Dear Friend,

Good news: a respite for the families of Khan al Ahmar, the West Bank Palestinian Bedouin village near Jerusalem. On Saturday, Oct. 20th, Israel's Prime Minister stood next to the US Treasury Secretary in Jerusalem and postponed the forced relocation of the village, causing the Israeli Army to stand down and start removing tents and water tanks from the relocation site.

Friend, YOUR ACTION NEEDED NOW:
To assure that the Village's rights will be respected in the negotiations ahead,
please click here to invite your Senators and Representative to weigh-in and go visit!

Here's the story as reported by Noa Landau and Yotam Berger in Haaretz on Sunday, Oct. 21:

"Israel's security cabinet approved on Sunday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to postpone the evacuation of the West Bank village of Khan al-Ahmar in order to exhaust negotiations with the village residents"

The good news is that the Government of Israel is now actually considering the village's master plan!

"Netanyahu also said that the village residents are discussing a proposal for an evacuation to a new location, hundreds of meters away. The attorney for the village residents confirmed this with Haaretz, saying that the proposal "is not far from the outline proposed by the villagers at the High Court of Justice."

The next weeks are critical. While Khan al Ahmar has this moment of pause, Israeli Army bulldozers continue to demolish homes and barns in other areas of the West Bank. To assure that Khan al Ahmar's master plan will be recognized, and to present demolitions and assure equal rights for Palestinians,

Rebuilding Alliance will be bringing Palestinian children to speak to Congress just after Thanksgiving, to describe what peace means to each of them. The children will be from Khan al Ahmar, from other villages facing demolition, and we're working hard to bring them from Gaza too. US visa interviews are being scheduled;
Rebuilding Alliance is announcing our 2nd Congressional Leadership Learning Mission to Jerusalem, the West Bank, and to Gaza (if possible) for members of Congress and their constituents. They will visit Khan al Ahmar and the region when Congress is out of session, December 15-22nd.

Click here to email your Senators and Representative to invite them to join Rebuilding Alliance's Leadership Learning Mission in December and also ask them to make two calls now to the Israeli Embassy and to the US State Department to press Israel to implement the village's master plan. This case will set the precedent for Palestinian rights.

Questions? Suggestions? Please call +1650 651-7165 or reply to this email.

Sincerely,

Donna Baranski-Walker
Founder and Executive Director, Rebuilding Alliance

P.S. If you would like to your accompany your Senators or Representative on this Leadership Learning Mission, please click here to apply.

Take Action: Khan al Ahmar Update