Israeli bulldozers enter Khan al-Ahmar in advance of demolition

Israeli forces have entered a Palestinian Bedouin village under imminent threat of demolition in occupied West Bank with heavy equipment and at least three bulldozers, local media reported.

The bulldozers entered the outskirts of Khan al-Ahmar northeast of occupied East Jerusalem for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, levelling ground in preparation for its demolition.

On Monday, at least seven people were injured and four others were briefly detained after resisting Israeli forces who had arrived at the village of nearly 200 people.

The Israeli government plans to relocate those displaced to either the vicinity of a sewage treatment facility near the Dead Sea or about 12km away from their homes, near the village of Abu Dis, which is near a landfill.

Rights advocates say a forcible transfer of the residents would violate international law regarding occupied territory and amounts to a war crime.

Residents and activists had been protesting against the planned demolition of the village for more than 100 days.

Khan al-Ahmar has captured international attention for its years-long legal battle with Israeli authorities over its survival. Israeli authorities set October 1 as the deadline for the residents to dismantle their shacks after the demolition was given a green light by an Israeli court.

The village is situated in Area C, which according to the Oslo Accord is under Israeli civil and security administration.

The Israeli High Court ruled in May that the village and its only school would be demolished, stating that it had been built without Israeli permission. An appeal to that order was rejected by the court last month.

But Palestinians say building permits are impossible to obtain, in contrast to the rapid expansion of illegal Jewish-only Israeli settlements in the same area.

Its location between two major illegal Israeli settlements, Maale Adumim and Kfar Adumim, has been a thorn in the side of the Israeli government, which wants to expand the two in order to build a ring of settlements around occupied East Jerusalem.

The removal of the Bedouin village would also enable the Israeli government to effectively bisect the occupied West Bank.