Palestinians residents of a West Bank hamlet braced on Monday for an Israeli court-ordered demolition of their homes as activists arrived to help them resist in case Israeli troops moved in to evict them.
Many spent the night sleeping in a school courtyard or keeping vigil as the Israeli-imposed midnight deadline passed for Khan al-Ahmar's residents to evacuate on their own or face forced removal and the demolition of their homes.
However, it was unlikely this would happen at least before the end of a Jewish holiday at sundown Monday.
Israel says the encampment of corrugated shacks outside an Israeli settlement was illegally built and in an unsafe location near a major highway.
It has offered to resettle residents a few miles away in what it says are improved conditions with connections to water, electricity and sewage treatment they currently lack.
But critics say it's impossible for Palestinians to get building permits and the demolition plan is against the residents' will and meant to make room for the expansion of an Israeli settlement.
Israel's Supreme Court recently rejected a final appeal against the plan, paving the way for Khan al-Ahmar's potential demolition.
The encampment has become a rallying cry for Palestinians and Israel has come under heavy criticism, with major European countries urging it to refrain from demolition and removal of the 180 or so residents.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to arrive in Israel later this week for an unrelated visit, which may spark a further delay in Israeli action.
Some 200 activists were camped out at the location as the October 1 deadline passed, giving the residents training for that they call non-violent resistance.
"We trained them how to quickly move into the shacks, in groups, and make the soldiers' mission as difficult as they can," said Monzer Amereh, a leading activist who has been there for weeks. "We are going to sit inside the shacks and will not leave and let them take us out by force."
"This is our land, not their land and we live here and die here."
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