Smotrich Orders Evacuation of Khan al-Ahmar Bedouin Village — Retaliation for ICC Warrant Application

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich — who also holds a Defense Ministry portfolio overseeing civilian affairs in the West Bank — immediately ordered Hillel Roth, his representative in the Civil Administration, on May 19, 2026 to 'take all necessary measures' to evacuate Khan al-Ahmar, a Bedouin Palestinian community of approximately 250 residents located east of Jerusalem. Smotrich framed the demolition order explicitly as retaliation, accusing the Palestinian Authority of 'orchestrating' the ICC warrant application against him. Khan al-Ahmar sits in the strategic E1 corridor linking East Jerusalem to the Ma'ale Adumim settlement — a location that Israeli and Palestinian planners have long regarded as critical to the viability of a contiguous Palestinian state. Demolition of the village was halted in 2018 after sustained international protests and an injunction from Israel's High Court of Justice, which has kept the village's fate in legal limbo for years. Palestinian officials condemned the order as 'a serious colonial escalation within the framework of the annexation project,' while European governments were expected to issue condemnations. The CGTN reported Smotrich stated he would 'sign the order to evacuate Khan al-Ahmar,' confirming the order was being formalized. Human rights organizations including Amnesty and HRW have repeatedly stated the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar would constitute a forcible transfer of a protected civilian population — a war crime under the Fourth Geneva Convention and Rome Statute.