, 2018. (Courtesy of All That's Left)

As Israel prepares to demolish Bedouin school, activists lay out backpacks for each student

As Israeli authorities prepare to demolish Khan al-Ahmar’s school, a group of activists lay backpacks outside Israel’s Supreme Court — one for each student who may soon find himself without a place to learn. A group of Israeli and foreign Jewish activists laid 174 backpacks outside Israel’s Supreme Court in Jerusalem on Tuesday morning as…

By Edo Konrad July 10, 2018

Palestinian, Israeli, and foreign activists attempt to block Israeli equipment brought to prepare for the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar, July 5, 2018. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

The demolition of Khan al-Ahmar is more than just a war crime

While the imminent destruction of Khan al-Ahmar is an utmost humanitarian concern and quite possibly a war crime, many are overlooking the strategic importance of this tiny hamlet for the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The residents of Khan al-Ahmar have spent the past several weeks waiting for Israeli bulldozers to arrive to demolish their entire village and forcibly…

By Edo Konrad July 9, 2018