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JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's Supreme Court has suspended the planned demolition of a Bedouin village in the West Bank pending an appeal amid international opposition to the move.
The court on Thursday extended a previous suspension of the corrugated shack encampment's demolition until a hearing no later than Aug. 15.
Israel claims Khan al-Ahmar, east of Jerusalem, was illegally built and has offered to resettle residents 12 kilometers (seven miles) away. But critics say it is impossible for Palestinians to get building permits, and the removal of its roughly 180 residents is to make room for an Israeli settlement.
The pending demolition has drawn heavy international criticism and become a rallying cry for the Palestinians. Leaders of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party gathered at the village on Thursday in solidarity with residents.
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