RAMALLAH, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) is holding contacts with Israel to halt the demolition of Al-Khan Al-Ahmar community, Head of Media office at the EU Representative in Jerusalem, Shadi Othman, said on Wednesday.
The EU and its member states are trying to thwart the implementation of the Israeli decision, warning that it would have "grave consequences on the two-state solution, making it impossible to reach it," Othman said in statements to the official Palestinian radio station Voice of Palestine.
He added that the Al-Khan Al-Ahmar community "is not a unique case, there are several communities in areas classified as area (C) in the West Bank under the risk of demolition by Israel, and implementing this means practically absolute Israeli control over the Palestinian territories."
He added that the appointment of new EU Special Representative for the Middle East peace process Susanna Terstal is considered "an attempt to revive contacts between the Palestinian and Israeli sides."
On Sept. 5, the Israeli High Court rejected a petition by Al-Khan al-Ahmar residents against the demolition order and the forcible eviction they are going to face.
Since then, Palestinians declared that there will be no new appeal to Israeli courts, but, instead, they will pursue Israel at international courts if the village is demolished and start open solidarity movements in the community.
The community is resided by 200 Palestinian Bedouins, 95 percent of whom are refugees registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Dozens of tin-ceiling homes and basic structures are slated for demolition in the area, which suffers a lack of basic services and infrastructure, such as an electricity network, a sewage system and proper roads.
The community includes the only school for the Bedouin communities in the area, a mosque and a healthcare unit, as well as homes that are all at risk of demolition by Israel. Residents say they are offered no alternative to stay.
The community in Al-Khan Al-Ahmar is one of the 46 Bedouin communities in areas classified as area (C) in the West Bank.
Under the interim Oslo Accords signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel in 1993, the West Bank is divided into three zones: A, B and C, with area (A) being under Palestinian control, (B) under Israeli security coordination and Palestinian administrative control and (C) under full Israeli control.
