The European Union urged Israeli authorities to reconsider their decision to demolish the village of Khan al-Ahmar, east of occupied Jerusalem. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a written statement that the consequences of demolition of the community and the displacement of its residents, including children, against their will, "would be very serious and would severely threaten the viability of the two-state solution and undermine prospects for peace.” The Israeli High Court of Justice rejected petitions against the demolition of Khan al-Ahmar and said a temporary injunction that had put a hold on the move would lapse in a week. The Court ruled on Wednesday that the army could evacuate the village located near the Kfar Adumim settlement. Immediately after the ruling, Palestinian officials and activists began an open sit-in in the Bedouin village. Head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Committee Walid Assaf announced the start of an open sit-in to address the Israeli court’s decision to demolish the village and deport its residents. He called on Palestinian people and factions, the Popular Resistance Committees and all institutions to be head to the village to protect the residents. The village in inhabited by around 35 families, who live in tents and huts. The population there is mainly from Arab Jahalin Bedouins, who came to the village after they were displaced by Israel during the Nakba in 1948. The number of Bedouins living east of Jerusalem today is about 7,000 people, and the occupation authorities refuse to recognize their existence and seek to expel them. In 1977, Israel began harassing the people when the West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim was built. In 2000, harassment intensified. In 2010, the first decision was issued by the Civil Administration to demolish all the facilities in Khan al-Ahmar. In May 2018, the Israeli High Court of Justice approved the demolition order, and on July 4, Israeli authorities besieged the village. The Palestine Liberation Organization- affiliated “National Bureau for the Defense of Land and Settlement Resistance” has called on the international community to “pressure the occupation government to prevent it from carrying out the crime of ethnic cleansing, which is planned in Khan al-Ahmar.” It also urged the International Criminal Court to act directly and open an official investigation into Israeli and settler crimes.